|
|
Post by Popeye Doyle on Jan 22, 2021 5:45:44 GMT
A few seconds into this movie and its sleazy factor already hemorrhaging. I had to check if Angie Dickinson used a body double. Yep, she did. The movie, like others by De Palma, doesn’t lack for style. Also dig the Pino Donaggio score. The identity of the killer isn’t too surprising and even have to include a Psycho inspired scene to explain what a transsexual is. There’s a scene where Nancy Allen’s character is chased after by a group of black men intent on raping the shit out of her. That was a bit uncomfortable. Blow Out is much better.
Probably a 2.5 out of 4
|
|
|
|
Post by stefancrosscoe on Jan 22, 2021 12:15:05 GMT
 One of my favorite Brian Da Palma films, and one that I never quite got around to to watch the entire plot, when it used to be sent on very late, as a sleazy night cable erotic thriller. Still, the elevator scene and the much later one, with the boots and where Nancy Allen is alone in the bathroom, always creeped me out. The combination of sleaze and a certain elegance, is probably why it have stayed with me for so long. Probably not among De Palma's best films, but surely one of those I never go tired of re-watching, every now and then. Fits well in, together with Blow Out (1981). Anyway, for me this one lies around an 8/10, on the entertainment value alone.
|
|
|
|
Post by wmcclain on Jan 22, 2021 14:58:05 GMT
Dressed to Kill (1980), directed by Brian De Palma. A housewife with a vivid sexual fantasy life visits her shrink, then stalks and is stalked by a stranger at the art museum. After sex in a cab and then in his hotel room, she is murdered in the elevator. A prostitute is both witness and suspect; she teams up with the woman's teenaged son to find the real killer. It's stylish and involving, despite the gaping plot holes, mostly regarding how the killer knows where people are going to be. The murder weapon is a straight razor and the unrated cut is a bit more gruesome than I require. Michael Caine wrote that this was his first good role after a series of flops. He took the role when a lot of actors wouldn't, worried about image problems. Dennis Franz is a hoot as the police detective: "Now I want you to find your friend Ted from out of town and bring him in town and down town and in here..." De Palma, Caine and Nancy Allen were all nominated for the "1st Golden Raspberry Award", which seems silly now. I can see being unhappy with Allen's line delivery, but I can also imagine a hooker talking like that. She got a Golden Globe nomination for the same role, so go figure. Much nudity and passion, some of it rather steamy. Available on Blu-ray, but not from Netflix. This is the "unrated" cut, which I don't believe I've seen before. More explicit sex, violence and language. I don't recall 1980 non-porn films being as anatomically explicit as the opening shower scene here. A featurette demonstrates the differences between the unrated, R-rated, and network versions. Angie Dickinson (age 49) has a body double for the shower scene but does some of her own nudity as well. Thanks to Nancy Allen (Mrs De Palma at the time) for her efforts in this area as well. 
|
|
|
|
Post by dirtypillows on Jan 22, 2021 16:26:20 GMT
A few seconds into this movie and its sleazy factor already hemorrhaging. I had to check if Angie Dickinson used a body double. Yep, she did. The movie, like others by De Palma, doesn’t lack for style. Also dig the Pino Donaggio score. The identity of the killer isn’t too surprising and even have to include a Psycho inspired scene to explain what a transsexual is. There’s a scene where Nancy Allen’s character is chased after by a group of black men intent on raping the shit out of her. That was a bit uncomfortable. Blow Out is much better. Probably a 2.5 out of 4 Imagine how uncomfortable that must have been for Liz! 🙂 I love that scene. There's just so much going on. Liz is being stalked by the murderous blonde trannsexual. And in trying to keep herself safe, she finds herself beset by a brand new potentially dangerous scenario. All this going on underground and the great, pulsating Pino Donaggio score. And I think it took me 20 viewings before I could spot the quick blip of Bobbie sneaking onto the train! I love this movie. ***1/2 "Blow Out" is more so so for me. **1/2 |
|
|
|
Post by dirtypillows on Jan 22, 2021 16:28:12 GMT
