Brian De Palma apparently was less than enthused by Pauline Kael’s scathing “Body Double” review. The legendary critic didn’t seem to grasp what De Palma was attempting with his 1984 meta noir send-up of Hollywood.
The auteur’s take on “Rear Window” centered on a struggling actor (Craig Wasson) who seems to witness a murder while housesitting for his friend’s (Gregg Henry) pal. His relationship with a rising young porn actress (Melanie Griffith) leads to him investigating whether or not his voyeurism could solve a crime.
“Body Double,” which is receiving a theatrical re-release as part of Netflix’s Milestone Movies program in honor of its 40th anniversary, was received “harshly” by critics, according to actor Henry, who reunited with writer/director/producer De Palma after having a single yet memorable line in “Scarface.” Henry went on to work with De Palma for six more films.
“You always...
The auteur’s take on “Rear Window” centered on a struggling actor (Craig Wasson) who seems to witness a murder while housesitting for his friend’s (Gregg Henry) pal. His relationship with a rising young porn actress (Melanie Griffith) leads to him investigating whether or not his voyeurism could solve a crime.
“Body Double,” which is receiving a theatrical re-release as part of Netflix’s Milestone Movies program in honor of its 40th anniversary, was received “harshly” by critics, according to actor Henry, who reunited with writer/director/producer De Palma after having a single yet memorable line in “Scarface.” Henry went on to work with De Palma for six more films.
“You always...
- 5/3/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Nearly four years ago, Disney+ attempted to adapt Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff. There’s no reason for you to remember the series — it wasn’t renewed — because it was the one thing a Tom Wolfe adaptation should never be: wholly forgettable.
The innocuously mediocre series served to disabuse me of one of my favorite pet theories — that De Palma’s adaptation of The Bonfire of the Vanities failed not because of incompatibility between story and storyteller, but because his tapestry lacked sufficient scope. De Palma captured a lot of Wolfe’s literary excess with his camera, but just couldn’t capture the narrative excess in two hours, leading me to hope that someday somebody would do Bonfire as a miniseries (attempts to do just that remain ongoing). But Disney+’s The Right Stuff made it pretty clear that the key to adapting Wolfe is capturing the size and tone of his prose,...
The innocuously mediocre series served to disabuse me of one of my favorite pet theories — that De Palma’s adaptation of The Bonfire of the Vanities failed not because of incompatibility between story and storyteller, but because his tapestry lacked sufficient scope. De Palma captured a lot of Wolfe’s literary excess with his camera, but just couldn’t capture the narrative excess in two hours, leading me to hope that someday somebody would do Bonfire as a miniseries (attempts to do just that remain ongoing). But Disney+’s The Right Stuff made it pretty clear that the key to adapting Wolfe is capturing the size and tone of his prose,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Daniel Fienberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The episode of Wtf Happened to This Horror Movie? covering Raising Cain was Written and Narrated by Mike Holtz, Edited by Joseph Wilson, Produced by Andrew Hatfield and John Fallon, and Executive Produced by Berge Garabedian.
There’s a lot to miss about the ’90s. Video stores. Arcades. Music Television. On and on. One of the many things I miss is the slew of original thrillers that used to grace the big screen. Each one with varying amounts of horror, cheesiness, and sex. Richard Gere and Michael Douglas were involved in more sex and danger in the ’90s than Maureen Prescott’s ghost. But today isn’t about watching the guy from Falling Down rip his expensive and pleated slacks off in a fever of passion. It’s about directing legend Brian De Palma returning to the genre with his very own fever dream Fight Club. A story of split personalities,...
There’s a lot to miss about the ’90s. Video stores. Arcades. Music Television. On and on. One of the many things I miss is the slew of original thrillers that used to grace the big screen. Each one with varying amounts of horror, cheesiness, and sex. Richard Gere and Michael Douglas were involved in more sex and danger in the ’90s than Maureen Prescott’s ghost. But today isn’t about watching the guy from Falling Down rip his expensive and pleated slacks off in a fever of passion. It’s about directing legend Brian De Palma returning to the genre with his very own fever dream Fight Club. A story of split personalities,...
- 4/29/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
Brian De Palma has often been called the second incarnation of Alfred Hitchcock in cinema. During his long career in Hollywood, he earned a reputation as one of the most provocative and versatile directors, equally at home directing gory horror films, brutal gangster dramas, and commercial hits.
His works became a reference not only for the creation of other movies and music videos, but also for musical careers; for example, Al Pacino's scream from Carlito's Way opened Jay-Z's second platinum album. And another of De Palma's cult films was the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino to create the best character in one of his most famous flicks, Pulp Fiction.
Tarantino’s Choice for The Role of Vincent Vega Was a Surprise to Many
Tarantino likes to choose actors at his own discretion and gets very upset when one of his chosen stars is not available to participate in his movies.
His works became a reference not only for the creation of other movies and music videos, but also for musical careers; for example, Al Pacino's scream from Carlito's Way opened Jay-Z's second platinum album. And another of De Palma's cult films was the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino to create the best character in one of his most famous flicks, Pulp Fiction.
Tarantino’s Choice for The Role of Vincent Vega Was a Surprise to Many
Tarantino likes to choose actors at his own discretion and gets very upset when one of his chosen stars is not available to participate in his movies.
- 4/19/2024
- by zoe-wallace@startefacts.com (Zoe Wallace)
- STartefacts.com
Two years after he leapt to the forefront of the New Hollywood with The Godfather, and just months before he picked up the threads of that operatic crime saga with the magnificent sequel/prequel The Godfather Part II, Francis Ford Coppola released a quiet movie, one in which sound itself — and, more specifically, its surreptitious recording — is the narrative engine. Arriving during a particularly fertile era for American film, The Conversation was not a hit, but it is one of the period’s most subtle and shattering features. Half a century later, it resounds as hauntingly as ever, not merely as a cautionary tale but as a searing portrait of where we are now.
The movie took its New York bow on Coppola’s 35th birthday, April 7, 1974, a few weeks before its Palme d’Or triumph in Cannes. Today the octogenarian writer-director is again preparing to compete on the Croisette,...
The movie took its New York bow on Coppola’s 35th birthday, April 7, 1974, a few weeks before its Palme d’Or triumph in Cannes. Today the octogenarian writer-director is again preparing to compete on the Croisette,...
- 4/17/2024
- by Sheri Linden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Movie Brats of the New Hollywood took Hollywood by storm beginning in the late ‘60s, blasting through the studios and marking their territory in modern cinema. Scorsese, Bogdanovich, Ashby, Friedkin, De Palma, Schrader, on and on, made their names during this time. But you don’t get out of an era like that unscathed and even today, some feuds still simmer, like that between Brian De Palma and Paul Schrader, whose collaboration on 1976’s Obsession caused a rift that put an end to one of the could’ve-been perfect pairings of the New Hollywood.
In a recent Facebook post, Schrader was asked if he could ever reconcile with De Palma, to which Schrader replied, “Re: Bdp. Not my call.” This would indicate that Schrader is ready to patch things up with his former friend but maybe De Palma isn’t interested. Now, to be fair here, Schrader can be...
In a recent Facebook post, Schrader was asked if he could ever reconcile with De Palma, to which Schrader replied, “Re: Bdp. Not my call.” This would indicate that Schrader is ready to patch things up with his former friend but maybe De Palma isn’t interested. Now, to be fair here, Schrader can be...
