Dressed to Kill (1980)

[Iamspartacus]

1. Carlitos Way
2. The Untouchables
3. Dressed to Kill
4. Blow Out
5. Femme Fatale
6. Body Double
7. Snake Eyes
8. Sisters
9. The Fury
10.Scarface

[Portista]

My De Palma Top 10, for what it's worth...

1. Snake Eyes
2. Dressed To Kill
3. Femme Fatale
4. Body Double
5. Carrie
6. Scarface
7. Blow Out
8. Carlito's Way
9. The Untouchables
10. The Fury

I adore Snake Eyes, warts 'n' all and the transfer on the current release is pretty sweet. However, I would love to see it get the royal treatment on BD - BDP supervised restoration of the original ending, etc...

As for Criterion's Dressed To Kill, I've already cleared shelf space next to the MGM & Arrow releases. Can't wait to see this new 4k transfer.

[SexySamSosa67]

Carlito's Way and Dressed To Kill are his best.

I haven't seen Blow Up though.

[klauswhereareyou]

Glad to see I'm not the only one that really likes Snake Eyes!

[Raif79]

Originally Posted by klauswhereareyou

Glad to see I'm not the only one that really likes Snake Eyes!

I like Snake Eyes too. I often wonder how it would've been received if it starred someone else? I still enjoyed it even though I can barely stand Nicholas Cage.

[grim_tales]

Originally Posted by SexySamSosa67

Carlito's Way and Dressed To Kill are his best.

I haven't seen Blow Up though.

I thought Blow-Up was OK but

[Show spoiler]at times it seemed too up its own arse and doesnt provide answers to its mystery which I found disappointing

Interesting though

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by SexySamSosa67

Carlito's Way and Dressed To Kill are his best.

I haven't seen Blow Up though.

Blow Up is the Antonioni film which De Palma's Blow Out references.

[Todd Tomorrow]

Originally Posted by baheidstu

You're doing this yourself when talking about the Untouchables. I think it's a fantastically fun film, and one that I can watch over and over again. You're right, it's not one of his more personal films because he was a hired gun, but it still displays a lot of stylistic flourishes that would be absent from a lesser director.

I like The Untouchables, I just don't like it nearly as much as what is known as De Palma's "red films" in the fan community. And I never said every single hardcore De Palma fan thinks Blow Out is his best film, that would be madness.

Ten/fifteen years ago my favourite film forum was part of a highly cineliterate De Palma fansite which at the time was the best film forum on the Internet, frequented by critics who write for Slant, Time Out and the likes. (Unfortunately the site doesn't exist anymore, though its rival forum-less De Palma fan site De Palma A La Mod still exists.) The discussions on the forum revolved around De Palma and film in general, but there was a shared underdog sensibility among members, because De Palma was always considered the least appreciated and most disreputable of the 70s "movie brats (Spielberg, Milius, Coppola, Scorsese, etc). In any case, as there once was a De Palma fan community on the Internet I can talk with some confidence of what were considered the top films among the fan community and it wasn't The Untouchables.

Since its release Blow Out has gathered quite a cult following and even if you don't think that it's De Palma's best film, it's important to understand why many think that it's the quintessential De Palma film. The people who call De Palma a rip-off merchant don't seem to understand that cinematic style and existing films frequently are De Palma's subject matter and Blow Out is the most meta film De Palma has made about the film-making process. That's why it has been recognised since, has gathered a considerable cult following but also a following among film writers and why is held in high regard now.

The "movie-brat" directors of the 70s like Scorsese, Spielberg and De Palma all were obsessed with classic Hollywood and quoted other films, but De Palma was the one who most explicitly made other films his subject matter. He ended up taking famous films (mostly Hitchcock, but also Antonioni, Michael Powell and others) and then he refracted them through his own sensibility, like a jazz player who plays variations on a famous tune. And he doesn't pull one over on you by ripping-off an existing film to sell you something old as new. His variations on a theme work far better if you are familiar with those films and he plays off on that familiarity. He creates a dialogue with those films.

Dressed to Kill is the perfect example of that. Your experience of it is far enhanced by a close familiarity with Psycho rather than diminished by it. Unless of course you are closed minded, have little understanding of one of the main purposes of 20th Century fine art, modernism and post-modernism and think a classic should never be touched. But I think his approach is so much more fun than an official remake and Dressed to Kill almost is a remake, but it twists and alters all the details, becoming like a mutated version of Psycho.

[baheidstu]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

I like The Untouchables, I just don't like it nearly as much as what is known as De Palma's "red films" in the fan community. And I never said every single hardcore De Palma fan thinks Blow Out is his best film, that would be madness.

