Dressed to Kill

Rating:
Summary: Undressed To Thrill
Review: Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) has an unsatisfactory relationship with her bland husband. So she needs therapy. While flirting with her therapist (Michael Caine), he remains (somewhat) true to his ethics and basically tells her to go out and indulge herself. She then goes to the museum and, while pondering the paintings and patrons, meets a mysterious man and ends up getting a quicky in the backseat of a taxi. They drive back to his apartment for some more hanky-panky and after he's fallen asleep she leaves the apartment. While taking the elevator down a razor-wielding hooded psycho woman jumps in and dices her up.

Thus begins the story of De Palma's 1980 thriller. In an unusual move, the star Angie Dickinson lasts only about 30 minutes. The rest is about the search for the killer by Kate's teenager-son Peter (Keith Gordon), the police department's Detective Marino (Dennis Franz), and the murder's sole witness, a prostitute named Liz Blake (Nancy Allen). De Palma created a captivating thriller. It's full of crude talk, razor-induced gore, sex, and suspense. Pretty saucy stuff for its time. It may lack some of its original punch, but it's still effective.

I haven't seen all of De Palma's films, but none of his other films match the style in this one. His use of building scenes together visually with windows, mirrors, binoculars, cameras, and glass doors is nowhere more evident than this film. Everything is about visual perception here and he's a master of the camera.

Concerning the DVD. While the picture looks great, with good colors and crisp detail, there remains remnants of scratches from the film transfer. The sound is good and the movie has a good score. The extras are above average with a nice informative documentary. There is an option to watch the movie in R-rated or un-rated mode. Choose the un-rated. The R-rated is a bit cheesy and nowhere as effective.

Must-have for De Palma fans. Definately worth renting for everyone else.

Rating:
Summary: It's maybe flawed but it has an Excellent Direction.
Review: When a sexually unsatisfied attractive older woman (Angie Dickinson) decides to cheat on her husband for a One Night Stand. Then she's got killed by a unseen murderer. A High-Priced Callgirl (Nancy Allen) is the only witness to the killing. When no one believes her. The dead woman's Son (Keith Gordon) decides to help the woman to trap the killer.

Written and Directed by Brain De Palma (Sisters, The Phantom of the Paradise, The Untouchables) made a clever, razor-sharp thriller but the film suffers some predicability moments that puts it down a bit. There's strong performances by Micheal Caine, Dickinson, Allen and Gordon highlight this film. It's almost perfect in it's own way. Palma does homage to the another Hitchcock's film-Pyscho and Palma's his own film-Carrie at the End. This has excellent cinematography by Ralf D. Bode and a chilling score by Pino Donaggio. DVD has the R-Rated and the Unrated Version in this Special Edition. This has an good anamorphic Widescreen (2.35:1) transfer and an fine Digitally Remastered-Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound, also with the Original Mono Soundtrack. DVD's Extras are great, including an 45 Minute Documentary, Three Featurettes, Trailers and More. This Thriller is Certainly Unique, Do Not Miss It. Panavision. Grade:A-.

Rating:
Summary: "Psycho" Redux.
Review: The year is 1980. Your name is Brian DePalma. You've already directed at least one great film under your belt (1976's "Carrie"). Now, you're inspired to create a film called "Psycho." The problem? It had already been done 20 years ago. So, what's a director to do? Make "Dressed to Kill." The similarities between this film and Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece are so striking that you'd think the estate of Hitch would be dialing their lawyers for plagarism. But for all that's derivative, "Dressed to Kill" is a stylishly crafted thriller that plays like an honest tribute instead of a cheap rip-off. Angie Dickinson is a well-to-do Manhattan mother who's stuck in an unfulfilling relationship, has a good-hearted teenage son (Keith Gordon) and vents her frustrations at her therapist (Michael Caine). Meanwhile, a graphic murder takes place, and the only witness is a call girl (Nancy Allen, then DePalma's wife) who gets caught in a tangled mess as she tries to identify the killer. That's as much as I can say without revealing spoilers, but I will mention that "Dressed to Kill," even after 20-plus years, holds up respectably as a decent thriller. Pino Donaggio's Herrmann-esque music underscores the film's dramatic tension, while many Hitchcockian elements and references surface. DePalma was hardly a feminist's darling, and the film's viewpoint of women (they're either hookers or victims here), may turn off some and reinforce his long-standing reputation as a misogynist (in one of the documentaries, DePalma addresses these charges). This DVD contains both the theatrical version as well as the unrated version; needless to say the latter is much more graphic. While we don't get a commentary, we do get a few retrospective documentaries with interviews from the whole cast of main characters (except for Caine). At such a reasonable pricetag, "Dressed to Kill" is a solid value for those who want a snapshot of the best of DePalma's work.

