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There really are two ways of looking at a movie when it is based on the true story. When I see a movie of this type, I always struggle with the two choices, and usually end up somewhere in the middle. The Untouchables is that kind of movie. To start off with, I think that its a great film, director Brian De Palmas well done work.
However, as is usual when the tale of Al Capone and Eliot Ness is told, some facts are taken with the source material. Manufacturing a confrontation between Ness and Capone does indeed enhance the storyline in The Untouchables, and for that, we must thank the director and the excellent work of the operator. To start off, lets deal with Kevin Costner, as he is the head of his division. Costner plays Ness with his (by now) typical calm man demeanor manages to make him much more human, more down to earth, more helpless than not. Ness is undecided at times, and needs guidance.
He has a goal and a vision, but also knows that he needs help to bring it about, and here, he gets that help from an honest beat cop named Malone, essayed by Connery. Connery alters his Scottish accent a little to sound the Irish he plays, and his sense of timing is perfect. Connery truly shines as the one good cop in a rotten city. And then, to top it all off, these two strong protagonist characters get to go up against Deniro's Al Capone. It can be said that Robert DeNiro is the finest actor in Hollywood, playing a decadent gangster. I enjoy DeNiro so much, that I tend to overlook bad things in his movies.
Here, though, he is in good company. Capone is a jolly good time guy, who is hard as nails, and tough as steel underneath. He keeps his public persona public, but everyone knows that there are fists of steel in the velvet gloves. Just an awesome performance, all around. This movie conveys the idea of The Fight between Goodness and Evil. On one side Ness and his squad personalize the low and the order.
On the other side we have Capone and his guys personalize lawlessness, crime, and so on. At the beginning of the movie it is very interesting how Capone is introduced to us. Before the movie is started we hear a gunshot, in the darkness. Then the long shot (taken from a crane) with no sound. It makes us to feel like we are looking at the well.
We read the text, which says about violence, and in the button of the well Capone lying at a chair with a towel closes his face. He is given an interview, and then we will see him again lying in bad with reading the article CRUSADER CAP BUSTS OUT. And giggling at his contender. At the first scene we see a blood on Capone cheek.
The operator made a grate job. Here we see that Capone is very dangerous. All journalists stopped talking at once, there is silence again. First we see as Capone is touching the cheek, then reaction shot of the barber man, who is really scared to death. Reaction shot of Capone, who now realized that he hasnt been cut. Insert cut of barber man looking at his cut finger. (If Capone has been cut the barber man would be dead soon).
The fact that Capone has been shot in a high angle shot is given us a thought who he really is, although he has a great deal attitude from the journalist. As he lying in a chair his hand looks little, he is nefarious man. Capone makes his money on the grief of other people. Filmmaker assures us from the beginning that Capone will be fall, by showing him in the high angle shot.
The sequence of shots, after we got to know who Capone is, and about to be introduce to another actor, is slight by the scene when a little girl dying in a bomb explosion. The murder of little girl appears to show us who Capone really is and would cause the additional reason for Ness at the time when he would doubt his acts. When Ness arrives to Chicago, he faced that there is no one, who would follow his attitude to the life, how he leads the one. The cause of it is that he is very specific to the low and always within the low. He even cant accomplish himself within the policemen who are doing the same job and have the same goals.
The only man who may understand him is Malone (Sean Connery). They have the same rules - to be good cops in a rotten city. The mice-en-scene, where he met Malone the dark light (shooting day for night). He stands in the middle of the bridge looking through the newspaper, down at the water. Soft music is given us sadness that he has in his soul. One low angle shot shows us Nash holding the newspaper also shows the lantern on the left.
Next shot when Nash going to Malone. We see deep focus. In sharp focus is Malone and behind him the way which brightly lighten, on his left we see the half of Nash figure. That shot shows that Malone has a lot of experience, he is not young as Nash, and as a matter of fact he has a great hair. The next shots on the bridge always shows us Malone is going off and Nash is trying to catch him. When Nash asking Malone his name and union we see the montage.
Before Nash asked him, Malone was going off him, after the question he turned and started to walk towards. Dolly shot now shows the back of Malone and the face of Nash. We see that after Nash's back there is nothing, which emphasizes that he has no experience. This montage is given as a thought that they would come along eventually. We will see the assimilation of this scene with the scene when Nash's division would catch the convoy of spirit beverages, which Capone wants to buy. This scene is happening in the day (natural sunlight).
Also we mention here the fact that the Canadian police are working together with Chicago. The light hints that Ness deals are going much better. Father more the montage presenting here is made very professional. We see one car crossing the bridge from the left to the right (we first saw it on the bridge). Soon after that we see the reaction shot of Nash, sound bridge of the cars sound, then point of view shows us the car (which happened to be occurred through trees, makes us alert) which moves to the left.
When Nash and Malone in the church mice-en-scene is similar to Citizen Kane. We see them most of the time in low angle shot. The entire scene we see the ceiling above them. That shows that they are trapped. At the beginning of the scene, when Malone is talking about what will happen if Nash would go further to fight with Capone, we see the window right after Malone back.
He is offering a deal to Nash. That is the way out, through Malone experience. After Nash's back we see the picture of the God, which represents his clear thought. His speech, where he sworn to put Capone in jail. That he will do everything within the low. Then they agree to work with each other and here we see two windows, two ways from the trap.
The mice-en-scene at the little house, where they are waiting for the Capons convoy to be arrived. It is worth to mention as the frame arranged Malone is always in the middle of the room and in the sharp focus. Nash, George, the accountant, all are standing near the windows, as Malone walking from character to another and given some advises - demonstrates against the significant of Malone. Especially impression was made when Malone made a trick by shooting the dead man in the head, so that the Capons manager was agreed to say everything he knows. Malone's characteristics are open in the scene when he and Ness enroll George Stone (young Italian). In that scene we see how Malone challenges George and finally made him angry.
Although Malone makes him crazy his real purpose is to evaluate the reaction of George. To have seen his reaction Malone understood that this guy would suit them perfect. Now we also see that he is a good psychologist. George enrolled to their division because of his fastness, and smartness. At the near end of the movie when Nash and George are going to take the book-keeper, we see the running wheel of the car, then camera goes up to black color annex and to the face of George (who has black color hair), that is plastic dissolve cut. The operator is comparing Georges fastness with the fast of the wheel.
As a matter of fact he is very fast that he saved the Nash's life. When their first capture is accomplished, we see them sitting around the table having dinner, the recurring imager of reporter is occurring again to take a picture of them. This picture would always be with Nash as a memory of the grate victory. This reporter will occur again when the accountant is about to be killed.
He follows Ness everywhere. The reporter reminds me of the one we saw in the movie Citizen Kane. However in The Untouchables we can see his face well. What it represents is that Ness is a significant man, who ca...
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Research essay sample on Matter Of Fact Citizen Kane
