Brotherhood: The Final Season Review

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(More customer reviews)I don't want to spoil the final episode for those who haven't yet watched it, but I hope that those interested can find the time to watch all of the prior episodes before watching the last one of season three (hopefully not of the entire series). The final scene has to be some of the best writing and cinematography ever broadcast on television. In a word, apropos. If this is indeed the final season that Showtime orders, the final scene is a fitting way for the storyline to conclude.
There are obvious similarities to another great crime-based drama of the decade, HBO's The Wire. However, Brotherhood focuses more on the political side of crime/corruption, whereas The Wire spends more time on the street. If either of these shows were available on broadcast TV, they would captivate large and dedicated audiences and be phenomenally successful. When one reads reviews for both of these shows on any reputable website, they're gushing with acclaim. These shows have gained a cult-like following. It's a shame that HBO and Showtime instead choose to promote series like Californication and Big Love at the expense of these masterpieces.
The series examines much more than political corruption - the changing demographics and redevelopment of Providence juxtaposed with the longtime situation and residents of "The Hill" are continuous themes which are portrayed in a subtle, yet nuanced manner.
In terms of the actors, there really are no weak links. However, Kerry O'Malley portrays an incredibly sympathetic and complex character in Mary-Kate (Tommy and Michael's only sister). Her role and performance is supremely underrated. Although I personally have absolutley nothing in common with her role, she is probably my "favorite" character from an incredibly diverse palette that the series provides.
Showtime would make a great contribution to American television by ordering a fourth season.

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A working-class Irish family is torn between right and wrong when two brothers live out their destinies on opposite side of the law. Brotherhood tells the story of two brothers who sometimes share a twisted sense of moral compromise - each with his own skewed, idealistic vision of what makes the American dream.

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Deadliest Warrior: Season One Review

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(More customer reviews)Okay, true confession. I really like this series. Yeah, I know it's a guy show, and it can be gruesome, so it is kind of a `guilty pleasure' but I really enjoy the combat simulations and who would win if: for example a Spartan were to fight a ninja. I particularly like it when the opponents are evenly matched or I particularly like one of the competitors. The Shaolin have been my favorite so far. The monks were classy, honorable and peaceful and yet also quite deadly.
The basic premise of this show is to compare the chosen weapons of each group, and then compare them to another group of warriors. So you might get the IRA- for instance- vs Al Quaeda or The Mafia vs. The Yakuza. Weapons experts discuss the various weapons used and how much damage they might do in combat. They test this using dummies, blocks of wood, pig carcasses or other targets. The matchups can be a bit odd, sometimes spanning centuries, and so it doesn't always seem entirely fair, but It is interesting nonetheless. After the major weapons are discussed, a combat simulation is ran pitting the two fictional warriors via computer, and the results are shown in a filmed reenactment. The results can be surprising sometimes too. The group you think might win, sometimes has an Achilles heel which fouls them up. You never can tell.
I think the show is well worth a watch for history fans, and fans of historical warfare, but I should warn you now, it's not for kids, the squeamish or those who might be impressionable to violence, because there is a lot of it. I sometimes just skip sections to see the ending with the reenactment of the final battle, if I get squeamish or am not into the matchup.
This is a very interesting show, and it has been renewed for a second season, which I'm looking forward to. Can't wait to see howt he Celtic warrior does.

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Finally, Spike’s newest hit show, Deadliest Warrior, has arrived on DVD! Watch as the most feared warriors civilization has ever known are pitted against each other in battle. Using 21st century science and the latest in CGI technology, each episode enlists warrior-specific world-class fighters and experts to analyze every facet of their unique skills of destruction and to answer the all-important question: who is the deadliest warrior?

