Dressed to Kill

[cutout]

I had the day off and watched this movie on Hulu, but couldn't stop giggling throughout.

I honestly haven't seen any other Brian DePalma movies, but I know some people respect him. It's got an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. I realize some 'classics' don't age well, but the pacing and dialogue and direction are really.....off. And what was up with the hooker's hobby of trading stocks and buying art? And the final dream sequence?

[Sarah]

All I know is I saw that movie with my sister when it first came out, and we both thought it was great fun.  Now I'll have to watch it again sometime to see if I still get a kick out of it.

[buffcoat]

I thought this was going to be a discussion of the classic KISS album.   

[crumbum]

I love DePalma, and I think Dressed to Kill is actually one of his better works, but I've heard this same reaction from a number of friends. I guess if you're not already on his wavelength it could seem pretty ridiculous -- he's sort of a postmodern guy in the sense that there's a lot of b-movie satire/homage mixed in with the suspense. If the dialogue and direction seemed kind of stagey (I'm reading into your comments here) that might be partially why. And if that sort of thing doesn't float your boat, you probably won't like much of his other stuff.

I find the best parts of his movies are the major set-pieces -- that dream sequence you mentioned, the prom scene in Carrie, or Amy Irving's first big bloody vision in The Fury. Something I love about those scenes, but which I know puts a lot of people off, is his use of totally non-naturalistic techniques like rear projection, split screens, split focus, or even those Klieg lights in the background of the DTK dream sequence. He's always drawing your attention to the movie-ness of the experience.

Anyhow, if you want to keep trying, I'd highly recommend Carrie, followed by Blow-Out. Carlito's Way is a lot of fun (it features an incredible Sean Penn performance and Al Pacino is fairly restrained in it). More recently Mission to Mars had its moments.

[cleveland jonah]

i dont think there is anything wrong with this movie?

[gravy boat]

I had a similar reaction as cutout to DePalma's Body Double.  When I first saw it as a teenager, I thought it was great --  like Hitchcock-mind-bending great with all the "cool" twists.  When I revisited it ten years, all the B-movie schlock elements stood out.  And I kept wishing that wasn't Melanie Griffith in it.

I have reseen Blow Out recently and that held up well.

[crumbum]

Yeah, Body Double is pretty bad. But I'll always hold a small place in my heart for Melanie Griffith in Something Wild. As far as I can see from looking at her IMDB page, it's pretty much the only good movie on her resume. It made great use of everything that was once likable about her (and it features the Feelies).

[cutout]

I guess if you're not already on his wavelength it could seem pretty ridiculous -- he's sort of a postmodern guy in the sense that there's a lot of b-movie satire/homage mixed in with the suspense. If the dialogue and direction seemed kind of stagey (I'm reading into your comments here) that might be partially why. And if that sort of thing doesn't float your boat, you probably won't like much of his other stuff.

No, that's valid. All I'd ever heard was DePalma was a Hitchcock disciple so I thought it would be grittier, but it just felt campy and awkward. I'm not averse to watching his other stuff now that I know what to expect.

i dont think there is anything wrong with this movie?

Dennis Franz's comical overacting (and leather jacket), the way the entire plot was explained note for note at the very end, the doctor/tranny plot that only barely makes sense...

[Shaggy 2 Grote]

All I remember about that movie was that everyone in the fourth grade talked nonstop about the long shower scene with Angie Dickinson naked.  I think I went over a friend's house to watch it on cable.

[cutout]

All I remember about that movie was that everyone in the fourth grade talked nonstop about the long shower scene with Angie Dickinson naked.  I think I went over a friend's house to watch it on cable.

I was kind of impressed she did her own nude scenes. I watched Basic Instinct on Hulu last night (brag) and hadn't realized how much gratuitous nudity was in it and that Sharon Stone insisted on her own nude "stunts", something other actresses who declined the role refused to do (looking at you Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts).

Also, the second commenter here seems to say what I couldn't really articulate -

Maybe partially because of this influence, Dressed to Kill is also deeply flawed when viewed at this point in time. Countless subsequent directors have taken their Hitchcock-like De Palma and honed it, improving nearly every element, so that watched now, after 25 years' worth of influenced thrillers, much of Dressed to Kill seems agonizingly paced, structurally clunky and plot-wise inept.

On the other hand, from a point of view caring about the story, and especially if one is expecting to watch a thriller, everything through the museum scene and slightly beyond might seem too slow and silly. Because of its removal from the main genre of the film and its primary concern with directorial panache (as well as cultural facts external to the film), the opening seems like a not very well integrated attempt to titillate and be risqué. Once the first murder occurs, things improve, but because of the film's eventual influence, much of the improvement now seems a bit clichéd and occasionally hokey.

(Just want to reiterate: I don't know shit about making movies and will fully admit I probably don't "get" DePalma's ideas through some oversights of my own. I need to see more of his stuff)

[Bryan]

Dennis Franz's comical overacting (and leather jacket), the way the entire plot was explained note for note at the very end, the doctor/tranny plot that only barely makes sense...

I think a lot of what's weird about this movie (if I recall correctly) comes down to the fact that it's kind of a remake, or at least a mirroring, of Psycho. So that explanation at the end is there because of the also-clunky explanation at the end of Psycho.

[buffcoat]

"Ladies in Waiting" is overrated, but "Room Service" and "Getaway" probably don't get enough attention.  I like the opening guitar on "Rock Bottom," though as Tom says the whole album does sound like it was recorded in a phone booth.

The lyrics to "Room Service" are pure gold, and describe the life and concerns of a traveling rock star precisely.



"Love Her All I Can," on the other hand, is a discarded Wicked Lester track.

[Wes]

"Ladies in Waiting" is overrated, but "Room Service" and "Getaway" probably don't get enough attention.  I like the opening guitar on "Rock Bottom," though as Tom says the whole album does sound like it was recorded in a phone booth.

The lyrics to "Room Service" are pure gold, and describe the life and concerns of a traveling rock star precisely.



"Love Her All I Can," on the other hand, is a discarded Wicked Lester track.

No thoughts on the cover? Unless...are you saving that for a thread about all of their album covers? Please start a thread about all of their album covers. Thanks.

[Kid Pain]

for some reason i go bananas over sisters but not for any of his other movies.

[buffcoat]

Yeah, Sela Ward was pretty hot.