Kevin Costner’s Star-Making Role Is Available To Stream Right Now
The Untouchables is streaming on Paramount+ and MGM+.
Although these days he’s known as John Dutton, Kevin Costner has worn many hats over the years. In 1987, the burgeoning star donned the hat of Eliot Ness, the man who would see it as his life work to bring down the infamous gangster, Al Capone, and enforce prohibition in Chicago. Helmed by Scarface director Brian De Palma, Costner’s critically celebrated performance in The Untouchables is now available to stream on both Paramount+ and MGM+.
A little over a decade since the world lost its mind over the first two films in The Godfather trilogy and three years before The Godfather 3 would come out, Kevin Costner joined an all-star lineup that saw some of the biggest names in the biz resurrect the crime drama genre. Along with the Yellowstone star, The Untouchables starred Robert De Niro, Sean Connery, Andy García, Charles Martin Smith, Billy Drago, Richard Bradford, Jack Kehoe, Patricia Clarkson, and Brad Sullivan. While much of the film’s plot is fictionalized, it did take bits and pieces from real-life events and also used the 1957 book of the same name as a guidepost.
In The Untouchables, audiences watch as Kevin Costner’s Eliot Ness forms the titular team to bring down ruthless mafioso Al Capone (Robert De Niro) and all those associated with him. The year is 1930 and prohibition is the new law in town. Seeing dollar signs in the business of booze smuggling, Capone rises to the top of the list as the most wanted man in the city of Chicago.
The Untouchables (1987)
A hit among fans and critics alike, The Untouchables was one of the top films of the year raking in a whopping $106.2 million against its $25 million budget. The performances of the leading cast members including Robert De Niro, Kevin Costner, and Sean Connery were celebrated by critics with the latter receiving an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. While none of the other members of the cast were nominated at that year’s Oscars, the film was up for Best Original Score, Best Art Direction, and Best Costume Design.
Seeing the success in films like The Godfather Part II which served as part sequel and part prequel to Francis Ford Coppola’s original feature, Antoine Fuqua saw the potential in revamping the original story told by Kevin Costner and the rest of The Untouchables cast. In 2004, the Training Day director revealed that he would be working on a prequel spinoff for the film which would be titled Capone Rising. Although they signed on major names including Nicolas Cage, Benicio del Toro, and Gerard Butler, the project was ultimately scrapped, never to see the light of day.
Many could say that The Untouchables launched a resurgence of the world’s love of mafia-centered crime movies as, over the next few years, a slurry of celebrated titles would be released. There was, of course, the aforementioned The Godfather Part III which put the final nail in the Corleone family’s casket, followed by Martin Scorcese’s classic Goodfellas, and Robert De Niro’s directorial debut in A Bronx Tale. But, unlike his castmate De Niro, Kevin Costner for the most part put the crime drama life behind him and sought out other opportunities following The Untouchables.
A launching pad for his career, Kevin Costner used the steam behind The Untouchables to jump-start the rest of his time in Hollywood, soon gaining traction in celebrated titles including Field of Dreams and Revenge. Taking things to the next level, the star would soon dive into his directorial debut, Dances with Wolves, in which he also starred. An Academy Award-winning piece of cinema, this was Costner’s true ticket to the big time.
Since his early days, we’ve seen Kevin Costner cover ground like no other, having appeared in beloved titles including JFK, Waterworld, Dragonfly, Man of Steel, Hidden Figures, and Let Him Go. Of course, over the last few years, he’s most notably starred as John Dutton on the hit series Yellowstone, a role that he’ll soon be bidding adieu to when the show bows out after its fifth season.
But, Kevin Costner fans shouldn’t be wary about when they’ll next see the award-winning actor as he already has his eyes turned towards the Horizon. Aptly named Horizon, Costner has his hands in another Western epic that he hopes to see branch out into a slew of spin-offs and other possibilities. As of right now, the debut film hasn’t set a release date but stay tuned for more information.
