Oct. 6: The Untouchables
I remember when The Untouchables movie came out in theatres. The year
was 1987 and I was 14. I didn't get to see it in the theatre but a lot
of my friends went and they said it was a good movie. The most
interesting thing about it, according to Entertainment Tonight, was it
marked the triumphant return of Sean Connery.
But of corsh it wuzz
Actually, Sean Connery never went anywhere. What the showbiz media was saying was that this was Mr. Connery's first high profile role since he gave up the James Bond mantle following 1971's Diamonds are Forever.* Indeed, he spent the previous decade and a half appearing in more forgettable fare like The Name of the Rose, Five Days one Summer and 1984's smash hit Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
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The 1987 version of The Untouchables was written by my hero, David Mamet. The film itself looks like a 100-minute commercial for Giorgio Armani, who designed the costumes. The story is supposed to be about Eliot Ness's prohibition-era crusade to take down Al Capone and his bootlegging operation. Instead we get a bunch of really cool looking set pieces, briefly interrupted by a trip to Canada.
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Sometime after The Untouchables came out, an actor friend of mine in Calgary signed up for this audition contest thingee happening in L.A. One of the coaches/sponsors/people involved was Billy Drago, who Kevin Costner threw off a roof in The Untouchables. My actor friend, reading from the contest ad, said that Billy Drago was "one of the fastest rising actors in Hollywood today."
Well, his IMDB page tells me he's been working steadily since 1987, even had a small role in Tremors 4. Even so, I doubt Mr. Drago will wind up on the A-list anytime soon.
Get this, my friend says that he and Mr. Drago became chummy during their time in L.A. and that the whole contest was something of a scam.
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I like the mythos of The Untouchables - namely that there are some men (and women) who cannot be corrupted. They will not sell out for money, prestige, revenge or anything that the devil might throw at their feet. I'm sure there are people like this out there. No one like that appears in Goodfellas.
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* Never Say Never Again doesn't count.
But of corsh it wuzzActually, Sean Connery never went anywhere. What the showbiz media was saying was that this was Mr. Connery's first high profile role since he gave up the James Bond mantle following 1971's Diamonds are Forever.* Indeed, he spent the previous decade and a half appearing in more forgettable fare like The Name of the Rose, Five Days one Summer and 1984's smash hit Sword of the Valiant: The Legend of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
-
The 1987 version of The Untouchables was written by my hero, David Mamet. The film itself looks like a 100-minute commercial for Giorgio Armani, who designed the costumes. The story is supposed to be about Eliot Ness's prohibition-era crusade to take down Al Capone and his bootlegging operation. Instead we get a bunch of really cool looking set pieces, briefly interrupted by a trip to Canada.
-
Sometime after The Untouchables came out, an actor friend of mine in Calgary signed up for this audition contest thingee happening in L.A. One of the coaches/sponsors/people involved was Billy Drago, who Kevin Costner threw off a roof in The Untouchables. My actor friend, reading from the contest ad, said that Billy Drago was "one of the fastest rising actors in Hollywood today."
Well, his IMDB page tells me he's been working steadily since 1987, even had a small role in Tremors 4. Even so, I doubt Mr. Drago will wind up on the A-list anytime soon.
Get this, my friend says that he and Mr. Drago became chummy during their time in L.A. and that the whole contest was something of a scam.
-
I like the mythos of The Untouchables - namely that there are some men (and women) who cannot be corrupted. They will not sell out for money, prestige, revenge or anything that the devil might throw at their feet. I'm sure there are people like this out there. No one like that appears in Goodfellas.
-
* Never Say Never Again doesn't count.
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