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The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 1 Review

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(More customer reviews)As someone who has actually bought this set I thought I might offer some real opinions as opposed to those of some idiot who's only contribution is he hates HD.
(note: at this time I have only watched the first two episodes)
The Audio
Audio is in Dolby Digital Plus and is sublime. As a drama series, dialogue is paramount and every syllable can be clearly discerned. Tony's signature laboured breathing comes through crystal clear. Background dialogue adds atmosphere and sounds like actual conversation, not just noise.
Surround information is not a strong point of this series, however, when needed it is there. In episode 2 the helicopter (of Tony's subconscious) utilizes all channels to great effect.
A strong point in the series is it's use of modern classic music. This is used to great effect and on the HD-DVD release is output evenly through all channels. The music here is better than any SA-CD or DVD-A I have heard and really gets me excited as to the possibility of music through the new format.
The Picture
I am a big fan of television on DVD having collected many series. That said, I am usually disappointed with the transfers afforded television series. Most suffer from artefacts due to over-compression to fit as many episodes on a disc as possible. So with that in mind I'll discuss the bad first.
There is some moiré effect in the background of some scenes. Early in the first episode I had one instance of a freeze which put the audio out of sync. Pausing and un-pausing fixed this and I could not replicate this effect so rather than blame the set, I suspect it is one of those bugs that comes with early technology and Gen 1 machines. There is some grain in the image, however, given the previous season's, this is an intentional decision on the makers part (it will be interesting to see what the advent of HD in the home will do to this practice as it is not very HD friendly). At one stage on the first episode the Picture quality faulted for a period of about ¼ of a second where in a dark scene it became almost SD standard. This was very quick but noticeable.
Now for the good, and boy is it good. The detail is spectacular (almost too good - these guys are getting on in age, and they never were the most attractive people, and that hole in Tony's stomach - I though it looked bad before but this is truly disgusting). I have never seen TV look this good - not even the so called HD broadcasts of these very same episodes on Australian TV came close to this. Most of the action is in the foreground of this series and as such the detail in background shots is not as sharp as some film releases, however, when the background is relevant all that detail comes back. Again I think this is a conscious decision on the makers part to keep the focus up close and on the characters.
Final Thoughts
Is this release perfect - no, it has some slight issues that could be improved upon. Was it worth getting in HD - absolutely. Even at a premium price over the SD release I will happily pick up more of my favourites on HD-DVD. Universal has given a tentative commitment to Battlestar Galactica on HD-DVD, BBC has stated a HD-DVD release of Torchwood is in the works (which means we will probably also see Dr Who as well). MGM has hinted at a release of Stargate: Atlantis on Blu-ray and I would highly suspect the 2 new SG-1 movies (in lieu of Season 11) will be released on Blu-ray around April/May. It is almost inevitable that Paramount will release Star Trek to High Definition (especially the re-mastered and re-worked High Def Original Series).
I collect more Television series than movies these days (well, television and anime) and I gotta say, if this is the future of serialized programming, then I am happy to have a HD-DVD player and should Blu-ray get their format specific series out, I'll be grabbing one of those machines too (you listening on those Stargate movies and series?).

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Several crises threaten Tony and his crew; for starters, rival boss Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) is in prison, and the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families are strained through the unpredictable behavior of Sack?s surrogates. Then there are the inevitable power struggles that ensue when certain family members are eliminated, by natural and other causes.

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The Godfather, Part III (Final Director's Cut) (1990) Review