One of my favorite Brian Da Palma films, and one that I never quite got around to to watch the entire plot, when it used to be sent on very late, as a sleazy night cable erotic thriller. Still, the elevator scene and the much later one, with the boots and where Nancy Allen is alone in the bathroom, always creeped me out. The combination of sleaze and a certain elegance, is probably why it have stayed with me for so long. Probably not among De Palma's best films, but surely one of those I never go tired of re-watching, every now and then. Fits well in, together with Blow Out (1981). Anyway, for me this one lies around an 8/10, on the entertainment value alone. Yes! I love that combination! The contrast can be very exciting. |
|
|
|
Post by Toasted Cheese on Jan 23, 2021 1:11:16 GMT
A few seconds into this movie and its sleazy factor already hemorrhaging. I had to check if Angie Dickinson used a body double. Yep, she did. The movie, like others by De Palma, doesn’t lack for style. Also dig the Pino Donaggio score. The identity of the killer isn’t too surprising and even have to include a Psycho inspired scene to explain what a transsexual is. There’s a scene where Nancy Allen’s character is chased after by a group of black men intent on raping the shit out of her. That was a bit uncomfortable. Blow Out is much better. Probably a 2.5 out of 4 I am not entirely comfortable watching Dressed To Kill - 80'. It works in most parts, but I think fails in other areas. What was more shocking in the early 80's, is pretty cheesy today too. Blow Out - 81' was even more ambitious in presentation, but I just can' t wrap my head around Allen's awful performance and presentation of her prostitute character. It ruins the experience for me and that is the main reason why I prefer DTK.
Body Double - 84' is perhaps the best De Palma of these 3 and is the least pretentious and most fun to watch, though I think the sleaze factor could have been amped up a bit here. It only really tiptoes through the foray of the porn world. I think 52 Pick Up - 86' gets a better and even darker feel for it. In fact, come to think of it, both Body Double and 52 Pick Up would make for a terrific double feature.
|
|
|
|
Post by TheOriginalPinky on Jan 23, 2021 15:09:20 GMT
Couldn't stand this movie, and to add insult to injury, Nancy Allen was in it. A typical crap-fest DePalma film.
|
|
|
|
Post by mgmarshall on Jan 24, 2021 8:24:04 GMT
It looks gorgeous, and it sounds beautiful (thanks to Pino Donaggio), but I never really saw it as one of De Palma's stronger efforts. The mystery is ultimately pretty obvious, the Hitchcock fanboy-isms are off the charts (I mean, structurally, it's almost beat-for-beat one long Psycho retread), and he even shamelessly recycles his own ending from Carrie, to much lesser effect. All that being said, there is still stuff I like about it. The art gallery seduction scene is masterful. Keith Gordon, Nancy Allen, and Dennis Franz are all quite likeable in their roles. William Finley's voice on the answering machine is genuinely creepy. But the whole thing is just somehow less than the sum of those parts. I'd stick with Blow Out or The Untouchables instead.
|
|
|
|
Post by moviemouth on Jan 24, 2021 8:35:14 GMT
I sort of enjoyed it the first time I watched it, but it really doesn't hold up once you know the ending. In fact, the movie comes off as rather insulting imo.
It is just a sleazy and rather uninteresting homage to Psycho and I don't have any emotion towards any of the characters.
|
|
|
|
Post by moviemouth on Jan 24, 2021 8:40:51 GMT
A few seconds into this movie and its sleazy factor already hemorrhaging. I had to check if Angie Dickinson used a body double. Yep, she did. The movie, like others by De Palma, doesn’t lack for style. Also dig the Pino Donaggio score. The identity of the killer isn’t too surprising and even have to include a Psycho inspired scene to explain what a transsexual is. There’s a scene where Nancy Allen’s character is chased after by a group of black men intent on raping the shit out of her. That was a bit uncomfortable. Blow Out is much better. Probably a 2.5 out of 4 I am not entirely comfortable watching Dressed To Kill - 80'. It works in most parts, but I think fails in other areas. What was more shocking in the early 80's, is pretty cheesy today too. Blow Out - 81' was even more ambitious in presentation, but I just can' t wrap my head around Allen's awful performance and presentation of her prostitute character. It ruins the experience for me and that is the main reason why I prefer DTK.
