The Untouchables (1 Viewer)

Hey All, I have been thinking about buying The Untouchables on DVD and was wondering what every ones thoughts were on the series release on DVD. Are the episodes complete and uncut? Is the music intact? What do the transfers look like?
Thanks for the info!!

I have the first three seasons. The shows are uncut and the music is original as far as I can tell. That show had pretty distinctive music! Overall, the transfers are nice, obviously from 35mm. Grayscale and contrast are very nice. Sharp. Some sections in some shows are grainier than others, and sometimes this will vary from shot to shot. It's not perfect but I think you will be happy.

Thank you for the reply. Looks like this will be the next DVDs I buy!!

The Untouchables complete series is at Amazon as one of their "Deals of the Day" sales at $107.99 here

On the DVDs, are the opening credit sequences intact? I've caught an episode or two on MeTV and the openings seem choppy - missing something - perhaps sponsor IDs?

I've wondered the same thing about THE F.B.I. When I watched those as a kid, they always had a Ford Motor Company sponsor ID in the opening, but in syndication it was always choppy. Are the MOD discs similarly chopped, or are they night-of-broadcast intact?

Harry

The Untouchables DVD releases have the complete opening credit sequences without the sponsor id's which were easy to edit out, as you will see from the following clips from the original complete opens:





The FBI was different as The 'Ford Motor Company presents' was a part of the opening sequence. Most episodes of the WB MOD releases have the opening sequences edited to remove the 'Ford' component. However for a few episodes WB have used the complete original open.

Yeah...I'm gonna give this one a look like I did with "Naked City". Hoping my wife and I have the same reaction as we have with NC. Starting with Season 2 Vol. 2 because of the guest star list for those 16 episodes and if we like them...I'll crank in season 3 vol. 1 (highest episode ratings at TV.COM) and work the rest in as I can afford them.

I have the first three seasons. The shows are uncut and the music is original as far as I can tell. That show had pretty distinctive music! Overall, the transfers are nice, obviously from 35mm. Grayscale and contrast are very nice. Sharp. Some sections in some shows are grainier than others, and sometimes this will vary from shot to shot. It's not perfect but I think you will be happy.

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Yeah, weird about the grain, I agree. I also wish they had all the bumpers during commercial breaks. Overall, they're pretty good.

Having gotten word in an odd place (the MIssion Impossible Blu-ray thread) that Big Lots was selling Seasons 1-3 of THE UNTOUCHABLES for $10, I took a ride down to our local store. As someone else posted, their local store had it for $20, and that's what it was in my store.

I was 8 years old when THE UNTOUCHABLES aired on ABC for the first time, and I remember my dad liked the show. I remember liking the theme music, but all of the gunplay and old-timey costuming was far removed from my reality, so I never really got into it at all.

As a big fan of THE FUGITIVE, I was surprised to learn that Quinn Martin had cut his teeth on THE UNTOUCHABLES, and sure enough, whenever I managed to see an episode, I could see Quinn Martin's hand in the opening sequences and Act-like structure, plus the guest stars.

I never bit on buying the two-volume DVD sets at all. They were expensive at the time and for a series that I wasn't all that familiar with, I passed. But now, for $20 - for three seasons - and from what I understand, the three "good" seasons - I couldn't pass up the opportunity. I'm not sure when I'll get around to watching them, but it's comforting knowing I have access to them as I want them.

stuartfanning said:

The Untouchables DVD releases have the complete opening credit sequences without the sponsor id's which were easy to edit out, as you will see from the following clips from the original complete opens:

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I'd never seen these before, thanks!

I like both of these episodes.

"The Rusty Heller Story" was the Season 2 opening episode and Elizabeth Montgomery was nominated for her first Emmy for this performance. David White (Larry Tate) is also in it and being used to them both in Bewitched, it's a bit jarring to see "Larry" forcibly kiss and manhandle "Samantha"! Heh! FYI: Dick York, too, was in one of the most controversial (at the time) episodes of the series, "The White Slavers." From that episode to "Big Sky" -- things have changed.

