In Brian De Palma's film 'The Untouchables' how does he create a feeling of suspense and tension for the audience in the railway station

Authors Avatar

 Samira Beckett

In Brian De Palma’s film. ‘The Untouchables’ how does he create a feeling of suspense and tension for the audience in the railway station

During the 1920’s many people were unemployed because of the poor economic conditions in America and to make it worse, were drinking to make their lives more tolerable. The government decided to ban the sale and drinking of alcohol, this was period was called ‘The Prohibition’. People continued to want to drink and this lead people to go to illegal bars or “speakeasies” which sprang up all over America. Gangsters such as Al Capone and others saw this as an opportunity to make money by transporting and supplying alcohol to the them.. As a result they became so wealthy and well organised that during the 1930’s a special police unit was set up to combat them and their illegal activities, these were called the G Men of which Elliot Ness is the most famous.

The film ‘The Untouchables’ is directed by Brian de Palma and set in the 1930’s. It tells a story about the mob criminal gang leader Al Capone who sold and transported alcohol, which was illegal at that time in America. He was also responsible for the deaths of many people and became involved in numerous other criminal activities. A treasury officer names Elliot Ness was brought in to stop Capone but had no proof that he was involved in any of these activities. However, Ness found a way to bring down him down by arresting him for tax evasion. Ness achieved this by threatening Capone’s bookkeeper to reveal the secret codes which held all Capone’s financial transactions. This eventually was his key to his downfall and later imprisonment.

Join now!

In the station scene, the two treasury officers, Elliot Ness and George Stone are waiting for Al Capone’s bookkeeper to arrive. He is the only person who can translate the ledger which holds all the information to bring down Capone; without the bookkeeper there would be no stopping Capone. The arrest of the bookkeeper should be fairly easy but Ness finds himself in with for reasons. Being a caring person he is helps a woman struggling to bring her baby up the stairs. While doing this Ness recognizes one of the gang members, taking out his gun he single-handedly ...

This is a preview of the whole essay