Body Double - 84' is perhaps the best De Palma of these 3 and is the least pretentious and most fun to watch, though I think the sleaze factor could have been amped up a bit here. It only really tiptoes through the foray of the porn world. I think 52 Pick Up - 86' gets a better and even darker feel for it. In fact, come to think of it, both Body Double and 52 Pick Up would make for a terrific double feature. Blow Out has much better style and a terrific performance from John Travolta. It is a more compelling movie in almost every way imo. I actually don't mind Nancy Allen in Blow Out and rest of the movie is good enough to make up for what she lacks in talent. Blow Out is my favorite of the 3 you bring up and it actually improves on re-watch for me, unlike Dressed to Kill. The ending of Blow Out is fantastic and it gives everything leading up to it more impact. "It's a good scream." The ending of Dressed to Kill is just ridiculous and Michael Caine is horribly miscast and phoning it in.
|
|
|
|
Post by Toasted Cheese on Jan 24, 2021 9:24:15 GMT
I am not entirely comfortable watching Dressed To Kill - 80'. It works in most parts, but I think fails in other areas. What was more shocking in the early 80's, is pretty cheesy today too. Blow Out - 81' was even more ambitious in presentation, but I just can' t wrap my head around Allen's awful performance and presentation of her prostitute character. It ruins the experience for me and that is the main reason why I prefer DTK.
Body Double - 84' is perhaps the best De Palma of these 3 and is the least pretentious and most fun to watch, though I think the sleaze factor could have been amped up a bit here. It only really tiptoes through the foray of the porn world. I think 52 Pick Up - 86' gets a better and even darker feel for it. In fact, come to think of it, both Body Double and 52 Pick Up would make for a terrific double feature. Blow Out has much better style and a terrific performance from John Travolta. It is a more compelling movie in almost every way imo. I actually don't mind Nancy Allen in Blow Out and rest of the movie is good enough to make up for what she lacks in talent. Blow Out is my favorite of the 3 you bring up and it actually improves on re-watch for me, unlike Dressed to Kill. The ending of Blow Out is fantastic and it gives everything leading up to it more impact. "It's a good scream." The ending of Dressed to Kill is just ridiculous and Michael Caine is horribly miscast and phoning it in. Tarantino loves Blow Out. I do own it on blu ray, but I still couldn't quite get into it! I personally don't feel it is greater than the sum of its parts.
I agree about Caine in DTK, he phoned a lot of performances in in that era in the 80's. I do like The Island - 80' though, which gets a lot of flack. Good but not great, but very watchable and intriguing. He is an excellent actor, but I read his second auto-biography and he didn't seem all that comfortable doing the role in the first place. It was an image thing. He said he was going to wear his own male underpants too underneath his dress. That is a weird notion to even want to express, because what difference would it make as no-one would see them anyway.
|
|
|
|
Post by moviemouth on Jan 24, 2021 11:44:29 GMT
Blow Out has much better style and a terrific performance from John Travolta. It is a more compelling movie in almost every way imo. I actually don't mind Nancy Allen in Blow Out and rest of the movie is good enough to make up for what she lacks in talent. Blow Out is my favorite of the 3 you bring up and it actually improves on re-watch for me, unlike Dressed to Kill. The ending of Blow Out is fantastic and it gives everything leading up to it more impact. "It's a good scream." The ending of Dressed to Kill is just ridiculous and Michael Caine is horribly miscast and phoning it in. Tarantino loves Blow Out. I do own it on blu ray, but I still couldn't quite get into it! I personally don't feel it is greater than the sum of its parts.
I agree about Caine in DTK, he phoned a lot of performances in in that era in the 80's. I do like The Island - 80' though, which gets a lot of flack. Good but not great, but very watchable and intriguing. He is an excellent actor, but I read his second auto-biography and he didn't seem all that comfortable doing the role in the first place. It was an image thing. He said he was going to wear his own male underpants too underneath his dress. That is a weird notion to even want to express, because what difference would it make as no-one would see them anyway.
Tarantino love Brian DePalma in general. I think he has said DePalma is his favorite director. The Michael Caine stuff is silly. Speaking of Nancy Allen, she is perfect in Carrie. It is the only time she really has impressed me.
|
|
|
|
Post by Toasted Cheese on Jan 24, 2021 11:50:09 GMT
Tarantino loves Blow Out. I do own it on blu ray, but I still couldn't quite get into it! I personally don't feel it is greater than the sum of its parts.
