Comments on: Structure: The Untouchables

By: Karel FG Segers

Karel FG Segers — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 01:20:47 +0000

Great points. Thank you, Philip.
I particularly appreciate your note on the “High Tower Surprise”.

By: Philip Zamora

Philip Zamora — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 01:13:10 +0000

As I reflect upon this movie, I can see the scene at the train station as the Plot Point that brings is out of Act II and into Act III. Ness finally gets hold of the accountant and the court trial can begin.

You can also see the death of the mentor Malone as the All Is Lost story beat. It is followed up by a Dark Night of the Soul in which Ness has to figure out a way to nab Capone without his mentor to guide him. He is truly on his own now.

One other story beat that I learned from Blake Snyder is the High Tower Surprise that comes in the middle of Act III and inspires a new plan to achieve victory. That sounds like the scene where Ness meets privately with the judge and switches the juries at the trial.

By: ozzywood

ozzywood — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 11:24:00 +0000

In reply to Ramin Farahani. Brilliant comment. I agree completely. In fact, before you even mentioned it, I realized the similarity with Jaws....

By: Ramin Farahani

Ramin Farahani — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:30:00 +0000

Hi Karel,

Great job on breaking down the script. helps that I love this movie too :)

Inciting Incident – It’s my understanding that the Inciting Incident is something that occurs very early in the film (in many cases in as early as the first few minutes of the film). In my opinion the inciting incident is the blowing up of the pub, but not because it killed a little girl but because it establishes that, in contrast to his speech in the preceding scene (“It’s bad for business”), Al Capone is indeed the man who has unleashed an epidemic of violence across the city, and thus put the city of Chicago under threat (illustrated by the killing of a little girl). It is ultimately this threat to Chicago city that acts as Ness’ call to action.

To illustrate this I take another film which adopts a similar tool to establish the hero’s call to action via the inciting incident; ‘Jaws’. In the opening sequence of this movie, whilst we witness the tragic killing of a young couple, it is not their actual deaths that act as the inciting incident. Their deaths serve only to establish the true inciting incident which in this case is the arrival of a shark whose killing rampages threaten the lives of the good folk of Amity Island. And thus our hero’s call to action shall follow.

Just my two pence.
R

By: Spoiler: Modern Warfare 3′s ‘No Russian’ Moment? | Kotaku Australia

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:07:59 +0000

[…] as unsettling and horrible as it is, we’ve become increasingly used to seeing scenes like that one from 1987′s The Untouchables which showed a little girl being killed by an explosion, that […]

By: Karel Segers

Karel Segers — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 00:03:48 +0000

Here’s your answer:

https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080718022833AA8MiZY

Fabulous piece… Enjoy!

Karel

By: Struzzi

Struzzi — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:28:51 +0000

If someone knows the title of song of the Opera’s sequence please tell me !

By: Struzzi

Struzzi — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:27:42 +0000

Si quelqu’un connait le titre de la pièce devant laquelle Capone pleure à l’opéra, ça m’intéresse énormément ! :)

By: Angelo

Angelo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:20:37 +0000

Isn’t that what makes Ness an adolescent — his naivete?

By: storydude

storydude — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:48:35 +0000

Isn’t THJ about metaphors? Does it always literally have to be an adolescent and adventure?

The Hero is often a flawed adult, who needs to grow or transform. The journey is sometimes not at all adventurous, but dark and menacing.

In his book MYTH AND THE MOVIES, Stuart Voytilla shows how the journey works with a variety of genres and characters.