- 4/16/2024
- by Mathew Plale
- JoBlo.com
“It has nothing to do with Satan, Mama. It’s me. Me. If I concentrate hard enough, I can move things”
Is it possible to go to prom these days without thinking about Carrie? Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel has become so ingrained in the zeitgeist that it’s nearly impossible to shop for a prom dress without a fleeting fear that it might become covered in blood. And perhaps that’s a good thing. Revolutionary at the time, the story concludes with a shocking act of righteous revenge, but mixed into the wreckage is a cautionary tale about bullying and religious abuse. Carrie may wield the fiery hand of justice in the film’s final act, but only after a lifetime of victimization at the hands of her classmates and mother. Maybe thinking about Carrie and the real life outcasts that share her...
Is it possible to go to prom these days without thinking about Carrie? Brian De Palma’s 1976 adaptation of Stephen King’s debut novel has become so ingrained in the zeitgeist that it’s nearly impossible to shop for a prom dress without a fleeting fear that it might become covered in blood. And perhaps that’s a good thing. Revolutionary at the time, the story concludes with a shocking act of righteous revenge, but mixed into the wreckage is a cautionary tale about bullying and religious abuse. Carrie may wield the fiery hand of justice in the film’s final act, but only after a lifetime of victimization at the hands of her classmates and mother. Maybe thinking about Carrie and the real life outcasts that share her...
- 4/11/2024
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
We're big fans of the horror genre here at /Film. In my humble opinion, it's the best of the film genres — one that can be molded, sculpted, and altered to fit into different-sized packages. Horror can be therapeutic. It can elicit emotions in us that remind us we're still alive and kicking. Like Nicole Kidman in that annoying AMC ad, we come to this place for magic. We come to horror movies to love, to cry, to care. Because we need that, all of us. With that in mind, we're unleashing a new monthly feature where we highlight the best horror movies to stream this month. So let's get ready to scream/stream.
Read more: The 15 Best Horror Movie Directors Of All Time
Late Night With The Devil
Streaming on Shudder April 19.
A horror mockumentary that plays its cards just right, "Late Night With the Devil" is one of the...
Read more: The 15 Best Horror Movie Directors Of All Time
Late Night With The Devil
Streaming on Shudder April 19.
A horror mockumentary that plays its cards just right, "Late Night With the Devil" is one of the...
- 4/8/2024
- by Chris Evangelista
- Slash Film
If there’s ever been a classic horror film that doesn’t need a sequel, it’s Carrie. Stephen King’s debut novel was masterfully adapted into a 1976 film by Brian De Palma and quickly became a runaway hit. In fact it’s likely because of the film’s success that the prolific author so quickly became a household name. Published in 1974, the semi-epistolary novel follows Carrie White, a high school senior who’s spent her life taking abuse from her ultra-religious mother and savage classmates. Finally pushed too far, Carrie unleashes her telekinetic power with a fiery vengeance that lays waste to the cruel and kind alike. De Palma faithfully adapted King’s original novel to create a terrifying exploration of long-term abuse and self-defense gone terribly wrong. The image of Carrie (Sissy Spacek) covered in blood as she walks through a burning prom has become an indelible image...
- 3/12/2024
- by Jenn Adams
- bloody-disgusting.com
All evening, the Oscar ceremony appeared on course for a Scarface reunion of Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer to introduce the final award for Best Picture.
Instead, Pacino walked out by himself to present the category, with the announcer portraying this as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of one of Pacino’s signature movies, The Godfather.
Related: The Oscars: Best Looks From The Red Carpet
While the Scarface reunion was never formally announced, it was fully expected, and Pacino and Pfeiffer were both confirmed as presenters, so Pacino going solo was a surprise.
According to sources, Pfeiffer was not able to attend the ceremony for personal family reasons and was on the East Coast Sunday night.
Related: ‘Oppenheimer’ Director Christopher Nolan Takes Home Directing Prize And Thanks Academy For Cementing His Legacy
As he walked on stage, Pacino was greeted...
Instead, Pacino walked out by himself to present the category, with the announcer portraying this as a tribute to the 50th anniversary of one of Pacino’s signature movies, The Godfather.
Related: The Oscars: Best Looks From The Red Carpet
While the Scarface reunion was never formally announced, it was fully expected, and Pacino and Pfeiffer were both confirmed as presenters, so Pacino going solo was a surprise.
According to sources, Pfeiffer was not able to attend the ceremony for personal family reasons and was on the East Coast Sunday night.
Related: ‘Oppenheimer’ Director Christopher Nolan Takes Home Directing Prize And Thanks Academy For Cementing His Legacy
As he walked on stage, Pacino was greeted...
- 3/11/2024
- by Nellie Andreeva and Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Martin Scorsese was at the Berlinale this week for the first time in a decade. His presence to collect an honorary Golden Bear was a reminder of the festival’s glories of yesteryear.
In decades past, Scorsese touched down in Berlin with major works such as Raging Bull (1981), Cape Fear (1992); Gangs of New York (2003 ), Shine a Light (2008) and Shutter Island (2010). It feels a long time since the event — traditionally one of the world’s great cinema showcases — has attracted such movies. In recent years the studio splashes have dried up.
So have memorable movies from A-list arthouse filmmakers. Scorsese this week sang the praises of the event for the encouragement it had given him as an emerging filmmaker. Citing Brian de Palma’s Silver Bear win for his second film Greetings in 1969, Scorsese said the prize had marked a turning point for unknown, independent American directors such as himself, de Palma,...
In decades past, Scorsese touched down in Berlin with major works such as Raging Bull (1981), Cape Fear (1992); Gangs of New York (2003 ), Shine a Light (2008) and Shutter Island (2010). It feels a long time since the event — traditionally one of the world’s great cinema showcases — has attracted such movies. In recent years the studio splashes have dried up.
So have memorable movies from A-list arthouse filmmakers. Scorsese this week sang the praises of the event for the encouragement it had given him as an emerging filmmaker. Citing Brian de Palma’s Silver Bear win for his second film Greetings in 1969, Scorsese said the prize had marked a turning point for unknown, independent American directors such as himself, de Palma,...
- 2/23/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow and Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings.
Museum of Modern Art
A massive run of Luis Buñuel’s Mexican films begins; “To Save and Project,” continues.
Film at Lincoln Center
“Never Look Away: Serge Daney’s Radical 1970s” brings films by Tati, Samuel Fuller, Nicholas Ray (x2), Godard, Straub-Huillet, Pasolini, and more.
Film Forum
“Sapph-o-rama” highlights lesbian cinema with films by Chantal Akerman, Lizzie Borden, Ulrike Ottinger, Yvonne Rainer, Celine Sciamma, and more; a 4K restoration of The Pianist, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, and The Third Man continue; a print of Calamity Jane plays on Sunday.
IFC Center
As Francis Ford Coppola’s latest recut, One from the Heart: Reprise, continues, Bertrand Bonello’s masterpiece Coma gets a New York premiere and a Dario Argento series begins; Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar plays late.
Roxy Cinema
Cronenberg’s Crash and Keith McNally...
Museum of Modern Art
A massive run of Luis Buñuel’s Mexican films begins; “To Save and Project,” continues.
Film at Lincoln Center
“Never Look Away: Serge Daney’s Radical 1970s” brings films by Tati, Samuel Fuller, Nicholas Ray (x2), Godard, Straub-Huillet, Pasolini, and more.
Film Forum
“Sapph-o-rama” highlights lesbian cinema with films by Chantal Akerman, Lizzie Borden, Ulrike Ottinger, Yvonne Rainer, Celine Sciamma, and more; a 4K restoration of The Pianist, I Heard It Through the Grapevine, and The Third Man continue; a print of Calamity Jane plays on Sunday.
