Body Double Debate - Was it all a Dream?
John DeRosa
movie "Body Double", 1984, 109 min, director Brian Depalma.
Not the best movie every made, but interesting none the less.
My contention is that 90% of the movie is a dream sequence.
No one I talk to seems to agree with me.
Here is my argument (bear with me, I haven't seem the movie for a
while);
The main character (Craig Wasson) is deathly paranoid about
tight spaces (clostrophobia). At the beginning of the movie,
he is making a Dracula type feature (basic movie in movie stuff) in
which he must be enclosed in a coffin (enough to make anyone
paranoid). I remember that the end of the coffin scene shows
Wasson buried in his coffin, sweating profusely, and trying
to convince himself that he will be OK.
At that point, we flash to Wasson in his friend's apartment and
he ends up viewing a beautiful neighbor being murdered.
What follows is, to me, a very odd sequence of events, somewhat
disjointed and "dream" like, ending in Wasson facing his worst fear,
being buried alive (by the murderer).
At the end of the movie, Wasson is back making the Dracula movie,
and in his coffin. He finally gets released, practically dead with
fear (of being buried alive?).
Now, think back on some of the scenes in the middle of the movie.
Some of them seem very bizarre. He walks into a casting of a
porno movie and instantly gets the male lead. The porno movie itself
is strange, jumping from one scene to another with no continuity
(well, maybe all porno movies are a bit like that), with of all
things, a musical number in the middle (can you name the group
whose music it is?*). And then, boom, he poses as a porno producer,
talking to Melanie Griffith about whether she was the "body double".
The stangest thing of all is how the neighbor was murdered,
she was DRILLED TO DEATH!! And not just any drill, but the biggest
drill known to man, it must have been 5 feet long. Just the
thing for a murderer to bring along on a crime spree and to
chase his victim around with. The cord gets unplugged half
way through the scene, wonderfully convienent. I suppose
that a drill would be less incriminating than a
knife or a gun but it doesn't seem to be the weapon of choice in
the hills of LA.
Anyway, what do you think? My contention is that he hallucinates
the entire murder, investigation, chase and being buried dead. He
hallucinates this because he is locked in the coffin during the
making of the Dracula movie and he is so clostrophobic.
I would be interested in opinions if I am totally off my rocker or
I just know something that everyone else seems to miss.
Thanks, John
--
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* The musical piece in the porno sequence was "Relax Don't Do It"
by Frankie Goes to Hollywood from the album "Welcome to the Pleasure
Dome". Was the music written for the movie? I'd like to know.
John DeRosa
Thanks, John
* The musical piece in the porno sequence was "Relaxe Don't Do It"
John DeRosa
Rodrick Su
>I am having a debate with my co-workers and friends about the
>movie "Body Double", 1984, 109 min, director Brian Depalma.
>Not the best movie every made, but interesting none the less.
>
>My contention is that 90% of the movie is a dream sequence.
>No one I talk to seems to agree with me.
>
Well, I have no particuliar opinion on whether the films itslef
is dream sequence, but, for me the true meaning of the film is
that it's only a film. It is a film answer to De Palmer's
femenist detractor's complain of violence to women. So, he stages
the weirdest murder, that is so outlandish that you can almost
laught at the comic way the victim way was killed, the drill's
power cord not being long enough. Sadly, for De Palmer, his
detractors cannot see through it, and ripped the film.
--
[ Rodrick Su [ If at first you don't succeed, well, so much for ]
[ r...@primenet.com [ skydiving. [ ``Games of the Hangman'']
[ http://www.primenet.com/~rsu ]------------[ Victor O'Reilly ]
Lazlo Nibble
> * The musical piece in the porno sequence was "Relaxe Don't Do It" by
> Frankie Goes to Hollywood from the album "Welcome to the Pleasure Dome".
> Was the music written for the movie?
No -- it predates the film. It was pretty neat seeing Holly Johnson of
FGTH turn up in that part of the movie, though.
--
::: Lazlo (la...@rt66.com - http://www.rt66.com/lazlo)
::: Search Nibble's Discographies! http://www.rt66.com/lazlo/DiscogSearch.html
scup
> I am having a debate with my co-workers and friends about the
> movie "Body Double", 1984, 109 min, director Brian Depalma.
> Not the best movie every made, but interesting none the less.
>
> My contention is that 90% of the movie is a dream sequence.
> No one I talk to seems to agree with me.
> Thanks, John
>
> --
> = Enjoy! John DeRosa, Motorola, Inc, ESMR Development =
> = thanks der...@comm.mot.com cem...@email.mot.com =
> = a 10^6 N1...@applelink.apple.com =
>
> * The musical piece in the porno sequence was "Relaxe Don't Do It"
> by Frankie Goes to Hollywood from the album "Welcome to the Pleasure
> Dome".
John,
A very interesting perspective on a pretty wierd movie. I alway did wonder
about the ease with which the lead in the porn movie was landed. It seems
possible that it was all a halucination, but I think it's more likely
Depalma was working outside reality in general on this one. It wasn't
really meant to make perfect sense.
BTW I don't think the Frankie Goes To Hollywood song was written for the
movie.The single was released in 1983, preceeding the movie in 1984.
scott ramsey
ACE
SPOILERS!
The only dream sequence in the movie is when Craig Wasson
is having sex with Melanie Griffith in the porno and he imagines
himself kissing the beautiful woman who was killed. Then at the
end of the movie when he is in the shallow grave, he has yet
another hallucination, this time that he is back on the set of
that vampire movie having another claustrophobic attack.
In the end, the final dream/hallucination helps him to break
through his paralyzing fear to save himself and Melanie Griffith.
Then at the very very end, we see that Craig Wasson has got
his job back on the horror movie. The end.
Ace