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(More customer reviews)I have seen this film several times, all the way through or in parts. Frankly, I have mixed emotions about it because, when discussing it, I want to be fair and focus on it as a discrete film, judging it on its own terms; however, for me at least, that is impossible because it is the third of three Godfather films and its two predecessors are masterpieces. I cannot exclude vivid memories of scenes and even comments from films I first saw 18 and then 14 years before seeing this one for the first time in 1990. OK, that's my challenge. I finally decided to try to rate it on its own terms, hence the Three Stars. What it has going for it includes Pacino's talent, several plausible conflicts, brilliant cinematography, and a tone of melancholy which is consistent throughout the narrative. After years of broken promises to wife Kay (Diane Keaton), Michael has almost completed a process by which to extricate himself and his family from organized crime. However, his marriage has ended, mortal enemies remain such as Altobello (Eli Wallach) and Joey Zaza (Joe Montegna), his negotiations with the Vatican encounter unexpected complications, and finally, his physical health is poor as pressures and tensions in his life intensify. It is no wonder that he suffers a diabetic attack in his kitchen ("Just when I think I'm out....") from which he never fully recovers.
However, the film has several problems. One concerns the lack of a primary plot to give the narrative cohesion. There are hundreds of individual episodes in The Godfather and Godfather Part II (as in other films such as Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago) but they are coordinated effectively. Not so of the episodes in this film. Sofia Coppola's performance as Mary Corleone has been savaged by most critics. In fact, she is reputed to be a late replacement for Wynona Rider, had no prior acting experience in films, and was given a role as trivial as Anne Archer's in the three Jack Ryan films. I will not join others in bashing her. Another of the film's flaws is director Coppola and the three screenwriters' failure to do more with the role of Vincent Mancini (Andy Garcia). So many missed opportunities as Garcia's great talents are under-utilized, especially when on-screen with his obviously exhausted Uncle Michael. The illegitimate son of Santino ("Sonny") Corleone, Vincent is only occasionally allowed to show some of his father's passion, providing energy which this film desperately needs and otherwise lacks.
The jumpy plot and underdeveloped characters are, in my opinion, this film's major weakness but it has several fine moments as when Vincent challenges Zaza, when Michael meets with Cardinal Lamberto (Raf Vallone), the deadly sequence as the performance in the opera house proceeds to its conclusion, and the final scene when Michael reflects upon his empty life. Judged only on its own terms, Three Stars. Let's all hope that there will be no Part IV.

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Item Name: The Godfather, Part III (Widescreen Edition); Studio:Paramount

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The Godfather - The Coppola Restoration Giftset (The Godfather / The Godfather Part II / The Godfather Part III) Review

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(More customer reviews)For those crying for the "Godfather Saga"/"Godfather Epic" versions, you are missing the point. Restoration expert Robert Harris (and countless others) worked for over a year from the best available print materials (as the original negatives are badly damaged and faded) to restore the first and second films to their original theatrical glory, which is something these iconic films of American Cinema deserve. That is the point of restoration.
If you are looking for a "wow" disc to show off your Blu-ray home theater sound and video, this is not it. If you are looking to experience modern American Gangster cinema in its 1970's glory, this is as close as you are ever likely to get, muted sepia-esque color, film grain and all.
These were not done exclusively for the home market. The priority was that they were restored for theatres, because that is where they would be judged the most critically, and all indications are that they do not disappoint. Never watch these films in your living room with the lights on. Watch them like you do in the theater, lights out, to appreciate the effort that went into these films.