IFC Center
As Francis Ford Coppola’s latest recut, One from the Heart: Reprise, continues, Bertrand Bonello’s masterpiece Coma gets a New York premiere and a Dario Argento series begins; Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar plays late.
Roxy Cinema
Cronenberg’s Crash and Keith McNally...
- 2/2/2024
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Studiocanal is launching sales on Marjane Satrapi’s dark comedy Dear Paris headlined by Monica Bellucci and Rossy De Palma, Pablo Agüero’s Saint-Exupéry starring Louis Garrel, Diane Kruger and Vincent Cassel, Herve Mimran’s buddy comedy The Scammers and Gilles Lellouche’s anticipated epic love story Beating Hearts at the Rendez-Vous in Paris this week.
Satrapi’s Dear Paris is a love letter to Paris and intertwines the story of Bellucci’s narcissistic Italian opera singer, De Palma’s eccentric elderly Colombian woman, and Ben Aldridge;s British stuntman. Eduardo Noriega, André Dussollier, Alex Lutz and Roschdy Zem co-star...
Satrapi’s Dear Paris is a love letter to Paris and intertwines the story of Bellucci’s narcissistic Italian opera singer, De Palma’s eccentric elderly Colombian woman, and Ben Aldridge;s British stuntman. Eduardo Noriega, André Dussollier, Alex Lutz and Roschdy Zem co-star...
- 1/17/2024
- by Rebecca Leffler
- ScreenDaily
Arrow Video’s January release is the 1970s horror masterwork Carrie, starring Sissy Spacek as a telekinetic title character. If you’ve got a taste for terror – make sure you grab Carrie on 4K Uhd from Arrow Video.
The release includes commentaries and visual essays, a wealth of interviews and archive featurettes, and comes in limited edition packaging, with a 40-page perfect bound book, a fold-out double-sided poster, six collector’s postcards!
In 1974, Stephen King published his first novel, the story of Carrie White, a troubled young girl, bullied by her peers and daughter to a fanatical fundamentalist mother, who discovers she has telekinetic powers. In 1976, it became the first of his works to be adapted for the big screen and, to this day, remains one of the very best.
Carrie marked Brian De Palma’s arrival as a major director, following smaller cult films such as Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise and Obsession,...
The release includes commentaries and visual essays, a wealth of interviews and archive featurettes, and comes in limited edition packaging, with a 40-page perfect bound book, a fold-out double-sided poster, six collector’s postcards!
In 1974, Stephen King published his first novel, the story of Carrie White, a troubled young girl, bullied by her peers and daughter to a fanatical fundamentalist mother, who discovers she has telekinetic powers. In 1976, it became the first of his works to be adapted for the big screen and, to this day, remains one of the very best.
Carrie marked Brian De Palma’s arrival as a major director, following smaller cult films such as Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise and Obsession,...
- 1/17/2024
- by Peter 'Witchfinder' Hopkins
- Horror Asylum
There's a billion bits of "Star Wars" trivia out there, but one of my favorites is actually from before a single foot of film ran through the camera. You have to remember that, though "Star Wars" is a multi-billion dollar IP now, the original film barely got made. George Lucas had success with "American Graffiti," but this was a script that nobody in Hollywood understood, even Alan Ladd Jr., the Fox exec who gave the film a greenlight.
Lucas's world-building impressed most people, but they just didn't understand the technobabble jargon in a genre that was predominantly either super serious like "2001" or extra campy like "Barbarella." "Star Wars" existed somewhere between the two and that threw everybody, from studio execs to the actors auditioning for the movie, for a loop.
This was also an era pre-internet, so when Hamill went in to his first meeting for the role of Luke Skywalker...
Lucas's world-building impressed most people, but they just didn't understand the technobabble jargon in a genre that was predominantly either super serious like "2001" or extra campy like "Barbarella." "Star Wars" existed somewhere between the two and that threw everybody, from studio execs to the actors auditioning for the movie, for a loop.
This was also an era pre-internet, so when Hamill went in to his first meeting for the role of Luke Skywalker...
- 1/15/2024
- by Eric Vespe
- Slash Film
Armitage Trail's original novel "Scarface" was first published in 1930, and traces the rise and fall of the vicious gangster Tony "Scarface" Guarino, who took over the Chicago bootlegging underground during Prohibition. Clearly, Tony Guarino is an analog to Al Capone, and many true crime fans find it tantalizingly suspicious that Armitage Trail (real name: Maurice R. Coons) died of a heart attack at age 28, only six months after the publication of "Scarface." Coons, after all, had to hobnob with real gangsters in order to get ideas for his novel, and he would have been known in certain corners of the underground.
In 1932, director Howard Hawks made the first film version of "Scarface," starring Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte. Hawks' film was well-received, with some critics citing its naturalness and lack of melodrama. Indeed, it was so natural and treated crime with such frankness that some markets refused to show it.
In 1932, director Howard Hawks made the first film version of "Scarface," starring Paul Muni as Antonio "Tony" Camonte. Hawks' film was well-received, with some critics citing its naturalness and lack of melodrama. Indeed, it was so natural and treated crime with such frankness that some markets refused to show it.
- 1/11/2024
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Not every movie — indeed, almost no movie — was meant to be turned into a musical. But the trend of doing so has become more common over the last two decades, and when you see a movie-to-musical transformation that really works, a surprising alchemy occurs. It can feel as if that story was always made to be told through song and dance; when you think back on the non-musical version, it can now seem like it’s missing something. That’s the sensation I’ve had at movies-turned-Broadway-musicals like “Hairspray,” “School of Rock” (built around Andrew Lloyd Webber’s greatest score in decades), and even “Back to the Future”.
The same dynamic works, in a clever if less spectacular way, in “Mean Girls,” the movie adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical version of the classic 2004 screen comedy. Will the new movie replace the original film in anyone’s affections? That might depend on how old you are.
The same dynamic works, in a clever if less spectacular way, in “Mean Girls,” the movie adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical version of the classic 2004 screen comedy. Will the new movie replace the original film in anyone’s affections? That might depend on how old you are.
- 1/10/2024
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Sissy Spacek has been one of America’s top actresses for almost 50 years. Throughout her career she has received six Oscar nominations for Best Actress, seven Golden Globe bids and three Emmy nominations. The New York Film Critics Circle has been so enamored of her work that they have recognized her four times, placing her second behind only Meryl Streep as the organization’s most acclaimed actresses.
Stephen King‘s first novel “Carrie” first brought Spacek international stardom after she initially gained attention in the movie “Badlands.” Spacek has told the story of how she volunteered to do “Carrie” for director Brian De Palma as a favor. Spacek was in demand after her reception in “Badlands,” but after De Palma hired Spacek’s boyfriend and future husband Jack Fisk as the art director for “Carrie,” Spacek read the script, liked it and offered De Palma her services.
The success of...
Stephen King‘s first novel “Carrie” first brought Spacek international stardom after she initially gained attention in the movie “Badlands.” Spacek has told the story of how she volunteered to do “Carrie” for director Brian De Palma as a favor. Spacek was in demand after her reception in “Badlands,” but after De Palma hired Spacek’s boyfriend and future husband Jack Fisk as the art director for “Carrie,” Spacek read the script, liked it and offered De Palma her services.
The success of...
- 12/24/2023
- by Zach Laws, Robert Pius and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
Brian De Palma's "Carrie" was the film that defined a generation. Its blend of coming-of-age themes, fantastical magic, and slasher-style bloodshed makes it a genre-bending film that time just can't seem to forget.
