Movies are magic. I'm not talking about what the film industry does with special effects and CGI, which is incredible. What I really love is how a motion picture soundtrack just completes a scene and makes it so much more memorable. There are a couple of iconic scenes that I will watch over and over again because of the music playing in the background. The opening sequence with the 1924 Olympic British Track and Field team running along the beach with background music by Vangelis in the 1981 movie "Chariots of Fire" is a great example. The Promontory sequence (composed by Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman) in the 1992 film "The Last of the Mohicans" is another one. I can watch Pickett's Charge in the 1993 movie "Gettysburg" (also composed by Randy Edelman) over and over again. Pure magic. But my absolute favorite and likely the most iconic scene I have ever witnessed is the bridge shootout scene in the 1987 movie "The Untouchables".
First of all, whoever thought of including a scene in which the four main protagonists ride horses and charge across a grassy plain in a mobster film about Al Capone and Eliot Ness in 1920's Chicago? I I don't Regardless, it just seems to fit perfectly. Brilliant. Add the musical score to the scene (the song playing in the background is called "Victorious" and was composed by Ennio Morricone) and it becomes pure magic!
I recommend reading today's post while listening to "Victorious" in the background! "The Untouchables" was a great movie with an incredible cast, including Kevin Costner (as Eliot Ness), Robert DeNiro (as Al Capone), Sean Connery (who won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor that year for his role as Jimmy Malone, an Irish police officer), and Andy Garcia. There are some great lines and memorable quotes from the movie that are relevant to the topic of leadership.
It's interesting that most of these quotes come from Sean Connery's character, Jimmy Malone, as he mentors Eliot Ness on how to fight crime the "Chicago Way". For example, when Malone is asking Ness if he really understands what it's going to take to capture Capone, he asks simply, "What are you prepared to do?" He even asks twice and then cautions him, "If you open the can on these worms you must be prepared to go all the way. Because they're not gonna give up the fight, until one of you is dead." In other words, achieving something special and unprecedented requires dedication, commitment, and focus. You must commit 100% of your efforts and resources to achieving that goal.
Later, Malone again tells Ness, "If you're afraid of getting a rotten apple, don't go to the barrel. Get it off the tree." In this case, Ness is worried about putting together a team of "untouchables." He doesn't want to have corrupt police officers on his team who might be working for Al Capone. Malone recommends that they go straight to the local police academy and find an individual there who hasn't started working for the Chicago police. However, I think there is another way to look at this quote, which is more relevant to leadership.
Al Capone (Robert DeNiro) even has a memorable scene with a leadership "tip" about teamwork. In this case, he is using the sport of baseball as a metaphor for teamwork. He says, "Baseball! A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the field, what? Part of a team. Teamwork... Looks, throws, catches, hustles. Part of one big team. Bats himself the live-long day, Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and so on. If his team don't field... what is he? You follow me? No one. Sunny day, the stands are full of fans. What does he have to say? I'm goin' out there for myself. But... I get nowhere unless the team wins." It's all about the team. Of course, shortly after his soliloquy, he beats one of his henchmen over the head with a baseball bat, so maybe it wasn't the best metaphor for teamwork and leadership.
The last memorable quote occurs towards the very end of the movie, after Al Capone was convicted of tax evasion. Ness goes up to him and says, "Never stop fighting until the fight is done!" Ness, of course, had learned this lesson earlier in the movie from his partner Jimmy Malone. It's related to the earlier comments about dedication, commitment, and focus on the goal. Never give up. Keep trying. Keep fighting. And if you get knocked down, get up and fight again.
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