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THE GODFATHER: Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather (1972) is a touchstone of cinema: one of the most widely imitated, quoted, and lampooned movies of all time. Marlon Brando and Al Pacino star as Vito Corleone and his youngest son, Michael, respectively. It is the late 1940s in New York and Corleone is, in the parlance of organized crime, a "godfather" or "don," the head of a Mafia family. Michael, a free thinker who defied his father by enlisting in the Marines to fight in World War II, has returned a captain and a war hero. Having long ago rejected the family business, Michael shows up at the wedding of his sister, Connie (Talia Shire), with his non-Italian girlfriend, Kay (Diane Keaton), who learns for the first time about the family "business." A few months later at Christmas time, the don barely survives being shot by gunmen in the employ of a drug-trafficking rival whose request for aid from the Corleones' political connections was rejected. After saving his father from a second assassination attempt, Michael persuades his hotheaded eldest brother, Sonny (James Caan), and family advisors Tom Hagen (Robert Duvall) and Sal Tessio (Abe Vigoda) that he should be the one to exact revenge on the men responsible. After murdering a corrupt police captain and the drug trafficker, Michael hides out in Sicily while a gang war erupts at home. Falling in love with a local girl, Michael marries her, but she is later slain by Corleone enemies in an attempt on Michael's life. Sonny is also butchered, having been betrayed by Connie's husband. As Michael returns home and convinces Kay to marry him, his father recovers and makes peace with his rivals, realizing that another powerful don was pulling the strings behind the narcotics endeavor that began the gang warfare. Once Michael has been groomed as the new don, he leads the family to a new era of prosperity, then launches a campaign of murderous revenge against those who once tried to wipe out the Corleones, consolidating his family's power and completing his own moral downfall. Nominated for 11 Academy Awards and winning for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay, The Godfather was followed by a pair of sequels.
THE GODFATHER PART II: This brilliant companion piece to the original The Godfather continues the saga of two generations of successive power within the Corleone family. Coppola tells two stories in Part II: the roots and rise of a young Don Vito, played with uncanny ability by Robert De Niro, and the ascension of Michael (Al Pacino) as the new Don. Reassembling many of the talents who helped make The Godfather, Coppola has produced a movie of staggering magnitude and vision, and undeniably the best sequel ever made. Robert De Niro won an Oscar®; the film received six Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1974.
THE GODFATHER PART III: One of the greatest sagas in movie history continues! In this third film in the epic Corleone trilogy, Al Pacino reprises the role of powerful family leader Michael Corleone. Now in his 60's, Michael is dominated by two passions: freeing his family from crime and finding a suitable successor. That successor could be fiery Vincent (Andy Garcia)... but he may also be the spark that turns Michael's hope of business legitimacy into an inferno of mob violence. Francis Ford Coppola directs Pacino, Garcia, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire, Eli Wallach, Sofia Coppola, Joe Montegna and others in this exciting, long-awaited film that masterfully explores the themes of power, tradition, revenge and love. Seven Academy Award® nominations, including Best Picture.

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The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 2 (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)So much of what's said abut the final season of The Sopranos refers to the last five minutes, as people unfortunately overlook the best nine episode string of the entire series.David Chase's last season of television's finest program is full of all the qualities that attracted viewers and critics for the past decade. Characters live in a world where death is a possibility each day, but aren't shown to be gods or royalty. Rather, viewers see in them all of the emotions experienced in every family, as Tony, Carmela, Christopher and the rest of the cast share their memorable loves, hates, dreams, failures...and meals.
Season 6.2 has three distinct parts.The first four episodes are "last moments in the sun" for some of the more important characters. Bobby and Janice retreat for a weekend on a lake with Tony and Carm; Johnny Sack battles a new enemy in prison; institutionalized Uncle Junior spends his last moments of sanity running a card game and mentoring a young killer; and Hesh fears for his safety when Tony owes him money and seems reluctant to pay.
Next, the season moves to the difficulties of AJ and Christopher and how both problems affect Tony. Tony takes a backseat to other characters in the opening episodes of the season, but he's never been more laid bare than in how he deals with his literal and figurative sons. As with the ambiguous nature of the show, Tony at times appears to be a heroic, thoughtful and brave, while other times, he's a monster.
Finally, the last two episodes end in the much anticipated war with New York, as successful and unsuccessful hits are targeted at the show's biggest players. A sense of closure is reached with Tony's relationships with his rivals, his crew, his family and the FBI, but as everyone in America knows, nothing concrete is declared about his future. Does he live? Does he go to prison? Will his crew survive? Those questions aren't answered, Chase`s last gift to his viewers, as people can continue turning this show over in their heads for years.
I wasn't there when The Tempest first played at the Globe, and I didn't see The Beatles at Candlestick Park. But Sunday Nights at 9pm on HBO, I saw my generation's finest contribution to pop culture and to literature, with the final season providing a closing act worthy of such a masterpiece.

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Last year, Tony Soprano cheated death when he was shot by his now institutionalized Uncle Junior. While Tony continues to muse about his second chance at life, he faces a myriad of immediate, stress-inducing crises at home, at work and from the law. Tony's wife Carmela plans for a future she's not sure will arrive, and son AJ and daughter Meadow find that adulthood holds its own surprises. Meanwhile, at work, Tony comes to doubt the allegiances of many of those closest to him ¿ no one, not Paulie, Bobby, Silvio or even Christopher is above suspicion. The clock is ticking. Time is running out. But on who?