I agree about Caine in DTK, he phoned a lot of performances in in that era in the 80's. I do like The Island - 80' though, which gets a lot of flack. Good but not great, but very watchable and intriguing. He is an excellent actor, but I read his second auto-biography and he didn't seem all that comfortable doing the role in the first place. It was an image thing. He said he was going to wear his own male underpants too underneath his dress. That is a weird notion to even want to express, because what difference would it make as no-one would see them anyway.
Tarantino love Brian DePalma in general. I think he has said DePalma is his favorite director. The Michael Caine stuff is silly. Speaking of Nancy Allen, she is perfect in Carrie. It is the only time she really has impressed me. All of Carrie was well cast and the girls are very believable and as real as can be in a movie with a heightened theme.
I like Allen in 1941 and I also liked her presence in Robocop and its sequel, though I often forget she is in them until I start to watch. She needs direction as an actress though and I don't feel De Palma reigned her in enough in BO.
|
|
|
|
Post by moviemouth on Jan 24, 2021 12:02:08 GMT
Tarantino love Brian DePalma in general. I think he has said DePalma is his favorite director. The Michael Caine stuff is silly. Speaking of Nancy Allen, she is perfect in Carrie. It is the only time she really has impressed me. All of Carrie was well cast and the girls are very believable and as real as can be in a movie with a heightened theme.
I like Allen in 1941 and I also liked her presence in Robocop and its sequel, though I often forget she is in them until I start to watch. She needs direction as an actress though and I don't feel De Palma reigned her in enough in BO.
I don't remember her in 1941, but I try to block that movie out of my memory.  I don't mind her in RoboCop.
|
|
|
|
Post by theravenking on Jan 24, 2021 12:28:17 GMT
I first caught this on late night TV as a 12 year old and it scared the hell out of me. Particularly the shower scene at the end.
I still like it and prefer it to Blow Out, because for once Nancy Allen is tolerable and I also really like the Pino Donaggio score. Didn't know there was an unrated version.
|
|
|
|
Post by Toasted Cheese on Jan 25, 2021 6:57:04 GMT
All of Carrie was well cast and the girls are very believable and as real as can be in a movie with a heightened theme.
I like Allen in 1941 and I also liked her presence in Robocop and its sequel, though I often forget she is in them until I start to watch. She needs direction as an actress though and I don't feel De Palma reigned her in enough in BO.
I don't remember her in 1941, but I try to block that movie out of my memory. I don't mind her in RoboCop. I have a fondness for 1941, yet I can understand those that don't. I was completely awed by it as a kid and part of it is nostalgia value. That is part of Allen's persona, she can be easy to forget unless giving her a second hand thought about a movie that she's in and other things about it spring to mind first, except Carrie.
|
|
|
|
Post by Salzmank on Jan 25, 2021 15:43:39 GMT
I love Dressed to Kill, but then De Palma films just tend to click with me. The plot and the Hitchcockian ripoffs are really only the hook; what makes the film, as with most De Palma, is pure style. The visual pyrotechnics are thrilling.
And Dressed to Kill works better than, say, Blow Out because it’s constantly visually thrilling, even in the scenes between the set pieces (whereas Blow Out’s pace grinds to a halt with every exposition scene). The museum and elevator sequences are brilliant, of course, but also see how Angie Dickinson finds a secret about the man she’s met. It’s just as jam-packed with filmmaking tricks as the scenes before and after it. And all that visual trickery does have a point: it mirrors the characters’ emotions.
As an exercise in pure directorial style, Dressed to Kill is probably closest to Phantom of the Paradise in De Palma’s filmography—so it’s no real surprise I think they’re both great.
|
|
|
|
Post by janntosh on Jan 25, 2021 17:14:09 GMT
Interested in checking this but Nancy Allen being in it is a turn off. She as horrible in Blow Out and brought the film down
|
|
|
|
Post by Salzmank on Jan 25, 2021 18:06:42 GMT
Interested in checking this but Nancy Allen being in it is a turn off. She as horrible in Blow Out and brought the film down In all honesty, she’s better here. (Agreed with you on her performance in Blow Out.) And I think that, as a whole, Dressed to Kill is far better than Blow Out as well.
|
|
