The Crime Thriller That Cemented Kevin Costner as a Star 40 Years Ago Is Still a Massive Streaming Hit
The 40-Year-Old Crime Epic That Turned Kevin Costner Into a Star Is Still Dominating Streaming
Gangster movies have existed almost as long as cinema itself. During the 1930s, classics like Little Caesar and Angels with Dirty Faces captured audiences’ imaginations by dramatizing the chaos and crime of the Prohibition era. A year before Prohibition ended, Scarface (1932) hit theaters, introducing Paul Muni’s Tony Camonte — a fictional mobster clearly inspired by real-life crime boss Al Capone.
These early crime sagas paved the way for film noir, where moral ambiguity and flawed heroes took center stage. Performances like Humphrey Bogart’s in High Sierra (1941) and Marlon Brando’s brooding turn in On the Waterfront (1954) brought new emotional depth to tales of organized crime. But when modern audiences think of gangster films, a few defining titles dominate the conversation — none more so than Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather (1972) and Martin Scorsese’s Goodfellas (1990). Yet, three years before Goodfellas hit theaters, another gem of the genre arrived — and it’s currently experiencing a major resurgence on streaming platforms.
The True Story Behind The Untouchables
Directed by Brian De Palma, The Untouchables tells the real-life story of federal agent Eliot Ness and his mission to bring down Chicago’s most notorious mob boss, Al Capone. Kevin Costner stars as Ness, joined by Sean Connery as the streetwise veteran cop Jim Malone, Andy Garcia as sharpshooter George Stone, and Charles Martin Smith as the mild-mannered accountant Oscar Wallace.
Frustrated by corruption within the police force, Ness assembles a small team of honest officers — a group the press famously dubbed “The Untouchables.” The film, adapted from Ness’s 1957 memoir co-written with journalist Oscar Fraley, dramatizes their daring pursuit of Capone. Following Wallace’s advice to target Capone through his finances, Ness and his men set out to prove that the mob boss could be taken down not by bullets, but by paperwork.
While based on real events, De Palma’s version leans more toward legend than strict history. In reality, the Untouchables were a large, rotating team of investigators, not the tight four-man crew seen in the film. David Mamet’s screenplay heightens the drama, inventing Connery’s character entirely to serve as a moral guide for Ness. The result is a “fedora Western” — stylish, mythic, and emotionally charged.
Why The Untouchables Still Feels Timeless
Nearly four decades later, The Untouchables remains a neo-noir classic, thanks largely to its unforgettable performances. Then-rising star Andy Garcia made a lasting impression, while Sean Connery earned an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his gruff, charming portrayal of Malone. Robert De Niro’s Capone isn’t on screen much, but his menacing presence — and that infamous baseball bat scene — still chills audiences.
De Palma, who had previously directed Al Pacino in Scarface (1983), reinvigorated the gangster genre with The Untouchables. Its most famous moment — the tense Union Station shootout — remains a masterclass in suspense and visual storytelling, directly inspired by the “Odessa Steps” sequence in Sergei Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin (1925). The scene has been parodied countless times, most memorably in Naked Gun 33⅓, proving its enduring cultural impact.
Adding to the film’s power is Ennio Morricone’s breathtaking score. Known for his Western themes in The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and Once Upon a Time in the West, Morricone brings both grandeur and tension to De Palma’s world. His work here remains one of the film’s defining elements — elegant, haunting, and unmistakably cinematic.
The Movie That Made Kevin Costner a Star
For Kevin Costner, The Untouchables was a breakthrough. His performance as the idealistic Eliot Ness transformed him from a promising actor into a major Hollywood leading man. The film opened the door to career-defining roles in Bull Durham (1988) and Field of Dreams (1989), before Costner’s 1990 directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, swept the Oscars — winning Best Picture and Best Director, even triumphing over Goodfellas and The Godfather Part III.
A Legacy of Style, Story, and Star Power
The Untouchables stands today as both a thrilling piece of entertainment and an important chapter in the evolution of the gangster genre. It may not be perfectly true to history, but its blend of style, emotion, and moral weight ensures its lasting appeal. Nearly 40 years later, it’s easy to see why this story of integrity versus corruption continues to captivate audiences — and why Kevin Costner’s star has never truly dimmed.
