Brian De Palma, the De Pollma

The Story of an IBM Card?!?!?

whaaaaaa untouchables sequel???

I was going to say, WTF.

prequel innit

well yeah but im surprised i hadnt heard about it

Body Double vote Body Double

have not seen body double

im abstaining from this poll cuz im not as familiar w/ his movies as id like to be & im too torn anyway

Body Double see Body Double

blow out

is great

and i voted for it

well yeah but im surprised i hadnt heard about it

imdb listing is a waste of time - no info other than it's in production and that it has the same three writers who did Ocean's Thirteen...

Okay, I kinda hope he goes all out and makes a 'wacky' comedy.

A rom-com

Body Double has one of the worst lead performances I've ever seen in a movie and not enough Melanie Griffith. I don't get the love.

Voted for Dressed To Kill over Carrie, Blow Out, and Femme Fatale.

dressed to kill PSHAAAWWW

Sisters!

Carrie

i wonder what dark horrible thing happened to him in 1988 that turned his brain to muck

Femme Fatale -- as Rosenbaum said, at last a film entirely of set pieces & fantasy from a guy who can't do anything else.

Nah, it would've been after "Carlito's Way."

xpost to JJ

Carrie for the win over Blow Out and Carlito

and Scarface

Carrie is just inestimably better than any of these

so i am getting the impression ilx hates the untouchables, why is this?

Femme Fatale -- as Rosenbaum said, at last a film entirely of set pieces & fantasy from a guy who can't do anything else.

-- Dr Morbius, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:40 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

i agree w/ this but so what? is that supposed to be a zing?

when you consider that he does set pieces & fantasy better than basically anyone ever i mean

more like Brian de Lolma

untouchables rules

so hard to choose here

Femme Fatale -- as Rosenbaum said, at last a film entirely of set pieces & fantasy from a guy who can't do anything else.

-- Dr Morbius, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:40 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

i agree w/ this but so what? is that supposed to be a zing?

-- deeznuts, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:46 PM (16 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

when you consider that he does set pieces & fantasy better than basically anyone ever i mean

-- deeznuts, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:47 PM (15 minutes ago) Bookmark Link

ya totally as if those are any small things when it comes to filmmaking

It helps to be able to tell a story. Archers, Spielberg, etc.

But Carrie, The Fury, and Blow Out have strong narratives!

and two of them are good!

he does set pieces & fantasy better than basically anyone ever

*sigh*

the great thing about de palma is he's like the totally perverted spielberg.

lol, like spielberg isn't totally perverted

body double is great and has a fantastic soundtrack

didnt we already do this?

now is time for the Brian De Palma's best film

But ... The Fury ... have strong narratives!
-- Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 5:06 PM (5 minutes ago)

Thank you!

This one is totally different because it has a stupid pun in the title and includes a movie that hasn't even been made yet.

(sorry, I searched, really I did.)

I'd probably vote for the unseen Untouchables vs. the one I've seen.

Femme Fatale -- as Rosenbaum said, at last a film entirely of set pieces & fantasy from a guy who can't do anything else.
-- Dr Morbius, Wednesday, May 14, 2008 4:40 PM (1 hour ago)
I think you might be misreading Rosenbaum's take on the movie to your advantage here. The guy did include Obsession, a film almost devoid of those set pieces, in his all-time top 1000.

eric no offense but you sound like an asshole

dressed to kill

I was about to make fun of people for liking Body Double, but then I remembered I liked Mission to Mars. We DePalma fans need to stick together.

Here's how I'd rank him:

Top 13

the first half hour of Scarface (1983), and maybe the rest while I do dishes
Blow Out (1981)
Carrie (1976)
The Fury (1978)
the pool hall scene in Carlito's Way (1993)
"Dancing in the Dark" (1984)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
the last scene in Dressed to Kill (1980)
what I remember of Mission to Mars (2000)
The Untouchables (1987) while folding clothes
the "love" scenes in Body Double (1984), which are hilarious
Snake Eyes (1998) if nothing else is on
what I remember of Raising Cain (1992)

Bottom 4:

The asylum scene and the basic conceit of Dressed to Kill
the telescope scene and mall-chase scenes in Body Double (1984)
The Black Dahlia (2006)
Casualties of War (1989)

I think "Carrie" is probably the best all around movie in this batch, but I have a serious soft spot for "Body Double" (which I voted for), which is one of the most batshit crazy movies of all time (and is packed with things I am obsessed with, like: L.A. in the 80s, Behind-the-Scenes of the porn biz, The Chemosphere (which is the amazing house Craig Wasson lives in in the movie, owned now in real life by the owner of Taschen Books!), power drills, etc.).

