Paramount has FINALLY given us a quality release of Brian De Palma's The Untouchables with this awesome 4K blu-ray release.
Release Date: June 3rd, 1987 (theatrical) / May 31st, 2022 (4K blu-ray)
Run Time: 1 hour 59 minutes 26 seconds
Region Code: FREE
Picture: 2160p (2.35:1 aspect ratio)
Sound: English Dolby Atmos, English Dolby TrueHD 7.1 , Czech Dolby Digital 2.0, German Dolby Digital 2.0, Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, French Dolby Digital 5.1, Italian Dolby Digital 5.1, Japanese Dolby Digital 5.1, Polish Dolby Digital 2.0, and Russian Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles: English, English SDH, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, and Czech
Slipcover: Yes
Digital Copy: Yes
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Andy Garcia, Charles Martin Smith, and Robert De Niro
Written by David Mamet
Directed by Brian De Palma
Rating: R (violence and language)
NOTE: There are no screenshots contained in this review as Paramount doesn't include blu-rays with most of their 4Ks nowadays. I also don't have the ability (which I am working on) to take screenshots from a 4K disc. I also didn't want to include screenshots from the 2007 blu-ray as that transfer and the 4K transfer are not comparable AT ALL and including them would have been a disservice to the 4K release.
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Poster
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What's It About?
After building an empire with bootleg alcohol, legendary crime boss Al Capone rules Chicago with an iron fist. Though Prohibition agent Eliot Ness attempts to take Capone down, even his best efforts fail due to widespread corruption within the Windy City's police force. Recruiting an elite group of lawmen who won't be swayed by bribes or fear, including Irish-American cop Jimmy Malone, Ness renews his determination to bring Capone to justice.
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Film Review
I have loved THE UNTOUCHABLES ever since I saw it in the early 90s. I was far too young to understand the complexities of the script, but I knew I was watching something special. The dialogue is something I had never heard before and the direction was a step above what the film called for. This was the film that showed me that you can take material like this and direct it like a thriller. The acting is also very good with Connery deserving every award he won for it. He is so good here. Costner is also good as well, but he is constantly overshadowed by Connery. I have always thought that the casting of De Niro as Al Capone was a little bit too on the nose, but sometimes you have to play bits of your project safe just so you can get away with all the other stuff you have planned. The action scenes are also very memorable with the staircase shootout being a highlight. THE UNTOUCHABLES is a great film that actually gets better everything you watch it.
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Video/Audio
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and sporting a brand new 4K restoration, THE UNTOUCHABLES looks so good. For more than a decade, we have had to deal with the 2007 blu-ray that was so very ugly. Gone are the smearing of the visuals and the DNR and in their place is a nice grain structure and detail. The detail on display here is pretty damn deep. When Costner is giving the press conference at the beginning of the film, you can see the fibers in his coat. Just watching him here, you can feel the coat in your hands. You know the feeling that kind of coat gives off. Colors are pretty muted throughout the film, but that is by design. This transfer gives them a closer look to how they are supposed to look. I am so happy that Paramount decided to give this long ignored title the honor of a new transfer.
The new Atmos track is pretty nice. Dialogue sounds great and the Ennio Morricone score shines through all the way through the film.
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Extras/Packaging
The Script, The Cast (18m 31s, SD, 1.33:1)
Production Stories (17m 18s, SD, 1.33:1)
Re-Inventing the Genre (14m 24s, SD, 1.33:1)
The Classic (5m 39s, SD, 1.66:1)
Original Featurette: "The Men" (5m 26s, SD, 1.33:1)
Theatrical Trailer (2m 49s, HD, 1.78:1)
All of the above special features have been ported over from the 2007 blu-ray, which were ported from the 2004 "Special Collector's Edition" DVD. They cover the making of the film through various featurettes.
THE UNTOUCHABLES comes to us from Paramount Pictures. The slipcover is pretty nice with some brand new artwork I have never seen before with our four heroes standing at the top of the stairwell where the famous stairwell shootout takes place with the title of the film running up the stairs towards them. The disc inside is your basic Paramount disc art which is a background with white lettering. No pictures or anything. The included digital copy can be redeemed through Apple or VUDU and is not a part of MOVIES ANYWHERE.
The disc is REGION FREE.
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Overall
This looks to be the closest thing to an Ultimate Edition for THE UNTOUCHABLES than we are ever going to get. I don't really think that much more can be said about the film, but it would have been nice to get something new like a historian commentary track, but the making ofs are pretty good. The film is a classic and the picture and audio marks are very high. The film hasn't looked this good since it was first released in theaters 35 years ago.
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Packaging
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 4K Blu-ray Review){kind=link}
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