Three small unmarked stylized pistols in a compact static arrangement

Original artwork, not a still

Jim Malone

He pulls a knife, you pull a gun. He sends one of yours to the hospital, you send one of his to the morgue.

— The Untouchables • 1987

Behind the line

What it means

Our interpretation.

The two instructions demand a response more severe than the act that prompted it. A weapon is answered by a more powerful weapon, and injury by death. Their parallel construction makes increasing violence sound like a repeatable rule, with no place given to restraint.

Context reviewed

Share this quote