Brian De Palma was part of the New Hollywood movement that
included Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese
in the 1970’s. This group of young filmmakers went to film school based on
their love of cinema and their contributions resulted in many great films
during this time period. His early films were quirky low budget comedies that
featured a young Robert De Niro, “Hi Mom” and “Greetings” that were inspired by
the French New Wave. After this, he switches to thrillers, crime, horror, war (Casualties
of War), spy and even science fiction (Mission to Mars). “Carrie”, “Scarface”, “The
Untouchables” and “Mission: Impossible” are some of his most well known films. As I
explored some of his filmography over the years, I began to have an appreciation to some of
his other films. De Palma was known for
the craft he brought to his films, regardless of genre. The close-ups and scenes with little to no dialouge heighten the tension. He has been known to pay homage to his idol, Alfred Hitchcock, but so
has some of his other contemporaries.
Spoilers ahead for some of the post and video clips.
Spoilers ahead for some of the post and video clips.
10. Mission
Impossible (1996)
Based on
the 1960’s show, the film follows Tom Cruise’s secret agent Ethan Hunt as he
tracks down who betrayed his team on a mission while trying to evade capture.
From clever disguises to stealing computer files via hanging wire, it is a
suspenseful action thriller.
For
Cruise’s first film as producer, choosing Brian De Palma for the project was a
smart choice as well as an ignition for the franchise. It is a very different
kind of spy film than a James Bond film. It is more along the line of Jules
Dassin’s heist films “Riffi” and “Topkapi”, the latter which inspired the TV show. The film’s Prague setting is used
well for the characters to hide in since at the time, American audiences were
not familiar with the city. I first saw the film in theaters, which would be my first introduction to De Palma.
9. Carlito’s Way (1993)
De Palma and Al Pacino reunite for a different
kind of Latino gangster film. The film follows Pacino’s Carlito Brigantte,
fresh out of prison, trying to stay clean while reluctantly being lured back to
crime. He also has a woman that he is in love with. The film opens with his death but is then told of what happened before.
I consider this film to be a companion piece to
Scarface as both films are about Latino gangsters and the lifestyle that surrounds them. However,
this one feels more mature than the other. Here, De Palma shows Carlito as a
more seasoned professional who wants out. The opening of the film features a
long extended take that shows De Palma’s skills. Shown through Carlito’s dying POV,
the camera slowly makes a 180 degree turn. Pacino does a wonderful job with the
character, not going over the top like Tony Montana. The supporting cast is
also great, from a slimy Sean Penn as Carlito’s crooked lawyer, Penelope Ann Miller
as a dancer who becomes the object of affection for Carlito, Luis Guzman and Viggo Mortensen.
8. The Untouchables (1987)
Based on another 1960’s television show, this adaptation
follows treasury agent Elliot Ness as he organizes a group of lawmen to take down Al Capone
and his criminal empire. While not
historically accurate, it is a good old fashioned cops versus gangsters flick that is a lot of fun.
Working off a script by David Mamet, De Palma brilliantly
re-creates 1920’s Chicago for a fictional story based on real life efforts. The
set design and costuming played a huge role in transporting us to this world of
prohibition. The cast is also top notch from a young Kevin Costner as Ness,
Sean Connery as an Irish cop who mentors Ness and Robert De Niro as Capone. The
shootout at Union Station is the highlight of the film and an homage to Sergi
Eisenstein’s Battleship Potemkin. The close-ups and sound design create that
white knuckle tension.
7. Dressed to Kill (1980)
In this erotic thriller, a high class call girl (Nancy
Allen) is pursued by a killer after witnessing a murder. Michael Caine is a
therapist who suspects one of his patients is behind the murder. The call girl
then teams up with the murder victim’s teenage son to trap the killer, leading
to a finale one will never forget.
For me, this is De Palma paying tribute to Alfred Hitchcock
with the plot being similar to Psycho and Vertigo for the museum sequence.
There is even a little bit of the giallo horror films by Dario Argento in the
elevator murder scene. At this time,
Angie Dickinson was famous for her “Police Woman” show and to see her killed
early in the film shocked audiences. Though, Janet Leigh did it first twenty
years prior.
6. Sisters (1973)
De Palma’s first foray into the horror-thriller genre,
Margot Kidder plays a French Canadian model whose twin sister has committed
murder. A witness, a female reporter and neighbor from the across the street, is determined to find out
what happened.
