Brian De Palma directed one of the finest sequences of his career in The Untouchables.
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What follows is the cinematic equivalent of a grand toppling domino display.
In a carefully arranged, wide establishing shot, we see Ness and Stone enter the station.
Meticulously, De Palma gradually builds up the tension.
A young mother appears at the foot of the stairs, pushing a pram while holding two heavy-looking suitcases.
A less confident director would, Id suggest, have cut this scene rather differently.
Instead, De Palmas build-up lasts more than five minutes.
From over his right shoulder, the accountant appears, and heads down the stairs.
And then the sequence reaches a turning point.
A further figure emerges, whom Ness immediately recognises as one of Capones men.
There are two noteworthy things about De Palmas reference back to Eisenstein.
When his mother picks up the shattered body and appeals for help, the soldiers shoot her, too.
Compared to Eisensteins scene,The Untouchables homage is positively restrained.
Could it be that, subconsciously, De Palma is offering a rebuttal to his critics?
We know theres a crazed killer around, but where?
It seems to take Arbogast an eternity to climb those wooden steps.
A pair of unlucky sailors have been plugged by a gangsters erratic aim (another nod toPotemkin).
Shots of the prams wheels skittering down the steps are intercut with bloodied corpses and bullets ricocheting off marble.
Ness is reaching for the infant while simultaneously offing hoodlums.
Unfortunately for the henchman, his sweaty demands have little effect in the face of Stones dead aim.
Amazingly, this most audaciously staged of shoot-outs wasnt even in the original script.
Ness and Stone were originally meant to engage in a gunfight inside a train carriage.