The 1976 horror tells the story of a sheltered girl who lives under her obsessively religious mother's tyrannical rule, a dictatorship made all the worse by the onset of Carrie's period. Her mother's frenzy combined with a cruel prank at the prom pushes the shy young girl to a mental break, complete with telekinetic powers. The Stephen King adaptation launched some incredibly notable careers, including John Travolta, who plays high school bully Billy Nolan. Sadly, not all of the cast has lived to see the end of 2023, including Piper Laurie, whose performance as Carrie's mother earned her one of three Oscar nominations in her lifetime.
Laurie passed away in October of 2023, but many of the other main cast members are alive,...
The 1976 horror tells the story of a sheltered girl who lives under her obsessively religious mother's tyrannical rule, a dictatorship made all the worse by the onset of Carrie's period. Her mother's frenzy combined with a cruel prank at the prom pushes the shy young girl to a mental break, complete with telekinetic powers. The Stephen King adaptation launched some incredibly notable careers, including John Travolta, who plays high school bully Billy Nolan. Sadly, not all of the cast has lived to see the end of 2023, including Piper Laurie, whose performance as Carrie's mother earned her one of three Oscar nominations in her lifetime.
Laurie passed away in October of 2023, but many of the other main cast members are alive,...
- 12/24/2023
- by Shae Sennett
- Slash Film
Clockwise from left: The Godfather Part II, Bonnie And Clyde, Goodfellas, The Departed (all images courtesy Warner Bros.)Graphic: The A.V. Club
Gangster movies are loaded with inherently alluring qualities: the vicarious thrill of watching an antihero buck the establishment and take what they want with impunity; the glamorous trappings...
Gangster movies are loaded with inherently alluring qualities: the vicarious thrill of watching an antihero buck the establishment and take what they want with impunity; the glamorous trappings...
- 12/6/2023
- by Scott Huver
- avclub.com
In a 2000 Star Wars Insider interview with "Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back" director Irvin Kershner, he admits that he was initially reluctant to take on the project: "'Star Wars' was one of the greatest successes we ever had in film, and I felt to follow it would only be to make a film not as good." Even the studio did not want him to get involved with the sequel, feeling that Kershner was "too old, because it's a young person's film." He also knew next to nothing about special effects.
But as much of a success as "Star Wars" became, it was not initially received that way. In the same interview, Kershner recalls viewing a trailer at Francis Ford Coppola's New Year's Eve party: "We were all baffled, to tell you the truth. We did not believe that he was going to get away with this. We all had...
But as much of a success as "Star Wars" became, it was not initially received that way. In the same interview, Kershner recalls viewing a trailer at Francis Ford Coppola's New Year's Eve party: "We were all baffled, to tell you the truth. We did not believe that he was going to get away with this. We all had...
- 11/25/2023
- by Caroline Madden
- Slash Film
Brian De Palma’s got a long list of films that have been called masterpieces. And, of all the movies he’s made over the past 60 years, he mentions one as being his favorite: Carlito’s Way. The film, with its ensemble cast that included Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller, John Leguizamo, and Adrian Pasdar, was released 30 years ago. When we’ve spoken to Pasdar over the years, he’s talked about his fond memories of working with De Palma and that incredible cast.(Click on the media bar below to hear Adrian Pasdar) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/Looking-Way-Back_-Revisiting-Brian-De-Palmas-Carlitos-Way.mp3
Carlito’s Way is available on DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K, and most digital platforms.
The post ‘Carlito’s’ Way-Back Machine: Adrian Pasdar Shares His Memories appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
Carlito’s Way is available on DVD, Blu-Ray, 4K, and most digital platforms.
The post ‘Carlito’s’ Way-Back Machine: Adrian Pasdar Shares His Memories appeared first on Hollywood Outbreak.
- 11/23/2023
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
A new holiday horror classic emerges with the arrival of Eli Roth‘s Thanksgiving in theaters on November 17.
In Thanksgiving, “After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.”
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Roth, who wrote the script with Jeff Rendell, about his gory slasher and how it’s evolved since its faux trailer origins. In part one of our chat, the horror filmmaker reflected on the origins of his slasher and his thoughts on modern horror.
Now, in part two, Roth shares the research put into the contemporary slasher and the design behind his killer, John Carver.
While Roth is a lifelong horror study, filmmaker, and fanatic, Thanksgiving alters the cold open kill that’s tradition for the slasher subgenre. When asked if he felt any pressure expanding the fake Grindhouse trailer and its memorable kills in a contemporary slasher,...
In Thanksgiving, “After a Black Friday riot ends in tragedy, a mysterious Thanksgiving-inspired killer terrorizes Plymouth, Massachusetts – the birthplace of the infamous holiday.”
Bloody Disgusting spoke with Roth, who wrote the script with Jeff Rendell, about his gory slasher and how it’s evolved since its faux trailer origins. In part one of our chat, the horror filmmaker reflected on the origins of his slasher and his thoughts on modern horror.
Now, in part two, Roth shares the research put into the contemporary slasher and the design behind his killer, John Carver.
While Roth is a lifelong horror study, filmmaker, and fanatic, Thanksgiving alters the cold open kill that’s tradition for the slasher subgenre. When asked if he felt any pressure expanding the fake Grindhouse trailer and its memorable kills in a contemporary slasher,...
- 11/16/2023
- by Meagan Navarro
- bloody-disgusting.com
Italian cinema is in the spotlight at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles where the screening series “Ennio Morricone: Essential Scores from a Movie Maestro,” programmed in partnership with Cinecittà, is currently playing to sold-out audiences.
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
The Oct. 6-Nov. 25 event comprises 20 titles, including Sergio Leone’s “The Good the Bad and the Ugly” in a new restored print, “Once Upon a Time in the West” (pictured) and Don Siegel’s “Two Mules for Sister Sara,” plus a selection of other works hailing both from the master composer’s native Italy and the U.S.. Among these are Brian De Palma (“The Untouchables”), Terrence Malick (“Days of Heaven”) and Quentin Tarantino’s “The Hateful Eight,” for which Morricone finally won the the Oscar for best original soundtrack in 2016.
“Hateful Eight” screened at the museum’s David Geffen Theatre in the 70mm “Roadshow” version with an intermission and an overture.
Cinecittà operates...
- 11/16/2023
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
November has arrived, and with it a bevy of exciting, engaging and fresh new movies to stream on your friendly neighborhood streaming service. As fall is in full swing, the tone and tenor of new movies is starting to shift in a more dramatic direction while studios begin to trot out their awards contenders. A few of those arrive this month, including true stories “Nyad” and “Rustin,” but it’s not all serious business — the Awkwafina/Sandra Oh comedy “Quiz Lady” and David Fincher’s take on a B-movie “The Killer” both arrive this month as well.
And that’s not to mention the cornucopia of library titles that are newly streaming this month, including a host of Christmas classics. Whether it’s Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+ or Disney+, we’ve got you covered with our curated selection of the best new movies streaming in November 2023 below.
And that’s not to mention the cornucopia of library titles that are newly streaming this month, including a host of Christmas classics. Whether it’s Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+ or Disney+, we’ve got you covered with our curated selection of the best new movies streaming in November 2023 below.
- 11/10/2023
- by Drew Taylor
- The Wrap
Say goodbye to Luca Guadagnino’s “Scarface” movie.
The “Challengers” and “Call Me by Your Name” director confirmed to The Hindu that he is no longer attached to helm a reinterpretation of the iconic mobster movie. Guadagnino was first attached to “Scarface” in 2020, with Ethan and Joel Coen writing the script.
