Assorted musings on Brian De Palma

I love his rip-offs, it makes him a really interesting director--the way he twists the source material, as in "body double" or "dressed to kill" or "obsession" is pretty great, and far from plagiarism!

( I think it was intended as a compliment)

Wasn't Snake Eyes insane and odd and really kind of great?

I haven't seen Mission:Impossible! Should I?

and yeah I loved snake eyes probably for the 3/4s, then meh.

the one thing about MI is I wish peter graves had signed on (voigt replaced him), that would have been triple-awesome.

Snake Eyes is an incredible movie if you don't watch the final act.

The tendancy to read De Palma's references as an ends (rather than what they are: means to pop cultural pomo criticism) really stands in the way of appreciating some of De Palma's other strengths that have nothing to do with whether or not he quotes Foreign Correspondant or not in any particular film. His sense of cinematographic composition is surely among the best among film brats, his plots are usually as tricky as they seem obvious, and he's always operating on quite a few levels at once (Femme Fatale is a recent great because it takes his own previous lapses into near-nihilism such as Scarface and Body Double and turns them inside-out to create a surprising, redemptive conclusion).

And as far as homage goes, I have no problem if it's just a simple reference in terms of a character or something like that. But if you flat-out copy a scene or shot, it's lazy. Why the Battleship Potemkin sequence in The Untouchables? In what way does it serve the story?

Be my guest, but forgive me if I don't.

Actually, 2+2=4.

What exactly was it about De Palma that made Pauline Kael wet herself everytime?

have you bothered to read her reviews of DePalma? The answer's right there.

Phantom Of The Paradise - One of his funniest. Kael was dead-on when she noted that you never have any idea what the next scene will look like at all. The man does NOT like rock and roll.

Carrie - People who accuse DePalma of being misogynist cuz he puts women in jeopardy should realize that he creates female characters you care enough about to be bothered they're put in jeopardy. Travolta and Allen are hilarious.

The Fury - I think my initial viewing of this was the most intense reaction I ever had to a DePalma film. Can anyone else mix grandeur and U.S. trash so deftly? without coming off pretentious? Ending's a bit flaky though. The fog/car chase is worth the price of rental alone, right down to "I KILLED IT...WITH A MACHINE GUN!"

Dressed To Kill - my favorite DePalma film. Possibly because I used to have Keith Gordon's haircut and I don't see very often.

Blow Out - OK, the ending kinda depresses me but I think he had his strongest lead performances ever in this film. Anybody who wants to see a film that captures the fun of recording things.

Scarface - As Kael aptly put it, "a DePalma film for people who don't like DePalma films." Frankly its an Oliver Stone film with a slightly better sense of humor and more tracking shots. I'm shocked people who see this more than once aren't constantly pressing FFWD to get to the set pieces.

The Untouchables - I'd rather take an extra teaspoon of Mamet in my DePalma than a bucket of Stone. Especially when the supporting cast is superior (practically no women in the film > all women are shrieking harpies). Billy Drago is possibly the most aptly named man in Hollywood.

Casualties Of War - there are enough affecting moments in this film that I forgive Kael for glossing over the defects in the final act in her review (also it's hard to tell whether Michael J. Fox or his character is more out of his league). Here's where DePalma finally commits to using his understanding of the filmic language to deal with the world beyond movies. Unfortunately nobody gave a shit, which lead to...

Bonfire Of The Vanities - which lead to...

Raising Cain -.

Mission Impossible - Ok, it's got the plot mechanics of a Tim Burton film but he's finally starting to use the CAMERA again fo shizzle.

Snake Eyes - the man is REALLY having fun again. But people don't like their silly to be artful so we get.

Mission To Mars - which isn't mean to be silly. but is. Gary Sinise wears way too much eyeliner.

Femme Fatale - why didn't France do this much for Woody Allen?

I can never recommend DePalma films to my mom because she does puzzles while watching films. REAL DIRECTORS USE VISUALS, PEOPLE!

• Hi, Mom! -- Truly amazing underground early film. Anarchist, Brechtianistic, with a very early example of a classic De Palma centerpiece in the "Be Black, Baby" sequence.
  
• Sisters -- A bit more by-the-numbers Hitchcock homage, in my opinion, but still obviously the work of a master. Really takes off in the final stretch with a fish-eyed hypnosis sequence.
  
• Phantom Of The Paradise -- Beef! Have to admit that the Touch of Evil riff is De Palma's least inspired use of split-screen. Otherwise, gotta love a movie with Bill Finley, Paul Williams and Jessica Harper as the leads.
  
• Carrie -- I totally agree with Anthony here. If Carrie is arguably De Palma's greatest popular success (we'll just call Scarface his biggest cult film), it's doubtlessly due to it also being one of his most "character-driven" and empathy-generating qualities.
  
• The Fury -- What's flaky about the ending? Amy Irving spends the entire movie in psychic puberty and the finale is her first telekinetic orgasm? I mean, what's so outlandish about that? Seriously, though. I love the ending and, when it comes down to it, I think this is De Palma's movie-movie masterpiece.
  
• Dressed To Kill -- Seamless. The perfect film to introduce someone to De Palma. It's also the easiest one to use to explain to people how the Hitchcock riffs are more than just ripping-off but are a trampoline off of which he bounces his own punchlines and concerns.
  
