De Palma's Masterpiece

Rating: 9/10 (2 August 2009)

De Palma has always been a stylist, but many of his films have become examples of style over substance due to weak scripts. Here he has the luxury of working with a marvelous script by Mamet, one that is refreshingly simple and direct in pitting the good guys against the bad guys. De Palma's dynamic direction is marked by a fluid camera, aided by evocative sets, crisp cinematography, and another great score by Morricone. Costner is well cast as Ness, but is overshadowed by Connery as a seasoned cop and De Niro as Capone. The highlight of the film is the sequence at the train station that pays homage to the Oddessa steps scene of Eisenstein's "The Battleship Potemkin."