“The Untouchables” (1987) [R]

     Brian DePalma’s film “The Untouchables” was really quite a break-through for most of its actors, Sean Connery and Robert De Niro being the only actors in it with well-known backgrounds in cinema. It is an incredible period piece, with some of the most exciting drama to be seen to date, and each of the actors gave terrific performances, especially bearing in mind that most of them became famous through this movie. The tale is truly gripping from start to finish, never letting up, and never letting go of the audience.

     The story is that of Eliot Ness’s group of “Untouchables” in the 1930s, whose sole purpose is to catch and incriminate Al Capone. It takes place during the time of Prohibition, and does a great job of showing Chicago during the Prohibition Era. The creators of this movie had sets and appliances on the sets that were around during the ‘30s, such as the styles of cars, guns, house appliances, and many more. This film also has the most mesmerizing drama to date. It rattles and plays with the emotions through the whole tale.

     A majority of the actors in “The Untouchables” weren’t all that well-known before they joined it. However being in this movie was like an instant claim to fame. Sean Connery and Robert De Niro were really the only two actors who had an established background in the industry. Gateways into fame were opened for actors such as Kevin Costner, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith just because they were in this incredible film and they gave enthralling performances.

     The storyline itself—of Eliot Ness and his fight to put Al Capone behind bars—is a gripping one. It was almost like a legend come to life with the back and forth fights between Ness’s men and Capone’s men. Even with the exciting script, this film wouldn’t be nearly as fascinating without the direction of Brian DePalma. This is one of the best movies of the Crime/Drama genre, and it’s difficult to find anything wrong with any part of this film. The entire production was done beautifully and is a great addition to cinema.

          My overall rating: 4.8 out of 5

“Barton Fink” (1991) [R]

     “Barton Fink” is one of those movies that usually don’t show up on people’s radar. Some people probably won’t even remember much advertising for it either. This period piece set in the forties is an excellent look into a writer’s life. It is an intriguing drama with some of the best dialogue seen in any of the Coen brother’s movies. It is also filled to the brim with symbolism, including things in the dialogue and objects in the scenes. This film is truly deserving of the Oscar-nomination it received, however the only bad thing about it is that the way it was laid out can be a bit confusing at first to anyone who doesn’t quite catch the symbolism.

     The story, set in the forties, did a remarkable job of taking the audience back to that time. It is one of the most entertaining period pieces that have been made so far. The Coen brothers proved themselves yet again as incredible filmmakers. They also gave an excellent look into the life of a writer, and what it can be like struggling through writer’s block. The whole movie, in fact, is set over the writer, played by John Turturro, who is trying to write a script and can’t because of the block. John Turturro really became the character in this movie, acting like writers of that time.

     Dialogue is an interesting thing to pay attention to in movies, and can be a stressful thing when writing it out. It’s hard enough to write out a dialogue for a movie, and it’s just as hard, if not harder, to act it out. The Coen brothers did an amazing job on the dialogue, and the actors did just as good when acting it out for the cameras. Much of the dialogue is filled with little conversational fillers that were true to that time such as “I sure am sorry there,” and “Well ain’t that a kick in the head.” The conversational fillers were simply ways of making your conversation longer, and were popular in that time, which only does more to make the audience feel like they really are in that era.

     Another thing that can be a hassle for filmmakers to put in their movies is symbolism. It can be a hard thing to remember throughout the story and it can also put up a struggle because of the assumption that everyone in the audience will pick up on it right away. The Coen brothers took the gamble of filling the film with symbols from start to finish, and for the most part it worked. Much of the symbolism is very entertaining, some of which can also be comical, however there is a risk that they run in putting so many symbols in it. Not all of the viewers are going to catch on so easily to some of the symbols. This means that the symbols will go either unnoticed or may even confuse the parts of the audience who don’t catch on. All in all it was a highly entertaining movie worth watching more than once.

          My overall rating: 3.5 out of 5