Dressed to Kill
(R, 1:44:29, Released 1980)
| Provider: | Hulu |
| Genres: | Mystery & Suspense, Drama, Horror |
| Released: | Jan 1, 1980 |
| DVD Released: | Aug 28, 2001 |
| Starring: | Angie Dickinson, Anneka Di Lorenzo, Brandon Maggart, David Margulies, Dennis Franz, Keith Gordon, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Samm-Art Williams, William Finley |
| Directed by: | Angie Dickinson, Anneka Di Lorenzo, Brandon Maggart, Brian DePalma, David Margulies, Dennis Franz, Keith Gordon, Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Samm-Art Williams, William Finley |
| Synopsis: | To condemn Dressed to Kill as a Hitchcock rip-off is to miss the sheer enjoyment of Brian De Palma's delirious 1980 thriller. Hitchcockian homages run rampant through most of De Palma's earlier films, and this one's chock-full of visual quotes, mostly cribbed from Vertigo and Psycho. But De Palma's indulgent depravity transcends simple mimicry to assume a vitality all its own. It's smothered in thickly atmospheric obsessions with sex, dread, paranoia, and voyeurism, not to mention a heavy dose of Psycho-like psychobabble about a wannabe transsexual who's compelled to slash up any attractive female who reminds him--the horror!--that he's still very much a man. Angie Dickinson plays the sexually unsatisfied, fortysomething wife who's the killer's first target, relaying her sexual fantasies to her psychiatrist (Michael Caine) before actually living one of them out after the film's celebrated cat-and-mouse sequence in a Manhattan art museum. The focus then switches to a murder witness (De Palma's then-girlfriend Nancy Allen) and Dickinson's grieving whiz-kid son (Keith Gordon), who attempt to solve the murder while staying one step ahead (or so they think) of the crude detective (Dennis Franz) assigned to the case. Propelled by Pino Donaggio's lush and stimulating score, De Palma's visuals provide seductive counterpoint to his brashly candid dialogue, and the plot conceals its own implausibility with morbid thrills and intoxicating suspense. If you're not laughing at De Palma's shameless audacity, you're sure to be on the edge of your seat. --Jeff Shannon |
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Other Top Reviews
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September 11, 2008Stunning film a la Hitchcock from filmmaker Brian DePalma. The scenes and musical score are very provocative. Nancy Allen is superb as one of the cast in her innocent but street-wise role.
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July 7, 2008
An homage to Vertigo and Psycho with two standout scenes, one in an art museum and another in an elevator. De Palma directs a typically fucked up story.
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July 2, 2008Hitchcock inspired madness with a yummy Angie Dickinson and a deceptively charming Michael Caine. The first half hour is very sexual - the next hour or so is very bloody.
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June 26, 2008I couldn't even get into this movie, the beginning was dragging out sooo much, that I just nodded off
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March 26, 2008
A real classic murder movie! I like it. It's the first time I ever see Michael Caine dresses like a woman. That's sick..
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March 22, 2008For those of you that don't remember Brian DePalma when he was first starting out in big name features, let me tell you that he loved to rip off Alfred Hitchcock. Dressed to Kill is a prime example of what Hitchcock might have done if he had the R rating at his disposal.
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March 20, 2008
Brian De Palma is America's Dario Argento, complete with a reciprocal visual vivaciousness in his directorial style and a psychosomatic sexual perturbation within his plotting.
"Dressed to Kill" epitomizes the prevailing traits of the giallo genre - beautiful women brutally murdered in the most beautiful of ways, severe sexual repression leading to eruptions of carnal violence, etc. - while concurrently making it wholly its own.
The plot fairly straight-forward and certainly is unoriginal, but this is due to the fact that De Palma's focus is not the narrative but rather a vigorous analysis of duality vis-a-vis his visual bravura.
Duality is the most dominant theme in Brian De Palma's "Dressed to Kill" which is developed extensively through his creative fabrication of mise-en-scene. He populates the cinematic images with a multitude of motifs such as mirrors, windows, glass, and reflective surfaces to visualize this concept of duality.
However, this duality not only exhibits the characters' multiple identities, but also articulates the characterÂ?s' partitioned relations between one another. Let me clarify - The characters appear to be located on the same plane, and are visible to both one another and the audience, but are disconnected and isolated by a clear obstruction such as a window or shower door.
Indeed, this is De Palma's tour-de-force with its plethora of visual motifs that add a rick and textured subtext to the proceedings, making the film ripe for analysis and discussion. -
February 23, 2008absolutely amazing cinematography and scoring. those two departments alone earn this a high ranking on the murder mystery thriller scale. however, the characters were underdeveloped, the plot had numerous holes, and the acting was only slightly above mediocre. still, an excellent homage to Hitchcock and a great stand-alone thriller, even if it is sub-par in places.
