Word: venality
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WHILE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL young dealers may be venal and vicious, at least some of them have first-rate intellects that in a better environment could have been put to healthier use. "What is really frightening," says Al Schuman, director of Washington's probation program, "is that the kids who are selling these drugs are the bright youngsters, the articulate ones. They understand how to work the system. They can keep track of money, and they know how to run a business. It's almost a corporate mentality...
Twice every four years, in the winter and summer, the earth's youth come together in one emotional place, and the effect always astonishes. As easy as $ a change of costumes, even the most professional and venal of the athletes is transformed during the Olympic procession to an ebullient amateur again, to a waving child...
...wants the first and last word on every subject he touches, whether Central America (Salvador), Viet Nam (Platoon) or Wall Street. This time he works up a salty sweat to end up nowhere, like a triathlete on a treadmill. But as long as he keeps his players in venal, perpetual motion, it is great scary fun to watch him work...
...presumably, helped get audiences into the picture. But only word of mouth can get them to keep coming. They probably will, for The Untouchables has all the right lures: ripe violence, period flash and the triumph of good over venal. As De Palma puts it, "It's like a John Ford western. A good guy is on a mission and gets help. At the end he walks off into the sunset. It's a simple story told in a classical way." That might seem a bit too simple for De Palma, Mamet, De Niro and the other smart lads...
This sleek retelling of the war between Chicago Ganglord Al Capone and Supercop Eliot Ness has all the right lures: ripe violence, tough guys in chic suits, the triumph of good over venal. No wonder it looks to be a summer smash. It is also a surprise hit for the film' s pricey talent: Director Brian De Palma, Screenwriter David Mamet and Stars Robert De Niro and Sean Connery...