This is the film that De Palma sank his teeth in after the
failure of his first studio film “Get to Know Your Rabbit”. Clearly, he set out to make a Hitchcock film
(even borrowing composer Bernard Hermann) and yet, truly original. The opening
of the film will throw off some viewers but just stick around, you won’t regret
it. The sequence where he uses a split screen to depict the different
character’s viewpoints has been a favorite of mine. (The clip below may be out of sync.) A good exercise for the filmmaker and his future awaits him at this time.
5. Scarface (1983)
This gangster epic follows Cuban exile Tony Montana as his
rise in the criminal underworld also leads to his downfall. Writer Oliver Stone
and De Palma update the 1930’s story into the 1980’s. Taking advantage of real life events like the Mariel boatlift and the violence in Miami as a result of the drug trade.The film stars Al Pacino
as the titular character, Steven Bauer as Tony’s friend Manny, and in her
debut, Michelle Pfeiffer as the mistreated but well pampered Elvira.
I think De Palma made
the film over the top to portray the world these characters live in. Violence,
language, drugs and Al Pacino’s line are probably what most viewers would
remember this film for. I think it was intentional to show that this is a world
we should not glamorize. The chainsaw scene was filmed to not show anything but the reaction of Montana as he witnesses it. The story reminds me of my favorite Shakespeare play, Macbeth.
Both characters are ruthless when assuming power and they both fall once on
top. Its cult status in the hip hop community still continues to this day.
4. Carrie (1976)
The first adaptation of Stephen King’s first novel follows
Carrie White, a social outcast who discovers she has telekinesis. Along with
that, she has to deal with bullying at school and abuse from a religious
mother. The prom scene will make people remember the scene.
This was De Palma’s fist major hit and one that led him to
make other studio films. The cast includes Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Nancy
Allen and in his film debut, John Travolta. The prom sequence uses the same
split screen like in “Sisters” to show the deaths that result from her powers.
However, the first dance scene is a favorite mine and how he shot it. The
actors were placed on a platform that was spinning in one direction. The way the colors change in this scene reflects on the mood of the characters.
3. Femme Fatale (2002)
During a heist at the Cannes Film Festival, a beautiful jewel thief (Rebecca Romijn) double crosses her
partners and assumes the identity of a Parisian woman that resembles her. Along
the way, she bumps into her old crime partners and a photographer (Antonio
Banderas) that took her picture years prior.
Upon release, the film was not a success with critics or
audiences. However, my first viewing of the film had an impact on me. The film
opens with a twenty minute heist that will keep audiences up on the edge. From
there, it goes through these twists and turns that I won’t give away. It is better to go into this film without knowing anything. For being
a supermodel, Romijn does a good job with her performance. She is clearly
having a fun time for the role, especially during her striptease. In this
sequence, we become the voyeurs like Antonio and the lucky French man.
2. Phantom of the
Paradise (1974)
This rock and roll musical thriller follows a composer whose
work is stolen by a music producer and following an accident, is turned into
the titular character haunting a music venue. He also falls for a beautiful
singer, whose voice attracts him.
De Palma not only borrows Gaston Leroux’s “Phantom of the
Opera” but also from the Faust tale. The song numbers are great as are the
performances by Finely, Williams and Harper. It is one kind of a film that
should be seen as it took me years to watch it. Luckily, I rented it at a
library and was not disappointed. Picking a scene from this won’t do justice as
the whole film needs to be seen. If you are a fan of “Rocky Horror”, then check
this one out.
1. Blow Out (1981)
A sound technician
(John Travolta), who is working for a B movie studio, is caught in a murder conspiracy after recording sounds one
night and witnesses a car accident that may not have been an accident. A call
girl (Nancy Allen) also gets involved as they are pursued by a murderer (John
Lithgow) killing anyone in his way.
This masterpiece of a thriller shows De Palma at the top of his game. From the story, performances and technique are on a higher level. One of
my favorite sequences in the film is when Travolta’s character is assembling
that mini film using the newspaper pictures and the sound he recorded. As is
shown, it was how film is assembled in the old days before digital. For me, this makes the film a personal one for De Palma who also wrote it. The film’s
title is a homage to Michelangelo Antonioni’s “Blow-Up” about a photographer
who may have witness a murder.
I would like to thank Chris Bench in taking a look at my post and for providing feedback.
No comments:
Post a Comment