“I’m not working on ‘Scarface’ anymore,” Guadagnino told the outlet in November 2023.
He later added of adaptations in general, “For me, when approaching any book adaptation or remake, it’s about understanding what the story carries within itself that goes beyond the form of the original work. So that you can tell that story from a completely different perspective. Whether it’s fresh or not, I cannot tell. But it’s different.”
Howard Hawks’ 1932 original “Scarface,” based on Armitage Trail’s novel, was later iconically remade in 1983 by director Brian De Palma using a script by Oliver Stone...
The “Challengers” and “Call Me by Your Name” director confirmed to The Hindu that he is no longer attached to helm a reinterpretation of the iconic mobster movie. Guadagnino was first attached to “Scarface” in 2020, with Ethan and Joel Coen writing the script.
“I’m not working on ‘Scarface’ anymore,” Guadagnino told the outlet in November 2023.
He later added of adaptations in general, “For me, when approaching any book adaptation or remake, it’s about understanding what the story carries within itself that goes beyond the form of the original work. So that you can tell that story from a completely different perspective. Whether it’s fresh or not, I cannot tell. But it’s different.”
Howard Hawks’ 1932 original “Scarface,” based on Armitage Trail’s novel, was later iconically remade in 1983 by director Brian De Palma using a script by Oliver Stone...
- 11/6/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
With an output of three feature films in just four years and several short films in-between, a purveyor in Feminist horror cinema genre, American independent filmmaker Jennifer Reeder tackles womanhood, sisterhood and family in Perpetrator. Delving into our fixation of young bodies and how society is quick to exploit, dismantle and to an extreme destroy them, we have shapeshifter underworlds, siphoning of fluids, and the blood motif here is strong. A film about taking back the power and one’s agency, this is an ode to retro and recent classics such as De Palma’s Carrie to Ducournau’s Raw. Released in the Panorama section at the Berlinale with fest stops at Tribeca, Karlovy Vary and a Shudder release on September 1st, the film is still traveling the fest circuit.…...
- 10/30/2023
- by Eric Lavallée
- IONCINEMA.com
A femme fatale is in the business of fooling people, though we’ve seen enough of these characters to be overly familiar with their tricks. Maybe that’s why, in 2023, the most effective femme fatale is one who can fool the audience. Take Stéphane (Laure Calamy), the desperate young woman at the center of the delectable French family thriller “The Origin of Evil.” The film’s rather abstract title could refer to several things, but the most accurate is probably the cliché that first leaps to mind: Money is the root of all evil. For money — what it can and cannot do, and what people will do to get it — is the film’s theme, and the toxic life force that courses through it.
When we meet Stéphane, she’s in the women’s locker room of the fish plant she works at on an assembly line; her job consists...
When we meet Stéphane, she’s in the women’s locker room of the fish plant she works at on an assembly line; her job consists...
- 10/28/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Officially announced this morning, Brian De Palma’s classic Stephen King adaptation Carrie is getting a 4K Ultra HD upgrade from Arrow Video, and it’s up for pre-order now.
The Limited Edition 4K release will be available on January 22, 2024. Restored in 4K from the original negative, this collector’s edition “provides the film’s definitive release.”
Special Features include…
4K restoration from the original camera negative 4K (2160p) Uhd Blu-rayTM presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) Lossless mono and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio soundtracks Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Commentary by Lee Gambin, author of Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo, and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Cultographies: Ms. 45 and Devil’s Advocates: Suspiria Acting Carrie – archive featurette containing interviews with director Brian De Palma, actors Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt and others More Acting Carrie – additional interviews with the...
The Limited Edition 4K release will be available on January 22, 2024. Restored in 4K from the original negative, this collector’s edition “provides the film’s definitive release.”
Special Features include…
4K restoration from the original camera negative 4K (2160p) Uhd Blu-rayTM presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) Lossless mono and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio soundtracks Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Commentary by Lee Gambin, author of Nope, Nothing Wrong Here: The Making of Cujo, and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, author of Cultographies: Ms. 45 and Devil’s Advocates: Suspiria Acting Carrie – archive featurette containing interviews with director Brian De Palma, actors Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving, William Katt and others More Acting Carrie – additional interviews with the...
- 10/27/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
H.P. Lovecraft is easily one of the least sexy writers of all time but that hasn’t stopped director Joe Lynch (Mayhem) from dusting off one of ole grandad’s tentacle-less tales and spinning it into a true-blue Erotic Thriller. Paying homage to the prestige De Palma’s pictures that elevated the genre, and the trashier lesser-known titles that flooded the early 90s, Suitable Flesh is a dreamy, steamy, soft-core vibe full of body-swapping & bonin’ down.
Set in the Miskatonic Universe, this tawdry tale takes a break from the weird gods and even weirder monsters that make up so many of Lovecraft’s other stories. Elizabeth Derby (played by Heather Graham) is a psychiatrist specializing in dissociative identity disorder whose life gets flip-turned upside-down after meeting with a mysterious new patient, named Asa Waite.
“Suitable Flesh is a dreamy, steamy, soft-core vibe”
Half-crazy and completely terrified to talk out loud about his situation,...
Set in the Miskatonic Universe, this tawdry tale takes a break from the weird gods and even weirder monsters that make up so many of Lovecraft’s other stories. Elizabeth Derby (played by Heather Graham) is a psychiatrist specializing in dissociative identity disorder whose life gets flip-turned upside-down after meeting with a mysterious new patient, named Asa Waite.
“Suitable Flesh is a dreamy, steamy, soft-core vibe”
Half-crazy and completely terrified to talk out loud about his situation,...
- 10/24/2023
- by Jonathan Dehaan
When “Re-Animator” director Stuart Gordon died in 2020, he left behind a blood-soaked legacy that includes a handful of giddily exploitative horror classics and a legion of genre filmmakers who grew up in the shadow of his low-budget Lovecraft adaptations.
In that light, it would be hard to imagine a more fitting tribute to Gordon’s work than a goofy-smart and gore-happy wad of immaculate trash about an ancient Entity that inhabits the body of an undersexed psychiatrist played by Heather Graham. Lucky for us, Gordon ensured that we wouldn’t have to; based on the Lovecraft story “The Thing on the Doorstep” and written by Gordon’s longtime collaborator Dennis Paoli, “Suitable Flesh” is one of the last projects the late schlockmeister was developing before his death. And director Joe Lynch’s take on the material is every bit as loving and heretical towards Gordon’s memory as you would expect from a true devotee.
In that light, it would be hard to imagine a more fitting tribute to Gordon’s work than a goofy-smart and gore-happy wad of immaculate trash about an ancient Entity that inhabits the body of an undersexed psychiatrist played by Heather Graham. Lucky for us, Gordon ensured that we wouldn’t have to; based on the Lovecraft story “The Thing on the Doorstep” and written by Gordon’s longtime collaborator Dennis Paoli, “Suitable Flesh” is one of the last projects the late schlockmeister was developing before his death. And director Joe Lynch’s take on the material is every bit as loving and heretical towards Gordon’s memory as you would expect from a true devotee.
- 10/24/2023
- by David Ehrlich
- Indiewire
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
Afire (Christian Petzold)
Writing recently about the introduction of video umpires in baseball, of all things, Zach Helfand was skeptical: “accuracy is not the same as enjoyment,” he wrote, “baseball is meant to kill time, not maximize it.” The best films of German director Christian Petzold do both, though you sense his heart might belong to the latter. Petzold’s latest, Afire, unfurls with all the page-turning seduction of a gripping novella. It stars Thomas Schubert as a struggling writer who travels with a friend to a secluded house near the Baltic Sea. Their car breaks down. They encounter a beautiful woman. Somewhere in the distance, a forest fire rages. Soon, inevitably, another burns inside. – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream:...
