But how accurate are these fictionalized portrayals of Ness, and especially his role in bringing down Al Capone?
How Accurate Is Kevin Costner’s Portrayal in Brian De Palma’s ‘The Untouchables’?
Al Capone plays a major role in De Palma’s film adaptation ofThe Untouchables.
Custom Image by Nimesh Niyomal
Ness is able to put together a case that ends ina showy trialand a conviction.
Capone is sentenced to over a decade in prison.
All of this happened in real life,except Ness was not a part of it.
Image via Paramount Pictures
It is true that Ness investigated Capone during his time in Chicago.
However, the case that brought Capone down wasbuilt by attorneys and IRS agents.
Tarantino also watched the underrated road trip dramedy in theaters five times.
But just a few months later,The Untouchables(co-written with sportswriterOscar Fraley) was published.
MaybeNess wasn’t the hero that the movies have made him out to be.
The Canadian border shootout in De Palma’s film never happened, nor did the train station shootout.
During Prohibition, Treasury agent Eliot Ness sets out to stop ruthless Chicago gangster Al Capone, and assembles a small, incorruptible team to help him.
But Hollywood has always been about mythmaking, andThe Untouchablesmakes for a damn good story.