Rating:
Summary: a good film....
Review: ....not a great one. some extremely creepy scenes! not the least of which being the elevator murder, and certainly the ending (with the shoes!) i get shivers just thinking about it. almost too "hitchkockian" for its' own good, but de palma is quite talented at directing the audience and then pulling the rug out from under them.

Rating:
Summary: DePalma's finest
Review: The first thing anyone renting this film must know is that it is extremely, graphically violent, quite a bit more so than the R-rated version which I recalled seeing in theaters when it first came out. That having been said, I can report that it is an extremely suspenseful thriller, as well as a visual tour de force. Every frame is filled with beautiful detail, including visual effects of lighting, reflection, glare that are DePalma trademarks. Indeed, most of the story is told visually. Most of the opening sequences, from the scene in the museum up to the murder, is told with no dialogue at all, just framed and narrated entirely visually. Other scenes, the subway, setting up the hidden camera, discovery of the murderer, final scene, are all told visually, with great economy of means. DePalma is often seen as an "over the top" director, but in this film, all of his skill is devoted to presenting the story.
There are many scenes of great humor--at the police station, the late scene in the restaurant, most of Nancy Allen's dialogue.
Acting is superb. Michael Caine is especially powerful, but Nany Allen, Angie Dickinson, Keith Gordon, and Dennis Frantz all give first-class performances.

Rating:
Summary: sublime
Review: Terrific thriller from Brian De Palma.Okay so he uses many themes borrowed from Hitchcock but he takes them and by reinventing them in his own trademark style makes them completely his own.This film is full of memorable sequences like the museum scene to name just one with Pino Donnagio's fantastic score combining beautifully with DePalma's fluid camerawork.A gripping film from start to finish.Marvellous.

Rating:
Summary: DePalma at the Top of His Form
Review: Director Brian DePalma really hit it in some of his films that were a homage to the late Alfred Hitchcock. This is one of them. For those of us really missing Hitchcock, this film was a welcome breath of thriller fresh air. While employing a more flamboyant style than Hitchcock and at times straying "over the top," DePalma nevertheless solidly holds his own in delivering a screen thriller. I've seen it several times and always enjoyed it. Who is murdering women is the question? And who will he murder in this film? We start off with Angie Dickinson as the killer's target and that entire sequence is bravura film making of the most exuberant order. Then we segue into examining Dickinson's psychiatrist, played by Michael Caine, through the sleuthing of Nancy Allen and Dickinson's son. If you want to compare this film to a Hitchcock film, I think it most resembles "Frenzy" about the London necktie murderer of women. I also really like "Blow Out" which I see ... is selling in tandem with this one as a special. You would do well to get both. You will be hugely entertained.

Rating:
Summary: Brian De Palma's Macabre Masterpiece
Review: In 1980, Brian De Palma's DRESSED TO KILL was released to widespread controversy. The graphic nudity and violence set off a lot of feminists, who claimed that the film "encouraged violence against women." There are two funny things about the feminist attacks of this movie... 1) These women claimed that the movie was ANTI-FEMININE before they even seen it and 2) The feminists shut up after they did see the movie, realizing how embarrassingly wrong they were and now this movie is very rarely attacked as being the misogynistic film that some women believed it to be.

The movie was also attacked for being a "Hitchcock rip-off!" The funny thing about that is that when one proclaims DRESSED to be a mere trashy take on PSYCHO, they go on to describe everything else in the movie and it becomes clear that they didn't bother to understand, let alone pay attention to the movie. Even funnier, is how one person claimed that the film copies VERTIGO!!!! PROPOSTEROUS, to say the very least. There is nothing similar to VERTIGO, in this movie. So Kate Miller (played full-heartedly by Angie Dickinson) was in a museum... WELL, I GUESS THAT D.T.K. IS TOTALLY ROBBING VERTIGO, I mean since VERTIGO was the first movie to have a museum in it. (sarcasm)

So... It occurred to me that after reading poor review after review on this site and seeing all of the errors people made regarding this movie, that I should give my opinion and review and set the record straight on one of the most Brilliant movies ever made.

