Carlito 39;s Way Elevator Scene

[Charise Farag]

Asalways, another excellent review.

I must say, my intial reaction to this film was like oh, another Hitchcock spin-off, but you are right, it does seem to go deeper than that and you raise many important points worth consideration.

I think the reason de Palma gets so much hate is because of how wildly uneven his career has been. For every Sisters or Blow Out we get a Snake Eyes or a Red Planet (I'm one of those Body Double defenders by the way). I think it's because of that and because of the constant homaging to Hithcock that de Palma is seen as a filmmaker who, more than the other American filmmakers who came of age in this time, never really found a true voice of his own. He always genre hopped, gave the film whatever it needed (sometimes a little more) and then moved on.

That being said, it is hard to either track the progression of de Palma over his career as he always seems to be hopping more than growing and also it's hard to see the filmmaker present in the film unless, like you have done here, you look very hard. And even then I still sturggle. My favourite de Palma film is Carlito's Way but I love it for every reason other than that it is a de Palma film because, when compared against his entire body of work, what does that mean?

Maybe I'm wrong insomuch as that I haven't put serious accidemic thought into the man's career but does Carlito's Way explore a central theme that has been interwoven into the director's entire career? Does Scarface? The Untouchables? Wise Guys? Bonfire of the Vanities? Dressed to Kill for that matter?

With that said, I completely understand the negativity that is shot de Palma's way. What I don't agree with is how it is uninformed, unenlightened and not given much depth or width. The man is a good filmmaker, but I'm not so sure he's much more than that.

Count me in as defender of BODY DOUBLE also. I never understood all the hate for De Palma either. Even is lesser films still have some fantastic camerawork and I would sit through SNAKE EYES any day over a Brett Ratner or McG film.

I'm not a huge fan of DRESSED TO KILL but I do respect the craftsmanship on display here. If I had to choose, I would rather watch the aforementioned BODY DOUBLE or BLOW OUT if I wanted to get my De Palma thriller fix.

As for fave De Palma film, wow, that's a toughy. If push came to shove, I guess I would say BLOW OUT but I really love THE UNTOUCHABLES. yeah, I know, it's one of his paycheck films but man, it's so damn entertaining. CARLITO'S WAY is pretty awesome, too.

And I for one would love to read your thoughts on BLACK DAHLIA. I'm a huge fan of James Ellroy's novel and found the film to be rather disappointing but I have only seen it once and probably need to watch it again.

Great stuff. Seeing a print of this must've been terrific. As usual you have your ear open for the silliest of movie-movie dialogue and though it's been a few years since I've watched DRESSED TO KILL again I do remember the stuff about watching stocks.

I've not done any research, but I also have wondered if De Palma had been watching giallo films, or whether there was just "something in the air." Today everything is on video and references can be copied exactly, but these Italian films couldn't have been easy to see back then. John Carpenter has said he was specifically thinking about Argento when he made HALLOWEEN. Can you imagine De Palma sitting in a Times Square grindhouse watching CASE OF THE BLOODY IRIS? What would he have said to whoever he was with afterward? Who had told him to see it?

Wonderful review, I really wish I made it out to the New Beverly for this, alas, midnight movies and me are not too be.

I'm with you, I love this film, and the last time I watched it, I thought to myself I know there's people out there not on De Palma's wavelength but I'd hate to be them (I feel the same way about Tarantino's detractors), cinema just drips from his every pore and is evident in every frame.

You should give Body Double another try, I know it's a sticking point for even his most ardent admirers but I find DePalma egging his critics and self referential homages (including the title that callbacks Dressed to Kill's Angie Dickinson) to be hilarious. And the porn shoot piece set to Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" is a pure delight, DePalma's version of a MGM musical number. God damn, he knows how to direct a set piece!

And you're right, he needs to do another thriller!

This was a great examination of a truly De Palma film, Mr. Peel. It had such a great cast--none more haunting than Angie Dickinson's performance. Every time I watch this one, I can't help but be captivated and heartbroken by her. This one catches you and bounces you off the screen at the same time.

I'll admit, too, that I appreciate the director's BODY DOUBLE (though probably not as much as this one). Count me in for the director's best commercial film, THE UNTOUCHABLES, as well. CARLITO'S WAY? One of the best crime dramas of its decade, no question.

I've yet to see THE BLACK DAHLIA, and FEMME FATALE is soon to hit my home screen so this great review of yours is so timely. I especially appreciate how DRESSED TO KILL has made an impact upon you, sir. Thanks very much for this.