Ten/fifteen years ago my favourite film forum was part of a highly cineliterate De Palma fansite which at the time was the best film forum on the Internet, frequented by critics who write for Slant, Time Out and the likes. (Unfortunately the site doesn't exist anymore, though its rival forum-less De Palma fan site De Palma A La Mod still exists.) The discussions on the forum revolved around De Palma and film in general, but there was a shared underdog sensibility among members, because De Palma was always considered the least appreciated and most disreputable of the 70s "movie brats (Spielberg, Milius, Coppola, Scorsese, etc). In any case, as there once was a De Palma fan community on the Internet I can talk with some confidence of what were considered the top films among the fan community and it wasn't The Untouchables.

Since its release Blow Out has gathered quite a cult following and even if you don't think that it's De Palma's best film, it's important to understand why many think that it's the quintessential De Palma film. The people who call De Palma a rip-off merchant don't seem to understand that cinematic style and existing films frequently are De Palma's subject matter and Blow Out is the most meta film De Palma has made about the film-making process. That's why it has been recognised since, has gathered a considerable cult following but also a following among film writers and why is held in high regard now.

The "movie-brat" directors of the 70s like Scorsese, Spielberg and De Palma all were obsessed with classic Hollywood and quoted other films, but De Palma was the one who most explicitly made other films his subject matter. He ended up taking famous films (mostly Hitchcock, but also Antonioni, Michael Powell and others) and then he refracted them through his own sensibility, like a jazz player who plays variations on a famous tune. And he doesn't pull one over on you by ripping-off an existing film to sell you something old as new. His variations on a theme work far better if you are familiar with those films and he plays off on that familiarity. He creates a dialogue with those films.

Dressed to Kill is the perfect example of that. Your experience of it is far enhanced by a close familiarity with Psycho rather than diminished by it. Unless of course you are closed minded, have little understanding of one of the main purposes of 20th Century fine art, modernism and post-modernism and think a classic should never be touched. But I think his approach is so much more fun than an official remake and Dressed to Kill almost is a remake, but it twists and alters all the details, becoming like a mutated version of Psycho.

I think Blow Out is a great film, though I think it's probably more appreciated by those in the film world because they would understand it just that little bit better. I personally prefer Dressed to Kill though. It's homage to Psycho is far more satisfying than that ham-fisted Gus Van Sant remake, plus I appreciate little touches like the reference to Vertigo in the museum. I found even further appreciation for the film after discovering the Italian gialli films, because Dressed to Kill is also hugely influence by those. De Palma always puts little clues in his films and with each viewing, I love picking up on those for example,

[Show spoiler]every time Dr. Elliott "turns into" Bobbi, you can see him looking in a mirror.

[Lutz]

Originally Posted by Todd Tomorrow

Blow Up is the Antonioni film which De Palma's Blow Out references.

Well if they were speaking about BLOW OUT then it makes their comment doubly confounding because BLOW OUT goes out of it's way to meticulously wrap up all it's plot points.

[PowellPressburger]

I wrote to Criterion asking if we would get the original Filmways logo restored to Dressed to Kill (like Blow Out included) and they confirmed good news.

Thanks for your email and inquiry. The answer to your question is yes, the Filmways logo is included in the upcoming Criterion release of DRESSED TO KILL.

All the best and thanks for supporting Criterion,
Jon Mulvaney

[Ray Jackson]

I was channel surfing last night and came across DTK right at the start of the

[Show spoiler]opening kill scene in the elevator.

Mother of god that is one scary-ass scene--way scarier than the shower scene in Psycho imo.

...I was freaked out for the rest of the night.

[FarewelltotheFlesh]

My Top 10 De Palma Films;

1. Blow Out
2. Sisters
3. Body Double
4. Dressed to Kill
5. Carrie
6. The Fury
7. Carlito's Way
8. Phantom of the Paradise
9. Femme Fatale
10. Scarface

I like most of his films for one reason or another, including Mission to Mars.

[SammyJankis]

Beaver

[BladeRunner2007]

The CC is totally stretched!?

[Todd Tomorrow]

Good, no need to replace my Arrow disc for this.

[JoeBuck]

Originally Posted by SammyJankis

Beaver

Let the shit-storm of arguments begin!

[Rockercub]

That looks horrible! The reviewer questions whether it's stretched, but I think it's beyond obvious. Oh, well, I guess I'll hold onto my Arrow and save the $30.

[schlock]

Geesh. Think I'll just stick with the MGM. Unless those screencaps are proven 'wrong'. CC also looks too bright.

[themp3000]

I think the new transfer is pretty gorgeous and it's probably yet another instance where the screenshots don't really do it complete justice. I couldn't stand the MGM BD at all, good riddance. Yuck.

But let the raging commence anyways.