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January 14, 2008
This is a strange, strange movie. Is it Brian De Palma's attempt to lend artistic value to camp? A poorly-acted surrealist homage to Hitchcock? Or an attempt at a transsexual thriller? All I know is that I was really digging it up until the shitty ass ending. It goes on FOREVER. There's a psychological explanation of the killer's behavior lifted right out of Psycho, Nancy Allen babbling incessantly about the nature of a sex change operation, and the longest "one last scare! HAHAHA" sequence in the world. The film could have ended gracefully, and with ten minutes to spare, but I guess De Palma was feeling long-winded that day.
Anyway, I love how retroactively ingenious this is. The plot is built like a house of cards, entirely around coincidences, and it's so ridiculous that it actually works - and well, too. It's an incredibly exciting movie, even outside of the loony transvestite slashings, and it doesn't hurt that De Palma is his typical brilliant self behind the camera. If you fixed up the 27-year-old film and fashions, you could easily pass this off as an exceptional looking modern movie.
Anyway, I'm really not sure what this movie is. It sure fulfills all the requirements for camp, like the God-awful performances; seriously, Nancy Allen, your career's waiting for you in Hell. At first I wondered Michael Caine was there since he's normally a great actor, but I checked his IMDB page and he's done a surprising amount of shit. I guess he's one of those "do whatever comes my way" actors. The violence content is surprisingly low for camp, though, so I guess it's just a suspense movie with really bad movie elements.
I'll never be totally sold on Brian de Palma but this almost makes me want to give Blow Out another shot. Almost. -
January 6, 2008
Un film divertissant, mais qui a un peu mal vieilli. Ce genre d'intrigue semble très familière au spectateur de notre époque. La psychologie du meurtrier est pratiquement calquée sur celle de Norman Bates (Psycho), avec une touche un peu plus moderne dans son contexte. La photographie de certains plans est efficace, mais le style de réalisation fait un peu trop penser à du Dario Argento. On a l'impression que De Palma rend hommage à ses réalisateurs fétiches, mais sans jamais avoir mentionné leurs noms. Un pastiche habile, mais un pastiche quand même.
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December 1, 2007
Have to give this the full five stars for suspense and captivating entertainment! Supebly done! See it!
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November 29, 2007
a delight to watch(even though is a thriller)!!!!!!even though there is little narrative the movie finds a way to keep u in you in suspense.:)
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November 1, 2007There's a great bit in the middle with no dialogue, but SPOILER!
Michael Caine in a dress still looks like Michael Caine... but in a dress. Even if I hadn't seen 'Psycho', the twist doesn't work when you've got somebody as big and masculine as Michael Caine. -
September 15, 2007
Yes, it's a cheesy rip-off of Psycho, but that's its charm, and that's decidedly what makes it fab. And Caine is absolutely fantastic in it!
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September 2, 2007
Brian DePalma proves that he is a great director and the movie is a masterpiece in the aspects of camera technique etc. however the high occurrence of "erotic" shots is something that doesn't really appeal to me, neither do Transvestites.
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August 14, 2007At the same time very odd, and very typical of its director: tries too hard to shock with its lurid colours and violence, and doesn't try hard enough to convince its audiences that there's any real reason to carry on watching other than that of morbid curiosity.
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July 7, 2007
I love some of the premiere sequences of this movie and alot the characters are great, but something about the story and its mechanics just didn't thrill me. Kind of an overrated remake of Psycho. Body Double was much better. :P
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June 25, 2007
DePalma reworks elements of Psycho into a modern tale of transsexuals, psychopaths and the dangers of sexual infidelity. Still controversial with images of rape in a shower, slashings in an elevator and vengeful stalking produce a still shocking thriller. Angie Dickinson is terrific as the frustrated Manhattan woman (the scene in the art gallery is text book language of cinema - little dialogue, reaction to situations, steadicam) and although the 'twist' is obvious from early on, is no less enjoyable. Not for everyone but the genius cannot be denied!
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June 24, 2007
Sexuality, violence and excitement together create one of the most horrifying and erotic films Hollywood has ever made.
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June 5, 2007
Another on of Bryan De Palma's classics this time with Angie Dickinson and Micheal Caine, and a small role as Dennis Franz as a dectective.
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June 3, 2007
Another De Palma suspense thriller from the 80's... This time starring Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Angie Dickinson and again with Dennis Franz co-starring. Not bad for the times...
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May 29, 2007
Entertaining from the opening scene man! Michael Caine & Angie Dickinson give you lots to dig into, and De Palma gives you supreme satisfaction on the creepy meter!
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November 10, 2006
A great suspense, murder mystery / horror flick of the 80's with a beautiful Angie Dickinson in the beginning of the flick.
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October 13, 2006
One of De Palma 's earliest movies with Michael Caine. Ther is an excellent on the elevator which is similar to the one on Basic Instict!
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September 17, 2006
FUCKING BONKERS. Some insane plot twists and beautifully staged camera work. De Palma is the greatest director of suspense alive today. The only person who can touch him is Dario Argento. This is one of De Palma's depraved, and therefore best, movies.
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July 9, 2006
Une prostituée découvre le cadavre d'une femme assassinée violemment et tente de trouver le meurtrier avec le fils de la victime.
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May 4, 2006
Predictable as all shit, but thats only coz all the new movies copied it XD...very nice hitchcockian erotic-thriller