Afire (Christian Petzold)
Writing recently about the introduction of video umpires in baseball, of all things, Zach Helfand was skeptical: “accuracy is not the same as enjoyment,” he wrote, “baseball is meant to kill time, not maximize it.” The best films of German director Christian Petzold do both, though you sense his heart might belong to the latter. Petzold’s latest, Afire, unfurls with all the page-turning seduction of a gripping novella. It stars Thomas Schubert as a struggling writer who travels with a friend to a secluded house near the Baltic Sea. Their car breaks down. They encounter a beautiful woman. Somewhere in the distance, a forest fire rages. Soon, inevitably, another burns inside. – Rory O. (full review)
Where to Stream:...
- 10/20/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Carrie,” the 1976 Cinderella-goes-to-the-bloodbath horror film that gave Piper Laurie, who died Oct. 14 at 91, the role for which she’ll probably be best remembered, is the movie that changed my life. I was 17, home for the Thanksgiving weekend of my freshman year at college. “Carrie” had opened earlier that month, and I went to see it on Friday at our local mall. I knew nothing about it. I was just a naïve budding film geek who saw everything that played in town. But “Carrie,” for me, was the film-geek equivalent of watching the Beatles on “Ed Sullivan.” By the time the movie was over, I was a different person.
During the big shock sequence at the end, when Carrie’s hand pokes up through the earth in front of her grave, I literally stood up out of my seat in terror. That’s how real it all was to me.
During the big shock sequence at the end, when Carrie’s hand pokes up through the earth in front of her grave, I literally stood up out of my seat in terror. That’s how real it all was to me.
- 10/15/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Piper Laurie, the actress who captivated audiences as Catherine Martell in "Twin Peaks" and terrified them as Margaret White in "Carrie," has died. The Hollywood Reporter has just confirmed that the actor passed away this morning at the age of 91.
The three-time Oscar nominee began her acting career during high school, signing a contract with Universal in 1949 and starring opposite Ronald Reagan in her on-screen debut, "Louisa." From there, the actress began working steadily, starring opposite Tony Curtis several times and appearing in 14 Universal movies (typically in the starring role) in just 7 years. Eventually, as THR notes, Laurie desperately wanted out of her contract, and her agent was able to extricate her from a deal that was keeping truly challenging roles at arm's length.
After leaving Universal, Laurie made one of the most memorable moves in her career with her turn in "The Hustler," an acclaimed movie about a pool...
The three-time Oscar nominee began her acting career during high school, signing a contract with Universal in 1949 and starring opposite Ronald Reagan in her on-screen debut, "Louisa." From there, the actress began working steadily, starring opposite Tony Curtis several times and appearing in 14 Universal movies (typically in the starring role) in just 7 years. Eventually, as THR notes, Laurie desperately wanted out of her contract, and her agent was able to extricate her from a deal that was keeping truly challenging roles at arm's length.
After leaving Universal, Laurie made one of the most memorable moves in her career with her turn in "The Hustler," an acclaimed movie about a pool...
- 10/14/2023
- by Valerie Ettenhofer
- Slash Film
Brian De Palma’s “play nice” films—in which he shows that he can groove to the strictures of pop cinema while reinvigorating formulaic stories with his formal gifts—often have an acrid aftertaste. While watching The Untouchables or Mission: Impossible, the De Palma acolyte may sense the artist’s resentment at having to impersonally flex his mastery. Carlito’s Way, though, is an exception.
Working from a vivid screenplay by David Koepp, adapted from two novels by Judge Edwin Torres, De Palma embraces the romantic possibilities of mainstream cinema, using his skill to deepen the audience’s engagement with melodrama rather than to interrogate it. The 1993 film is an increasingly endangered bird—an intelligent and beautiful entertainment for adults—that was taken for granted by many at the time.
The opening credits sequence establishes a different De Palma register—a cohesion between the sentimental pull of pop cinema and the...
Working from a vivid screenplay by David Koepp, adapted from two novels by Judge Edwin Torres, De Palma embraces the romantic possibilities of mainstream cinema, using his skill to deepen the audience’s engagement with melodrama rather than to interrogate it. The 1993 film is an increasingly endangered bird—an intelligent and beautiful entertainment for adults—that was taken for granted by many at the time.
The opening credits sequence establishes a different De Palma register—a cohesion between the sentimental pull of pop cinema and the...
- 9/26/2023
- by Chuck Bowen
- Slant Magazine
Pressman Film is a production company that was founded by Ed Pressman, a prolific producer of over 90 films, including the likes of Wall Street, American Psycho, and The Crow. Sadly, Pressman passed away earlier this year at the age of 79. Now his son Sam Pressman is the CEO of Pressman Film, which recently rebooted The Crow – and landed an eight-figure domestic distribution deal for the film with Lionsgate. Moving forward, the company is working with Antoine Fuqua on a project called The Street, which was written by Goodfellas‘ Nicholas Pileggi, and planning an adaptation of the 1975 Edward Abbey novel The Monkey Wrench Gang, which will be directed by Catfish‘s Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. They’re also trying to figure out how they can exploit titles in the Pressman Film library… and in a recent article, Deadline mentions that endeavor might involve remakes of the 1980 holiday horror film Christmas Evil...
- 9/25/2023
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
The Ultimate Time Capsule.
We closed out August with a look at the horror elements in the non-horror film Shiva Baby, the trans empowerment of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers, and Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut Stoker. Now, our first episode of September kicks off a month themed after one of Joe’s favorite sub-genres: the erotic thriller!
First up is Brian De Palma‘s controversial masterpiece Dressed to Kill.
Dressed to Kill sees high-priced sex worker Liz Blake (Nancy Allen) witness a mysterious woman brutally slay homemaker Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson). The police think Liz is the murderer and the real killer wants to silence the crime’s only witness, putting Liz in a tough situation. Only Kate’s inventor son, Peter (Keith Gordon), believes Liz. Peter and Liz team up to find the real culprit, who has an unexpected means of hiding her identity and an even more surprising motivation to kill.
We closed out August with a look at the horror elements in the non-horror film Shiva Baby, the trans empowerment of Sleepaway Camp 2: Unhappy Campers, and Park Chan-wook’s English-language debut Stoker. Now, our first episode of September kicks off a month themed after one of Joe’s favorite sub-genres: the erotic thriller!
First up is Brian De Palma‘s controversial masterpiece Dressed to Kill.
Dressed to Kill sees high-priced sex worker Liz Blake (Nancy Allen) witness a mysterious woman brutally slay homemaker Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson). The police think Liz is the murderer and the real killer wants to silence the crime’s only witness, putting Liz in a tough situation. Only Kate’s inventor son, Peter (Keith Gordon), believes Liz. Peter and Liz team up to find the real culprit, who has an unexpected means of hiding her identity and an even more surprising motivation to kill.
- 9/11/2023
- by Trace Thurman
- bloody-disgusting.com
The late Edward R. Pressman’s company Pressman Film is one of the producers of the upcoming reboot of The Crow that Lionsgate just acquired, and it’s not the only property Pressman Film is looking to reboot in the coming years.
Speaking with Deadline this week, Sam Pressman – the son of the late Edward Pressman, and the current CEO of Pressman Film – teased that additional IP is actively being explored.
