Analysis of a Scene from The Untouchables.

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Film Studies

Analysis of a Scene

The Untouchables

The Station Steps – sequence

The Major Credits for The Untouchables

The Untouchables, 1987,

Paramount,

running time 115 minutes approx

Producer                        Art Linson

Director                        Brian De Palma

Writer                        David Mamet

Director of Photography        Stephen H. Burum

Editor                        Jerry Greenberg

Music                        Ennio Morricone

Visual Consultant                Patrizia von Brandenstein

Art Director                William A. Elllíot

Cast                        Kevin Costner                 (Elliot Ness)

                        Sean Connery                 (Jim Malone)

                        Robert De Niro                 (Al Capone)

                        Andy Garcia                 (G. Stone)

                        Charles Martin Smith        (O. Wallace)

Jim Malone

Introduction

When I saw the Station Steps – scene the first time I liked and enjoyed it . But after I saw Battleship Potemkin I wanted to watch this sequence again. This time with a critical point of view instead of watching the film through the eyes of a pre-teenager.  Brian De Palma borrowed quite directly from Eisestein’s Potemkin’s key scene’s elements: stairs, baby in a carriage rolling down the stairs - and used these to illustrate his films mood. The style is relevant to Eisenstein’s  montage. Cutting between the babycarriage and violent gun shootout makes the watcher become more involved.  The other montage element, which could be called metric montage, is how the speed of editing increases  when the shootout starts.  

This film fits into the genre of the ganster film.  There are very familliar elements: for example tommy guns, brutal dominating boss of the underworld, the costumes etc. Also this movie could be categorized within the drama and crime genre.  

The film takes place in 1930s prohibition-era Chicago. When Al Capone is the head of the underworld and he controls almost everything in the city.  As it said in the film he is almost like a governor of Chicago with all the power  he has got.  The Federal Bureau of Investigation sets a young agent, Elliot Ness, to catch Capone.  Ness collects a three man group and these fellows start to battle against Capone’s empire.  Their struggle begins succesfully. Capone gets frustrated because his business suffers  from the actions of Ness’ group. Capone arranges the death to two members of this untouchable group. The second to be assianated is Ness’ very close friend Malone. His last words lead Elliot and  Stone into the Railway Station because  they need Capone’s bookkeeper  alive so he can testify against Capone in court. This sequence  occurs at this point in the film.  In this sequence there is a conflict between the good and the bad guys. The drama comes from this conflict: Will they get their man?  

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I will concentrate on the aspects of building tension. I consider that there are no deeper meaning in this scene.  De Palma just took advantage of  one of movie history’s classical scenes or made a tribute for Eisenstein. Although it is a well done scene if the origin is forgotten.  The dramatic elements are built quite interestingly. I start the analyse when Ness and Stone arrive into the station and end it when the baby carriages are saved by Stone.

Analysis

Lighting and Colour

There is used high-key lighting with dark shadow areas to create the atmospere ...

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