I'm sure everyone knows the premise, so I'll just get to the acting... Angie Dickinson gave a performance that puts most actors to shame, all the more encouraging, considering that De Palma's pure-cinematic approach left her character with little dialogue. Michael Caine's performance wasn't the highlight for me as it was for most other people (who probably only praise him because he's a big celebrity). His performance was rather wooden and I wanted to shake him so many times. Nancy Allen and Keith Gordon play their parts perfectly and Dennis Franz was his usual DePalmian sleazy self.

The real star of the movie was the brilliant visual directing handled by master auteur Brian De Palma. He really knows how to bring a touching story out of a combination of performances, camera-technique, set pieces, and cinematography. He so brilliantly makes us feel for Kate Miller, even though she did a very bad thing, that her murder in an elevator is horrifying, SUSPENSEFUL, beautiful, shocking, and gut-wrenching, all at the same time. He then builds another story where it is not expected, after the death of the main character, which is the one and only homage to Alfred Hitchcock, who is famous for using this technique most notably in PSYCHO. The story moves along beautifully as De Palma directs scenes and sequences similar to his future project, BLOW OUT. The suspense is dead on as the audience grows more and more terrified of the villain, Bobbie.

Right before the ending, is a scene of the psychiatrist explaining the murderers motives that parodies a similar scene in PSYCHO so well that most people call this scene a rip-off without knowing what it was truly meant to be... a hysterical parody of Hitchcock's most notoriously BAD scene.

The final scene is more pure cinema terror that involves great editing and very eerie camera-movements, all painstakingly climaxing into a shocking twist.

Also, some mention must be made of Pino Donaggio's lush and provocative score that emphasizes and enhances the beauty, underlying dread, sexual freedom, guilt, and of course, SUSPENSE that run rapid in Brian De Palma's Macabre Masterpiece - DRESSED TO KILL

Rating:
Summary: Dressed To Kill once again shows De Palma's brilliance!
Review: DRESSED TO KILL, along with CARRIE, BLOW OUT, and SISTERS, has got to be one of De Palma's best films. It virtually dazzles you with it's spectacular visuals, and keeps you on the edge of your seat until the end (to which, similar to CARRIE's ending, there is a twist)! Roger Ebert once said that CARRIE was "absolutely spellbinding", and that is also true for DRESSED TO KILL.

A sexually depressed woman (Angie Dickinson) is killed in an elevator (just like Janet Leigh in PSYCHO, she is killed off pretty quick-- probably half an hour into the movie, maybe)-- hints of the PSYCHO shower scene! -- by a woman dressed in black with blonde hair and sunglasses. The murder is witnessed by a pretty call-girl (CARRIE and BLOW OUT's Nancy Allen) and soon the murderous blonde is now stalking her. The killer's name is "Bobbi", and she seems to have an alter ego which you will probably guess early on in the movie. Meanwhile, Dickinson's psychiatrist (the brilliant Michael Caine) knows Bobbi, as she is one of his patients, and is receiving messages on his answering machine from her. Dickenson's son (Keith Gordon) helps Allen to try and catch the killer before it is too late for the both of them!

This may not make much sense now, but it will once you get into the movie. If you love suspenseful thrillers with a twist, then get DRESSED TO KILL-- I guarantee you will absolutely LOVE this film!

MGM's Special Edition of DRESSED TO KILL is a must-have for any collector-- so you better get it now, as a better edition will not be released for a long time to come, if it ever is! The DVD includes both R and Unrated versions of the film; the Unrated features more nudity and blood than the R Rated. They even have an interesting featurette that compares scenes from both R and Unrated versions, allowing you to see the differences between the two. There is one documentary with the cast and crew, two more featurettes, and the theatrical trailer-- plus a photo and art gallery, featuring different publicity shots, posters, and behind-the-scenes photographs from the film! This DVD is packed-- and if you don't get it NOW, you will miss out on one of the best DVDs MGM has ever released!!

All in all, this is a must-own-- and I mean both the movie AND the DVD. I would have bought it even if there weren't any extras, because the movie is SO GREAT. You will not believe it; take my advice, and buy the DRESSED TO KILL DVD; you will NOT regret it!

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: This one of my favorite psycho killer flicks ever thanks to DePalmas truly scary and griping vision of a carzy cross dressin killer's grizzly rampage and a hooker(played by Nancy Allen) who maby his next victum. This flim is brillenty dircected and played out.
Horror fans will not be let down if they stick with it to the hairraising and fever pitched final in a bathroom.
Aside from gory effects I think the films sharp and smart screenplay is what keeps it a flot.

I can not however say that depalma is very creative, even though I liked it a lot. Dressed to Kill takes a bite to much away from Alferd Hitchcock's classic thillers Vertigo and Psycho.