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The Sopranos: Season 6, Part 1 (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)It's lonely in the ranks that believe that season 6 of The Sopranos was as good, if not better, than the seasons before it, but I am convinced that the first 12 episodes of season 6 are amongst the bravest, best written, and most telling episodes of the series. The Sopranos has long been a show with the most complex, multi-layered characters on television, but by using the mantra of "Who am I, where am I going" as a rallying point, season 6 probed the nature of what drives its family, and gets in intense focus of who each of them is. The problem, I think, was that it did its job TOO well this season - it's not that there wasn't action (the death count this year was as high as any other, and Tony does, after all, nearly die himself), but that because the show wanted so much to get the specifics of the ordinary right, it's easy to overlook the rather consternated implications of their everyday events. What I mean is that in showing each character at his/her essence, we get what really drives them, but we don't necessarily get that explained to us - we, for example, identify with Carmela's sense of longing and uncertainty staring off at the Eiffel Tower, or we register that Paulie is adrift in guilt and anxiety over his actions in life, but we get it in the details of their everyday action and, these characters experiencing these implications alone, get little of that wrapped up for us. To me, that speaks to a level of characterization and examination that doesn't exist in television and barely exists in film - it probes the specifics of its fictional characters so precisely, it winds up speaking to the heart of what drives Americans and the materialism of American culture that makes things like mobs possible. In that, it brings forth insurance agent, real estate claimsmen and salesmen, actors, and (in one unforgettable shout-out) Dick Cheney - comparisons of the same urges. Yet this season does more than critique the impulses, it allows them to exist, allows all of their very real virtues to be present, and lets them arise from its characters distinct, full-bodied personalities - money helps keep AJ out of jail, gets him laid, repairs Tony's relationship with his sister, keeps Carmela from probing too deeply into Adriana's murder, gets Tony reasonable health care, and nearly spares Vito's life and stops a cross-river gang war. I may be alone in the level to which the Sopranos makes me think, but I do think David Chase's intentions are to use his astonishingly vivid characters to go into depth about the American mentality (or, they're not, and it's just a product of three dimensional writing). However, even if it weren't, the season gives you extraordinary moments to savor - Paulie's confrontation with mortality ("The Ride"), Carmela crying at Tony's bedside ("Join The Club"), Christopher's gut-shaking relapse ("Kaisha," with a fearless guest turn by Juliana Marguilles), AJ's inability to carry out his "big plan" against Junior ("Johnny Cakes"), and, unforgettably, Philly's cold stare as his machinations to kill Vito are achieved ("Cold Stones"). They're moments of magnificent acting that fulfill characters even as it surprises you with their humanity and personality. And, in the premiere, "Members Only," it gives you it all in an hour - a suicide, heart attack, and gun shot that seem to tell you everything you've ever needed to know about the mob life, about why they - if not you - do what they do.

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Several crises threaten Tony and his crew; for starters, rival boss Johnny Sack (Vince Curatola) is in prison, and the always-tense relations between the New Jersey and New York families are strained through the unpredictable behavior of Sack?s surrogates. Then there are the inevitable power struggles that ensue when certain family members are eliminated, by natural and other causes.DVD Features:3D Animated MenusAudio CommentaryFeaturette

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A Prophet (2009) Review

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(More customer reviews)Malik El Djebena enters prison a blank slate of nineteen. Immediately you realize his youth, his vulnerability in a savage, organized world that only sees him as fresh bait. He becomes the means to a murderous end for fellow inmate the Corsican mob and thus begins his descent into its servitude. Ironically, it is his position as their dirty Arab that provides his escape.
Propelled by stellar, stoic acting on Tahar Rahim's behalf, this story gripped me from blinded beginning to free end. Throughout the film you empathize with Malik. He's as much if not more a victim of his environment as he is a Machiavellian strategist gripping all opportunities available to him. It's not always pleasant to watch his endeavors, but they have an authenticity, a type of logic, that is followed until the end.
An amazing film that has made a fan where previously only an aversion to its subject matter existed, Un Prophéte deserves all the praise it gets.

