The Untouchables · reception & legacy

1987 · Brian De Palma

How The Untouchables has been received, argued over, and remembered.

The arc

A big summer hit in 1987 that won Sean Connery his only Oscar, it's since settled into a curious spot: the most mainstream, crowd-pleasing film of De Palma's career — which is exactly why some De Palma diehards rank it lower than his weirder work.

What's debated

The eternal fan fight: Connery's Oscar-winning Irish cop delivered in an unbudging Scottish accent — beloved performance or the most charming miscasting ever rewarded?

Its footprint

"He pulls a knife, you pull a gun... that's the Chicago way" is permanent quote-canon, and the Union Station staircase shootout with the baby carriage is one of the most referenced and parodied set pieces in American movies.

Where it stands

A dad-movie staple and gateway De Palma — the one everyone's seen, even people who couldn't name another De Palma film.

★ Did you know? Bob Hoskins was paid a reported six figures as a standby Al Capone in case Robert De Niro fell through — and when the cheque arrived anyway, Hoskins phoned De Palma to ask if there were any other films he didn't want him in.

Named by the director

Influences Brian De Palma has publicly named — the director's own word, distinct from the inferred lines of influence.

Battleship Potemkin (1925) — De Palma has openly acknowledged the station staircase sequence as an homage to Eisenstein's Odessa Steps.