I love Brian DePalma's movies, but I think the fact that anyone treats them as anything by whacked-out B-movies is just insane. The Pauline Kael gushing apologist stuff is utterly preposterous, the Hitchcock stuff is all surface (and embarrassing, usually). Referring to him as a legitimate peer of Scorsese, Coppolla, etc. is nuts. He's a glorified Grindhouse director! (I mean that as a compliment, btw - seriously, I think his movies are a blast).

Also:
- Antonio Banderas' turn in "Femme Fatale" is a goddamned comedic masterstroke
- "The Black Dahlia" is one of the worst movies I have ever seen in my life (HOW do you fuck up that story?!)
- "Sisters" is genuinely pretty scary
- God help you if you saw "Redacted."

And finally, Holly Body's words to live by: I do not do animal acts. I do not do S&M, or any variations of that particular bent. No watersports either. I will not shave my pussy, no fistfucking, and absolutely no coming in my face. I get $2000 a day, and I do not work without a contract.

This is really interesting to me - basically a fan re-edited Raising Cain to reflect the original script, De Palma was really into it, and it's now being included in an upcoming official video release! (Very interesting video at the end about the re-edit, but major spoilers in the article and video of course.)
http://www.directorama.net/2016/07/changing-cain-fan-edit-brian-de-palma-directors-cut/

Yeah, I'm pretty curious about that. Haven't seen RC in years, my memory of it is that it didn't quite work, but scenes from it have really stuck with me. Though I guess that's pretty typical w/ most BDP stuff.

Also Shout Factory is doing the Lord's Work these days. Putting out a lot of great, under appreciated stuff with really impressive care.

finally got around to the Fury. Solidly entertaining for most of its running time but second-tier due to some flimsiness in the scripting/plotting on the last third. Cassavetes combustion makes it all kinda worth it though.

The Baumbach/Paltrow longform interview with clips was fun viewing but I recall watching some UK TV series where BDP seemed to go deeper into his motivations.

yeah it was very watchable but breezes by so much potentially interesting stuff due to having under two hours to cover his whole career. i think that this kind of movie has such a limited appeal anyway that you might as well make an epic for the true believers. like he only talks about 'femme fatale' for about two minutes and i bet he could talk about that movie for hours.

it kind of felt like an infomercial for a de palma box set. which was the point, i guess.

otm

I'm really curious about "Story of an IBM Card" too.... (does anyone under 40 know what an IBM card even is?)

he only talks about 'femme fatale' for about two minutes

man this movie is so ridiculous

halfway through the Baumbach/Paltrow doc - very fun. I stopped right at Wise Guys though so lol I expect it is all downhill from here

i like his career after that point better than before...

ever the contrarian

Saw Wiseguys again last month after --- forever. Holy Mackerel! It was fun!

I haven't seen that and am curious but apprehensive. I generally don't like what I've seen of his stuff post-Body Double. Femme Fatale is so deeply silly, Snake Eyes and Raising Cain I both turned off after 30 minutes, Carlito's Way I tried to rewatch recently and couldn't finish either, Black Dahlia is laughably bad. I remember Untouchables being good but haven't seen since the 80s. Casualties of War is the one it seems I should definitely see.

no the thing is Hitchcock did his early stuff better

Alfred Hitchcock's "Hi Mom!"

Hitchcock's glam musical was amazing

Phantom of the Paradise is forgettable crap

as Benny Herrmann told him, YAWWWW NAWWT HITCHCOCK

Why has nobody made a clip of Raising Cain when the boy says "I know what you're doing" in a hilarious voice? Perfect for when someone's trying to get away with some shit.

that entire movie's full of gold, i tells ya

Watched the directors cut a week later, I guess it probably is better but there is something I like about the more confusing early part of the theatrical cut.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The best 4th of July movie is Brian DePalma's BLOW OUT.</p>— Walter Chaw 周瑜 (@mangiotto) <a href="

The best 4th of July movie is Brian DePalma's BLOW OUT.