"The Night They Shot Santa Claus" was, yes, the Season 4 opening episode. For those who like to watch Christmas episodes, WARNING: it's not your typical holiday type story. It's pretty dark, which is probably why it wasn't aired at Christmas, though I've always wondered if that year they reran it in December. If they did, it would've been on Christmas day itself and there was no new episode aired that day. Butch Patrick is in it and so is a personal favorite, Nita Talbot. Ruth White also appears and when I saw the episode the first time she reminded me a whole lot of Marion Lorne (Aunt Clara) in it! Ed Asner was in a few episodes of this series and he's in this one, too.

I collected the DVD's when they were all first released and it was rather a long haul. Starting in 2007, the first two seasons came out with one part approximately every six months. Then a year after that the first part of Season 3 and three months later the second part. Then there was a long period wondering if Season 4 was ever going to be released, but three years later in 2012 both parts were released on the same day.

I've been very pleased with the entire series and am quite happy to have it.

If you haven't seen this before this is footage from the 1960 Hollywood Christmas Parade. At about 14:45 there's a treat for any Untouchables fan:

Harry-N said:

But now, for $20 - for three seasons - and from what I understand, the three "good" seasons - I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

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That is true-- the first three gos of it (1959-62) are the best of it; however, IMO, even the weakest fourth-and-final-season episode far outpaces junk like Law and Order SVU.

stuartfanning said:

The Untouchables DVD releases have the complete opening credit sequences without the sponsor id's which were easy to edit out, as you will see from the following clips from the original complete opens:





The FBI was different as The 'Ford Motor Company presents' was a part of the opening sequence. Most episodes of the WB MOD releases have the opening sequences edited to remove the 'Ford' component. However for a few episodes WB have used the complete original open.

Click to expand...

These are great. I had no idea that in the 4th season, they had the teaser, a commercial, then the cast before another commercial and then the episode. Thanks for that.

Doug Wallen said:

I went searching my local Big Lots and found the season 1 - 3 set for $20. Couldn't wait to pick this up. Watching "The Scarface Mob" right now. Looks very good. Thanks for the heads up.

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I'm glad the picture quality stands up for you; it certainly did for me, and was (outside of how good the stories were) the biggest draw for me.

Whatever other various issuse CBS Home Videoreleases may have, I have always loved their work on the b&w shows like The Untouchables and The Fugitive. The images and black levels are very pleasing to the eye, even in standard def.

Here's a real neat recently-found promo from 1960 for The Untouchables-- really lays it out what that series was about...

I really with these classic shows got a little more loving care from CBS. Promos and sponsor bits would be lovely. I can't complain too hard, at least the shows areout there and are beautifully restored. I would just love more period specific bonus features.

First-time listener, long-time caller. I wanted to share my project, The Untouchables Restrospective, which has been remarking on the 60th Anniversary of the series since 2019 as part of an extensive, making-of documentary which episode reviews and recaps, exclusive interviews with surviving participants (most recently, the family of Paul Picerni, daughter of Nelson Riddle, among others) and a host of other goodies (including downloadable copies of episode scripts, when and where I can get my hands on them.) Also mildly obsessed with tracking down Nelson Riddle's original music for the program, which remains unreleased...

Just this week I had several episodes promos, and episode teasers transferred to 4K from their original film reels as part of the preservation aspect of the project and am continuing to roll out podcasts semi-occasionally and reviews and other materials weekly.

Here's the podcast teaser for the project:

For more on the effort, click here: https://theuntouchables.co/about-the-project/

Your website and ultimate project appears to be a great resource - looking forward to spending some quality time with it. I'm currently 8 episodes into season 2 after picking up the complete series set a few weeks ago. Other than a couple of random reruns here and there, I haven't seen these episodes in over 40 years and I am enjoying the show very much.

Peter Apruzzese said:

Your website and ultimate project appears to be a great resource - looking forward to spending some quality time with it. I'm currently 8 episodes into season 2 after picking up the complete series set a few weeks ago. Other than a couple of random reruns here and there, I haven't seen these episodes in over 40 years and I am enjoying the show very much.

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You bet-- at one time when I first got it, I thought it moved so dadgum slow, so much of a snail's pace, that it would be one of those shows I regretted getting. Sooner or later, however, it started getting really good, and for a while until I finished it, it would be the only major thing I would see on DVD (I didn't binge it, however, but I did see that show and only that show).