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A young arab man is sent to a french prison where he becomes a mafia kingpin.Studio: Sony Pictures Home EntRelease Date: 08/03/2010Run time: 155 minutesRating: RDirector: Jacques Audiard

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Mobsters (1991) Review

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(More customer reviews)I loved this movie when it first came out OK, so the actings not great at all, and the casting could have been better BUT after whoever finally decided to release this movie on DVD, they gave MINIMUM EFFORT in its creation.
DO IT PROPERLY, OR DON'T DO IT AT ALL!
LIST OF PROBLEMS
1) Several Scenes are missing on the DVD version eg, Richard Greicos' love scene when they go to meet Sam Rothestein. Basically on the UNCUT version on VHS he just takes one of the ladies at the party by the hand and they go off to a room together and he starts to seduce her by moving an ice pick gently all over her body while talking softly to her about how to kill somebody properly, after finishing telling her how to kill a man properly he slides off the top with the ice pick.
In this DVD version, his love scene is cut back dramatically, basically he takes off one side of her top with the ice pick, kisses her, then takes off the other side. no talking about how to kill a man properly. Whoever decided to cut the footage back, deserves to be shot. It just made the scene SOOO much more tasteless, almost made it look like D grade soft porn.
Another Scene missing from this is a beautiful scene where Charlie and his Dancer girlfriend are out on a picnic and they get caught in a rain storm
Another scene is where Charlie runs away from Farenzano at
Staten Island
Who knows what else is missing, these were just to name a few.
2) When it says BONUS on the DVD menu, I actually thought I was getting a BONUS! Silly me, after watching the movie and accessing the so called BONUS option on the DVD menu like I usually do after watching a DVD, I was left dumb founded and bitterly disappointed when the only 2 options of the so called BONUS material were 3 trailers, 2 of which look almost exactly the same and the other bonus was a picture of 3 other DVD's that are recommended for viewing. This is one of the worst cases of getting ripped off on a DVD that I have ever experienced.
I'll stick to my full UNCUT VHS version and pray that it survives until the next version of this DVD comes out again, hopefully a director's cut.
Message for the next makers of this film on DVD:
-DO IT PROPERLY, OR DON'T DO IT AT ALL
-DON'T CUT CORNERS TO MAKE THE LENGTH OF THE FILM SHORTER
-GIVE US BONUS MATERIALS THAT IS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED A BONUS, eg interviews, history documetaries, etc