Deadline notes, “Sam Pressman is readying to steer the company into a new chapter that will honor his father’s legacy in the indie sphere whilst also exploring savvy ways to exploit the company’s rich IP library and embrace the possibilities that new technology, such as AI, can bring the indie world.”
Deadline’s report continues, “The company is also diving into how it will exploit its rich IP library, looking at properties like Ferrara’s Good Lieutenant,...
Speaking with Deadline this week, Sam Pressman – the son of the late Edward Pressman, and the current CEO of Pressman Film – teased that additional IP is actively being explored.
Deadline notes, “Sam Pressman is readying to steer the company into a new chapter that will honor his father’s legacy in the indie sphere whilst also exploring savvy ways to exploit the company’s rich IP library and embrace the possibilities that new technology, such as AI, can bring the indie world.”
Deadline’s report continues, “The company is also diving into how it will exploit its rich IP library, looking at properties like Ferrara’s Good Lieutenant,...
- 9/11/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
While his films have ranged from the sublime to the atrocious, there’s no denying the impact Brian De Palma has had on cinema. Let’s take a look back at 20 of his greatest films, ranked worst to best.
De Palma began his filmmaking career directing underground features shot on a shoestring, many of which starred a young Robert De Niro. He came into his own with the Hitchcock-inspired thriller “Sisters” (1973), starring Margot Kidder as a pair of killer Siamese twins. The Master of Suspense would serve as a muse to De Palma throughout his career, influencing such films as “Obsession” (1976), “Dressed to Kill” (1980), “Blow Out” (1980) and “Body Double” (1984) both in style and substance.
He enjoyed his first box office success with “Carrie” (1976), an adaptation of Stephen King’s chilling novel about a shy teenager (Sissy Spacek) with telekinesis. The film brought Oscar nominations to Spacek and Piper Laurie...
De Palma began his filmmaking career directing underground features shot on a shoestring, many of which starred a young Robert De Niro. He came into his own with the Hitchcock-inspired thriller “Sisters” (1973), starring Margot Kidder as a pair of killer Siamese twins. The Master of Suspense would serve as a muse to De Palma throughout his career, influencing such films as “Obsession” (1976), “Dressed to Kill” (1980), “Blow Out” (1980) and “Body Double” (1984) both in style and substance.
He enjoyed his first box office success with “Carrie” (1976), an adaptation of Stephen King’s chilling novel about a shy teenager (Sissy Spacek) with telekinesis. The film brought Oscar nominations to Spacek and Piper Laurie...
- 9/8/2023
- by Zach Laws and Chris Beachum
- Gold Derby
When singled-out within a purely visual medium, sound becomes intrinsically linked to the theme of obsession: a mystery the eyes can’t see that the protagonist needs to solve. From John Travolta’s Jack Terry unwittingly stumbling into a murder conspiracy when recording foley effects for a slasher flick in Brian De Palma’s Blow Out to Tilda Swinton’s Jessica trying to find the source for the “rumble” that haunts her every waking moment in Memoria, the inability to define a sound’s origin becomes a gripping enigma within a medium that thrives on showing, not telling. Much like De Palma’s film, the latest from visual artist Ann Oren takes as its starting point a recording studio––albeit a makeshift one, set up solely to record the sound effects for a bizarre TV commercial––but follows a much less conventional path to untangle an artist’s growing fixation...
- 8/22/2023
- by Alistair Ryder
- The Film Stage
The saga of American movies in the 1970s is now a mythology. In the first half of the decade, the movies that emerged from the New Hollywood were unprecedented in their realism, their immersion in the gritty side pockets of everyday life, their perception of the darkness hidden in the American Dream. Then, of course, came Lucas and Spielberg, who kicked off the blockbuster revolution — the transformation of movies from reality into fantasy. This myth has been repeated so often that we tend to take it as gospel. But, in fact, it isn’t quite accurate. Because the yin-and-yang of ’70s movies, the whole gargantuan whipsaw from reality to fantasy, had already expressed itself, quite spectacularly, in the staggering cinematic one-two punch that would forever define the director William Friedkin, who died August 7 at 87.
The first punch, of course, was “The French Connection.” Released in 1971, it was a drama about a grungy,...
The first punch, of course, was “The French Connection.” Released in 1971, it was a drama about a grungy,...
- 8/7/2023
- by Owen Gleiberman
- Variety Film + TV
Raising Cain, Brian De Palma’s maddening dissociative identity disorder thriller, remains one of the director’s most inscrutable films three decades later.
“Does Carter know what he did?”
“Carter didn’t do anything. Cain did all the killing.”
Brian De Palma is an absolute master visual storyteller and his movies are always cinematically stunning even when they don’t fully work as films. For every Carrie and Blow Out there’s a Snake Eyes and The Black Dahlia, but Snake Eyes still kicks off with a twelve-and-a-half minute unbroken tracking shot and Black Dahlia turns the camera into an airborne omniscient spectator during its dynamic gangland shootout and simultaneous corpse discovery. 1992’s Raising Cain comes at an important period of transition for De Palma. Sandwiched between The Bonfire of the Vanities and Carlito’s Way–ostensibly the two extremes of De Palma’s career–it’s easy for Raising Cain...
“Does Carter know what he did?”
“Carter didn’t do anything. Cain did all the killing.”
Brian De Palma is an absolute master visual storyteller and his movies are always cinematically stunning even when they don’t fully work as films. For every Carrie and Blow Out there’s a Snake Eyes and The Black Dahlia, but Snake Eyes still kicks off with a twelve-and-a-half minute unbroken tracking shot and Black Dahlia turns the camera into an airborne omniscient spectator during its dynamic gangland shootout and simultaneous corpse discovery. 1992’s Raising Cain comes at an important period of transition for De Palma. Sandwiched between The Bonfire of the Vanities and Carlito’s Way–ostensibly the two extremes of De Palma’s career–it’s easy for Raising Cain...
- 8/7/2023
- by Daniel Kurland
- bloody-disgusting.com
Published in 1974, it was just two years before Brian De Palma brought Stephen King’s Carrie to the big screen, the very first adaptation of a King tale. Needless to say, the movie was a total game-changer in the world of Stephen King and horror at large, paving the way for countless other King adaptations that have never really slowed down in the decades since.
In this exclusive clip from the upcoming documentary King on Screen, masters of horror including Mick Garris and Frank Darabont spotlight the importance of Carrie to King’s career.
“It all started with Carrie,” Mick Garris explains in the clip. “The book was not well known until De Palma’s movie came out. And the movie blew me away. It was so great.”
Frank Darabont adds, “It was the movie that really brought a lot of attention to Steve’s work.”
Dark Star Pictures has...
In this exclusive clip from the upcoming documentary King on Screen, masters of horror including Mick Garris and Frank Darabont spotlight the importance of Carrie to King’s career.
“It all started with Carrie,” Mick Garris explains in the clip. “The book was not well known until De Palma’s movie came out. And the movie blew me away. It was so great.”
Frank Darabont adds, “It was the movie that really brought a lot of attention to Steve’s work.”
Dark Star Pictures has...
- 8/1/2023
- by John Squires
- bloody-disgusting.com
Mission Impossible Photo: Paramount Pictures
Mission Impossible, All4, on demand till next week
Whether you've caught the latest slab of Tom Cruise's action franchise or not yet, there's a chance to fill your boots with the first six films in the series on Channel 4's On Demand streaming service at the moment. If you want to see how much Cruise's Ethan Hunt has weathered down the years, definitely start with his much cockier turn in Brian De Palma's first instalment. Beginning with a sting gone bad in Prague, which takes down his team, Hunt finds himself forced to go rogue after he is held responsible in order to track down the real villains. De Palma draws on the original Sixties series in terms of style but adds a slickness that's all of his own and even though the stunts are not as outlandish as they are in future episodes,...