I think I should say that I absolutely do not dismiss, or even dislike, BODY DOUBLE. But while I willingly go along with the extremes in some of these films there's something I've never quite connected with in BODY DOUBLE that has always caused me to slightly resist it. But I definitely don't dislike it and I've even got the DVD close by, something I can't say for SNAKE EYES which I've always thought was a huge disappointment (and yet, I'd still like to write about it at some point). I do lovelovelove BLOW OUT, THE UNTOUCHABLES and CARLITO'S WAY more than I could possibly express here. And not everyone will agree, but I'm a big MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE fan as well.

With De Palma, cinema does drip from every pore, as Colonel Mortimer put it, but Mike Lippert raises the valid question that maybe that in itself doesn't automatically make him a great director. I think there are themes that run through his films (though not, obviously, all of them) which I honestly thought FEMME FATALE was a culmination of. Certainly there's evidence in a few titles that would argue against his greatness--THE BLACK DAHLIA is one of those yet it's the sort of bad film that only someone with his talent could make. Maybe it's unavoidable when he takes the extreme chances (tonally, visually) that he sometimes does and you can't get something as good as FEMME FATALE or DRESSED TO KILL without being willing to dive off those cliffs. All I know is he's directed more than a few films that I completely, unabashedly love which may be enough proof for me.

My thanks to you guys for the amazing comments, I really loved reading them.

This is one your best write ups yet, Mr. Peel. I've only seen "Dressed To Kill" once, on DVD, but I liked it quite a bit and I just assumed it was heavily influenced by the Italian giallos. I rediscovered my love for DePalma about a year ago when on a whim I picked up "Blow Out" on DVD. I'd seen it before, but for some reason this time it absolutely knocked me right out (as did each subsequent viewing). It's not only one of DePalma's best, but I think it's one of the all-time great American thrillers. Since then I've been scouting his films on DVD and though "Dress to Kill" is, sadly, out of print, I'll chase it down somewhere on the super human filmic strength of "Blow Out" and this write up. Keep'em coming, Mr. Peel!

- Bob

Also, I would love to read your take on "The Black Dahlia" which, as huge James Ellroy fan, I saw on the opening Friday & experienced one of my more bitter movie viewing experiences ever. That was a colossal failure of talent & material.

Mr. Peel:

Ah, glad to see another MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE fan! I love what De Palma did with that film in terms of style and camera movement. It's still, easily, the best film of that franchise and I find myself watching it every once in a while.

Peel:

Thanks so much for posting this. I was going to hit that screening, but got held up and couldn't make it. Would have been so good to see it with a crowd. As to DTK and whether it's a classic, I think the fact the New Bev showed it to a good house almost 30 years after it came out, answers that question. As for the endless comparison that some folks want to make to Hitchcock. De Palma, like every great artist, has been influenced by works of other artists. FYI, how many filmmakers have 'borrowed' from Eisenstein or Griffith or Welles or Ford. It's silly to only bash De Palma for something all artists do. And I know, without even looking on facebook, that some are going to beat up De Palma for being a woman hater. Yes, and in Transformers, Megan Fox is an inspiration to everyone. The difference now is the girl is dressed in even less clothes than Nancy Allen and doesn't play a prostitute. And yet, the women now in certain movies, don't have jobs at all. Nancy Allen in DTK bought and sold stock and saw a life after her present job. The bottom line is that DTK is a first rate thriller, it's way past anything Hitchcock ever did. That elevator scene alone is something Hitchcock would have loved to have done.

Damn, that was a great review, and it pains me to admit that I HAVE YET TO SEE IT.

Over the years I'd heard so much about the film - a "friend" spoiled it for me originally - that I felt I knew enough about the movie to skip it and move on to something else. This is the first piece on Dressed to Kill I've read that really makes me want to go and find the movie now, just skip what I'm doing and just dive right in.

And since you all have, I'll come out and also defend Body Double, as it was the first De Palma film I'd ever seen, and your first ____ (fill in the blank here) always holds a place in your heart, you know?

And Mike - I'm right with you on Mission to Mars (you called in red Planet, which was equally bad but, alas, not the same film) - I wrote about it during Tony's/Cinema Viewfinder's De Palma blogathon and I was shocked at how many people give it a pass.

Sorry for the lack of brevity. I'm just getting back to my blog after a self-imposed exile for months and this was such a treat to read!

3a8082e126