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MOBSTERS - DVD Movie

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Superfly (1972) Review

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(More customer reviews)Superfly (1972) is a tough, unpolished gem rising above the numerous films to come from the blaxploitation period of the early 70's. While some are critical of the message they believe posed within the film, one of glamorizing the image of the drug dealer, I didn't really see it that way at all. I think this image presented was a superficial one, and one that the main character within the film saw and understood, prompting his actions and decisions to try and escape the life.
Ron O'Neal, who recently passed away on January 14, 2004, plays Priest, a streetwise pusher in a dilemma. Seems he is tired of the hustle, and is looking for a way to get out of the game, but, as his partner Eddie (Carl Lee) puts it, "Look, I know it's a rotten game, but it's the only one The Man left us to play." Apparently Priest has thought long about this, and he has come up with a plan to score a lot of cash in a short amount of time, and then plans to retire. Sounds like a plan, but Priest soon encounters powerful forces that feel he is worth more to them on the streets, pushing junk, doing what he does best. While the film does appear to glamorize the lifestyle of the drug peddler, I truly believe the underlying message was than despite all Priests' success, he was languishing in a form of slavery, always working for someone else and taking all the risks involved in such a trade. In a way he realized this, but found it difficult to leave the life, as that was all he knew, and working for 'chump change' was not in his future.
Gordon Parks, Jr. direction may seem amateurish with jerky camera shots and such, but it fit in nicely with the nature of the material within the film, giving a raw, harsh look into the seedy side of life, much like Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973). One of the things that really sets this film apart from the other movies of the time was the soundtrack by the legendary Curtis Mayfield. With such funkified songs as Pusherman, Freddie's Dead, and Superfly, Mayfield's contributions to the film served to elevate it above many films within the genre, and solidify his career as a musical genius. O'Neal is great as Priest (love those outta sight mutton chops), and is supported by some really decent performances by the lovely Sheila Frazier, Julius Harris, who many may recognize from the James Bond film Live and Let Die (1973), and Charles McGregor, who also appearing in Mel Brooks Blazing Saddles (1974).
There are a good amount of special features on this disc including a brand new documentary called `One Last Deal: A Retrospective', a commentary track by Dr. Todd Boyd, a USC professor of television and cinema and author of "Am I Black Enough for You: Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond", a early featurette with Ron O'Neal, a `making of ` documentary with O'Neal, `Behind the Threads' featurette with costumer designer Nate Adams where he shows off some of the original costumes from the film, and an audio only track with Mayfield's music. Also, I really liked some of the small touches within the interactive menu. For instance, instead of a listing for `Scene Selection', it's titled `Makin' the Scene', the `Special Features' selection is titled `Fly Features', and the subtitles section is labeled `Jive Talk'. A very nice and well-developed release by Warner Brothers, although I still am annoyed that they use the cheap plastic and cardboard packaging. When will they learn...
Cookieman108

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Ron O'Neal in the smart, streetwise box office success about a pusher who tries to make one last killer deal before kicking the business. Featuring a hit Curtis Mayfield score.Year: 1972Director: Gordon Parks, Jr.Starring:Ron O'Neal, Carl Lee, Julius W. Harris

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The Untouchables (Special Collector's Edition) (1987) Review