Mission Impossible, All4, on demand till next week
Whether you've caught the latest slab of Tom Cruise's action franchise or not yet, there's a chance to fill your boots with the first six films in the series on Channel 4's On Demand streaming service at the moment. If you want to see how much Cruise's Ethan Hunt has weathered down the years, definitely start with his much cockier turn in Brian De Palma's first instalment. Beginning with a sting gone bad in Prague, which takes down his team, Hunt finds himself forced to go rogue after he is held responsible in order to track down the real villains. De Palma draws on the original Sixties series in terms of style but adds a slickness that's all of his own and even though the stunts are not as outlandish as they are in future episodes,...
- 7/24/2023
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Brian De Palma's 1996 "Mission: Impossible" movie subverted everything the TV show was about. A lot of "Mission: Impossible" focused on the team dynamic, with each member of the Imf working together to undo the week's hideous act of terrorism or espionage. De Palma's movie assembled a team, set them up on a mission, and then shockingly killed them all off. The only survivor was Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), a new character that hadn't been part of the show. Cruise has become the mastermind of the "Mission: Impossible" movies ever since, standing in as the film series' unflappable and indestructible leader. The TV show was never about heroes of that ilk, and it took several sequels before an Imf team began to form again.
J.J. Abrams' "Mission: Impossible III," for instance, introduced the character of Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), a pencil-pusher back at the Imf home office who,...
J.J. Abrams' "Mission: Impossible III," for instance, introduced the character of Benji Dunn (Simon Pegg), a pencil-pusher back at the Imf home office who,...
- 7/23/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
Brian De Palma's original "Mission: Impossible" subverted just about everything about the TV series it was based on. Ordinarily, the show would follow a skilled team of spies who use gadgets, wit, and impressive espionage skills to track down enemy spies and ultra-powerful criminals. In the movie, the team was assembled and the objectives were clear when De Palma elected to murder the entire team. The only survivor was a new character, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) whom the audience hadn't previously known. It was later revealed that the man behind the slaying of Ethan's team was none other than Jim Phelps (Jon Voight), the hero of the original TV series. This would be like if a "Star Trek" movie killed the main cast, leaving Ensign Jones as the main character. And then it was revealed that Captain Kirk was the one who betrayed everyone.
In a notable scene in "Mission: Impossible,...
In a notable scene in "Mission: Impossible,...
- 7/21/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
In the summer of 1996, Tom Cruise and director Brian De Palma achieved something that Hollywood would spend much of the next decade trying to replicate: a genuinely great movie adaptation of a popular television show that blew up at the box office. The first Mission: Impossible movie was somehow both an ode to the face-swapping, hi-tech hijinks of the original 1960s series while also serving as the perfect star vehicle for Cruise. Even De Palma was at the peak of his powers as an auteur, having just made his most underrated movie in Carlito’s Way.
In the years that followed, other big screen updates of small screen favorites would try to repeat the formula with often disastrous results. Film versions of shows like Wild Wild West, Lost in Space, The Avengers (not that one), and The Mod Squad all amounted to miserable trips to the multiplex. Meanwhile Mission: Impossible’s...
In the years that followed, other big screen updates of small screen favorites would try to repeat the formula with often disastrous results. Film versions of shows like Wild Wild West, Lost in Space, The Avengers (not that one), and The Mod Squad all amounted to miserable trips to the multiplex. Meanwhile Mission: Impossible’s...
- 7/19/2023
- by David Crow
- Den of Geek
On May 22, 1996, Paramount Pictures and Tom Cruise unveiled the big screen adaptation of Mission: Impossible, which would go on to gross $180 million and kickstart a feature franchise. The Hollywood Reporter’s original review is below:
The fuse is burning throughout the big-screen reworking of the cloak-and-dagger TV show Mission: Impossible, but apart from the wham-bam conclusion, there’s a disappointing lack of fireworks in this hotly anticipated production.
An upsy-daisy download takes place as Tom Cruise invades the CIA. The Paramount release will open huge and download gigabucks worldwide. However, tepid word-of-mouth will knock it off the must-see list of many movie goers.
The first production by high-rolling star Tom Cruise and his partner and former agent Paula Wagner, Brian De Palma’s dour and only fitfully entertaining techno-thriller teases one with some of the original show’s team espionage spirit, but overall takes itself too seriously. Set mainly in European cities,...
The fuse is burning throughout the big-screen reworking of the cloak-and-dagger TV show Mission: Impossible, but apart from the wham-bam conclusion, there’s a disappointing lack of fireworks in this hotly anticipated production.
An upsy-daisy download takes place as Tom Cruise invades the CIA. The Paramount release will open huge and download gigabucks worldwide. However, tepid word-of-mouth will knock it off the must-see list of many movie goers.
The first production by high-rolling star Tom Cruise and his partner and former agent Paula Wagner, Brian De Palma’s dour and only fitfully entertaining techno-thriller teases one with some of the original show’s team espionage spirit, but overall takes itself too seriously. Set mainly in European cities,...
- 7/13/2023
- by David Hunter
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It’s not clear when it happened — sometime in the past 27 years — but the Mission: Impossible movies gradually evolved into Hollywood’s best modern action franchise. Figuring out how this happened is far easier: Star Tom Cruise’s legendary willingness to do anything and everything to make each film a blockbuster while — as the franchise’s most powerful producer — savvily finding creative partners that bring out his best. In fact, Cruise is much like his Imf agent Ethan Hunt: When the man’s on a mission, he’s an unstoppable force who’ll never stop running until he saves the day — or, the summer box office. Below, The Hollywood Reporter ranks every Mission: Impossible film, including the newly released Dead Reckoning Part One, from the very worst to the definite best.
7. Mission: Impossible II (2000) Mission: Impossible II
To the surprise of no one. John Woo, the acclaimed director of Hard Boiled and Face/Off,...
7. Mission: Impossible II (2000) Mission: Impossible II
To the surprise of no one. John Woo, the acclaimed director of Hard Boiled and Face/Off,...
- 7/13/2023
- by James Hibberd
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
A week away from the release of Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” critics have praised the new film as yet another triumph for its leading man, Tom Cruise, and one of if not the best film of the summer.
While some critics noted that the film doesn’t quite reach the heights of its 2018 predecessor “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” or Cruise’s 2022 Best Picture Oscar nominated “Top Gun: Maverick,” reviews agree it has plenty of the wild and tense set pieces that “Mission” fans have come to expect, including a comedic car chase through the streets of Rome, a nail-biting train chase and a much-marketed shot of Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff.
“It is Cruise himself that unlocks this extraordinary and, in the end, surprisingly poignant franchise start to finish, the key to it all even when he’s not dangling from a Dubai...
While some critics noted that the film doesn’t quite reach the heights of its 2018 predecessor “Mission: Impossible — Fallout” or Cruise’s 2022 Best Picture Oscar nominated “Top Gun: Maverick,” reviews agree it has plenty of the wild and tense set pieces that “Mission” fans have come to expect, including a comedic car chase through the streets of Rome, a nail-biting train chase and a much-marketed shot of Cruise riding a motorcycle off a cliff.
“It is Cruise himself that unlocks this extraordinary and, in the end, surprisingly poignant franchise start to finish, the key to it all even when he’s not dangling from a Dubai...
- 7/5/2023
- by Jeremy Fuster
- The Wrap
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