— Walter Chaw 周瑜 (@mangiotto) July 4, 2020

(ugh, me and code today)

I'd never seen anything between Carrie and Scarface, so I decided to start with Blow Out last night, god that's good. Lithgow is such a creep. Dressed to Kill soon.

the gender/racial politics in DRESSED TO KILL are…a bit dated!

Dressed to Kill got lots of flak at the time even.

I'm sure this is really good, but unfortunately you just get the intros: Sarris and Hoberman arguing out the film.

https://www.villagevoice.com/2016/06/30/is-brian-de-palma-derivative-or-dazzling-critics-andrew-sarris-and-j-hoberman-duke-it-out/

I think I’m just not a de palma guy. everything I’ve seen has seemed missing something essential

Have you seen Casualties of War? Besides being my favourite De Palma film, it's the one I'd recommend to someone who's not crazy about him otherwise--markedly different from anything he's ever done.

Same post by me, just swap in Carrie

You know I love Carrie, but isn't that through-and-through 100% De Palma?

Also guessing that anyone who's decided they're lukewarm on De Palma has already seen Carrie.

I don't know how one can be lukewarm about Carrie.

For anyone contemplating entering into a 1976 young adult mindset I think it is an amazing movie.

It is also one of my favorite horror films of all time

I'd suggest Hi, Mom! or maybe Phantoms of the Paradise for the DePalma skeptic.

...not that they would make you love his other films, but you'd get a different perspective on what he's about.

never saw the early films Hi Mom! or Greetings but I did see The Wedding Party and Sisters, both of which were interesting. I loved Phantom of the Paradise!

Hi Mom! is definitely worth your time.

I always suggest Carlito's Way to people who just can't take the histrionics of Scarface.

even the quotes are better

The Untouchables: Capone Rising (2008) (in production)

lol wait, what?

Hi, Mom! has the one brilliant sequence (“Be Black, Baby!”) but the rest is scattershot

aside from the first couple of scenes I wasn’t a big fan of carlito’s way either. appreciate the recs from everyone, but generally it’s going to be a tough sell for me to want to check out some of the minor stuff if I don’t really like a director’s major works. too many movies to watch!

Those two early films - Greetings and Hi, Mom! - are I assume highly improvisational and are funny to the extent Gerrit Graham and Robert De Niro are funny

“Hi, Mom!” is ramshackle, but it’s a much more interesting film than you’re billing it. Essential viewing for anyone interested in BDP. It’s not about De Niro yucks.

You can probably skip “Greetings” though.

ummm

I think De Palma has sprung to the place that Altman achieved with films such as MCCABE & MRS. MILLER and NASHVILLE and that Coppola reached with the two GODFATHER movies—that is, to the place where genre is transcended and what we're moved by is an artist's vision. (1981)

— pauline kael bot (@paulinekaelbot) May 21, 2023

Is she talking about Dressed to Kill or Blow Out?

I just checked -- it's Blow Out.

Thanks--missed the date at the bottom. She stuck with De Palma much longer than with Altman/Scorsese/Coppola/Spielberg; she had good things to say (post-retirement, in an interview) about Mission to Mars.

THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNNY IT LOOKS LIKE A ROMCOM 😭

Pls share posters that TRULY do not match the actual tone/vibe of the movie, it’s my favorite. pic.twitter.com/mNcP2VSLzu

— 𝕯𝖎𝖑𝖉𝖔 𝕭𝖆𝖌𝖌𝖎𝖓𝖘 (𝘚𝘩𝘰̄𝘨𝘶𝘯 𝘦𝘳𝘢) (@EmmaTolkin) April 12, 2024

Good thread full of details on Blow Out that I'd never heard before:

BLOW OUT was released 43 years ago today. Despite rave reviews, it dropped without a trace until critical reappraisal started in the 90s. It is now thought by many as the definitive Brian De Palma film, here’s the incredible making of story…

1/28 pic.twitter.com/PPZB6ukbOn

— All The Right Movies (@ATRightMovies) July 24, 2024