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(More customer reviews)Sometimes dubbed "the Master of the Macabre," director Brian De Palma is best known for his enactments of the supernatural ("Carrie"), mania ("Dressed to Kill") - and his mob stories. The latter part of his reputation is primarily grounded on four of his movies from the ten-year period between 1983 and 1993: "Scarface" (1983, starring Al Pacino), "Wise Guys" (1986, starring Danny De Vito, Joe Piscopo and Harvey Keitel), "Carlito's Way" (1993, again starring Pacino) ... and "The Untouchables" (1987), featuring an all-star cast including Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia and Charles Martin Smith. Among these, "The Untouchables" stands out as the only movie not primarily told from the gangster's but from the lawmen's perspective - but what it does share with all of De Palma's works is an almost voyeuristic appeal to its audience's visual senses; going far beyond the lavish display of film blood it is most often cited for.
Less fact-based than cinematic grand opera par excellence, the movie takes as its premise the end of the career of Chicago's ganglord of ganglords, Al "Scarface" Capone, who (after a few half-hearted attempts to prosecute him for murder had failed due to the unavailability of witnesses) pled guilty, in 1931, to evading federal income tax, and was sentenced to an 11-year prison term and a $50,000 fine. Capone's downfall was brought about by a group of initially 50 but later only nine Treasury Agents, formed in 1929 (not in 1930, as suggested here) with the express purpose of breaking up his operations, and headed by Eliot Ness, whose 1957 book "The Untouchables" posthumously gave new rise to his fame - Ness died of a heart attack without ever having witnessed the full extent of his book's success - and inspired, inter alia, the like-named 1959 television series starring Robert Stack and Brian De Palma's 1987 movie.
Scripted by Pulitzer Prize winner and Chicago native David Mamet ("Glengarry Glen Ross"), "The Untouchables" is not so much a study in character development as based on a western's classic "good versus evil" setup; although that doesn't mean that its protagonists are two-dimensional in any way. On the contrary: Robert De Niro imbues his Capone with a ruthlessness and glib charm very likely matching those of the real "Scarface," who was known for his little hesitation to commit murder and other acts of violence as much as he cultivated a reputation as a savvy businessman and benefactor of the poor, for example by running several soup kitchens. (And yes, all of De Niro's mannerisms are on full display, too; but rarely have they fitted a role as well as here.) Kevin Costner's Eliot Ness may be a little too assertive - Robert Stack once commented, after several conversations with Ness's nearest and dearest, that the real-life Treasury Agent had been described to him as "rather soft-spoken, but very effective and brave" - but mildness is certainly not the principle trait written into the larger-than-life role of the man who "got" Al Capone, and Costner *is* an effective lead; although he is matched (not entirely sidelined, but darn near outplayed) by Sean Connery, who deservedly won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a National Board of Review Award as the crotchety old-timer Malone who has seen it all, somehow managed to stay both clean and alive, and now lets Ness talk him into becoming his tutor in all things Chicago Gangland. Andy Garcia, in his break-through role, is instantly likable as George Stone, the smart, fast kid from the South Side who doesn't take kindly to put-downs of his origin but can nail a human target with one hand while lying down and holding a baby stroller with the other hand. Charles Martin Smith finally brings humanity and subtle humor to the character probably closest to the real-life "Untouchables," accountant Oscar Wallace, who first has the idea to charge Capone for income tax evasion. Strong performances by Billy Drago as Capone's right-hand man Frank Nitti (who of course was not really thrown off a rooftop by Ness), Richard Bradford as Police Chief Mike Dorsett, Patricia Clarkson as Ness's wife, Jack Kehoe as Capone's bookkeeper Walter Payne and others round out an altogether impressive cast.
Unmistakeably scored by Ennio Morricone (whose style often, and certainly here, doesn't even take a full bar to recognize; and who with an ASCAP Award, a Grammy and a BAFTA Award was the movie's other major winner besides Connery), "The Untouchables" lives off its splendid cinematography, production design - costumes courtesy of Giorgio Armani - and the exquisite timing of its sharp-edged dialogue and editing: Not only is screenwriter Mamet known to have his actors practice their lines according to a metronome; the editing of some of the movie's most memorable scenes has the distinct feeling of a carefully choreographed, veritable ballet. This is particularly true for Malone's death, pointedly set against the aria "Vesti la Giubba" from Ruggero Leoncavallo's opera "I Pagliacci" ("The Clowns"), which is based on a real-life murder and which Capone attends while his lieutenants waylay Malone in his own apartment; and the famous shoot-out in Chicago's Union Station, which turns into a deadly dance of bullets, blood and a baby stroller, shot almost entirely in slow motion.
Paradoxically, the one plot element this movie is most often criticized for - the jury switch at Capone's trial - is one of the few facts that actually did take place (although Capone's attorney would have had to be given the right to conduct a new voir dire). But ultimately, it doesn't even really matter how much of the plot is fact-based and how much fiction: Even if "The Untouchables" doesn't quite reach the mythical status of the "Godfather" trilogy - particularly its Parts 1 and 2 - as the mob movie to end all mob movies, it is one of only a handful other films that at least come close to the proportions of Francis Ford Coppola's epic masterpiece.
Also recommended:
The Untouchables
Eliot Ness and the Untouchables: The Historical Reality and the Film and Television Depictions
Capone: The Life and World of Al Capone
Scarface
Carlito's Way
Wise Guys
GoodFellas
Casino (Widescreen 10th Anniversary Edition)
Once Upon a Time in America (Two-Disc Special Edition)
The Godfather DVD Collection (The Godfather/ The Godfather - Part II/ The Godfather - Part III)

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In THE UNTOUCHABLES, federal agent Elliot Ness leads a group of mob fighters with the intent of taking out the infamous Al Capone in 1930's Prohibition-era Chicago.Realizing that practical methods will not work in securing Capone's capture, Ness and his men resort to using even more force in order to take down the Chicago mob boss once and for all.

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