• Blow Out -- Again, I'm with Anthony here. It's great, but I think it gets a bit of a pass from people who put too much stock in its seriousness... even though there are gags aplenty. Gotta love the auditions for the foley scream.
  
• Scarface -- Yep, it's got nothing on Hawks.
  
• Body Double -- Probably not conceived under the best pretenses (De Palma reportedly wanting to answer critics that Dressed to Kill and Scarface were exercises in brutality). In any case, for all its false spots (the famous Vertigo kiss really never feels earned), it's also ends with his most successful Godardian flourish.
  
• The Untouchables -- As far as I'm concerned, Untouchables isn't much more interesting than Scarface and, in fact, is my perennial example of De Palma on autopilot. I won't begrudge the film its fans, but I sure wish more people got excited about The Fury.
  
• Casualties Of War -- a revisit is definately in order...
  
• Raising Cain -- ditto, though I remember still responding positively to this one.
  
• Carlito's Way -- when I first saw it, I was not a De Palma freak like I am now, and I wasn't paying to his style. Though I still probably prefer The Fury, DTK, Hi, Mom and Femme Fatale to this one, I still recognize it as one of the man's supreme achievements.
  
• Mission: Impossible -- what I said above. Perhaps the first film I saw in my filmgoing experience that tipped me off that De Palma was, in fact, an interesting director.
  
• Snake Eyes -- Nic Cage comes damned close to obfuscating De Palma's cinematic pyrotechnics, which is practically unthinkable (and unforgivable), but of all the De Palma films with a rock-bottom reputation, this one is most undeserving of the disparagement...
  
• Mission To Mars -- ... unless it's this one. People who joked that this was indistinct from Red Planet seriously don't watch movies with an eye for the camera, nor an understanding of humanity. Sweeping statement I know, but I really do love this film.
  
• Femme Fatale -- Astonishing. It almost makes me not want to see his next film, so culminatory is this film.
  

(Does anyone know of a website for movie release dates, video/dvd and theather?)

(it's still better than the obsession box tho)

I also forgot about Carlito's Way! Pacino is way better than he was in Scarface, and Penn continues to kick weird ass in DePalma films. Unfortunately the end is telegraphed from a mile away and there are three big things that keep me from completely enjoying this movie: PENELOPE, ANN, MILLER.

And I haven't seen the original Scarface.

I love that weird scene where Banderas acts all camp to get into her hotel room.

Just watched Phantom of the Paradise recently and really enjoyed it. Love De Palma. Dude can put together trashy/campy stuff that's supremely entertaining and even more fun to think about. It's all pretty hyper-pomo but in the least pretentious way. Some great and enlightening comments on this thread.

That might be my longest post on ILX ever upthread.

just watched Mission to Mars for the first time last week, it's pretty decent

Sure is.

Femme Fatale -- Astonishing. It almost makes me not want to see his next film, so culminatory is this film.

Turned out to be so, so true. :(

i know there are apologists for and even champions of 'the black dahlia' but i think they're just trolling tbh, that movie fails on almost every single level

Yeah, and Redacted fails more flagrantly and offensively.

watching the black dahlia - I'm an hour in and I am fucking mystified. what is dude thinking? how did this screenplay get past, like, whoever's job it was to vet the dialogue? this dinner scene at hilary swank's parents' house: what the fuck. is he trying to be david lynch? incomprehensible.

just enjoyed the hilarity/weirdness of that particular scene tbh. Dug the movie in general even tho it's all manner of wtf

The dinner scene is straight from the book, but that's part of what's so jarring about the movie: it tries to jam in so much from the book without any logic to what it keeps, streamlines, or omits.

SMH at all the Mission to Mars defenders. Easily one of the worst thing's De Palma's done.

Casualties Of War -- a revisit is definitely in order...

Yes--hope you followed through. Along with Paths of Glory, probably the only war film I truly love. Also (I think--I may be wrong) Kael's last rhapsodically '70s-like review.

have to say, i was pretty disappointed with 'the black dhalia,' stylish and masterful and fantastically acted, but totally empty of meaning.

http://www.angelfire.com/de/palma/blowoutcriterion.jpg

very excited for this. probably my favorite De Palma film. one hour De Palma interview conducted by Noah Baumbach, interview with cameraman Garrett Brown on all the steadicam work, AND MORE.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egvlvWvpzRE

Watched Blow Out for the first time this afternoon. Staggeringly stupid film, and I felt sorry for Nancy Allen having to play the ditzy slut.

ur a staggeringly stupid film

New movie looks like a lot of fun. Like a Femme Fatale.

dang i didnt even know abt that, does look good, his last couple have not been so much

this movie seems to be available on the internet fwiw

http://www.rogerebert.com/balder-and-dash/brian-de-palmas-films-ranked

oh god roger

nice new region 2 blu of dressed to kill w/ some gd extras - de palma still resists ever doing a commentary track, tho:

http://www.arrowfilms.co.uk/index.php?c=y&s=17d4640760be3a695c7dbbdf92c8123f&art_id=44&tle_id=768&v=

Only saw the first 30 minutes or so of Passion, but it was pretty bad. :/