Rating: 
Summary: "Chilled, Thrilled and quite fulfilled!"
Review: It's THAT moment when you leave the 'one night stand' lover - a moment of 'unprotected' passion ...... THEN something just makes you check his night-stand .......and ....OR you're rushing to get that elevator, you make it just as the doors close, but you are NOT the only occupant .... AH YES! Moments a-plenty, abound this perfect homage by De Palma to Master Hitchcock, and it works rather well. Take a bored housewife, a very elegant bored housewife, a husband who scores a loud "-" in 'that' department, a psychiatrist who seems to have another agenda going, or not? A somewhat nerdy son, then add that elevator, sharp objects, maybe a someone who looks just too familiar....? GREAT visuals, that scene in the museum ['Vertigo' anyone?], and of course the opening shower scene. Rumor has it that there was an "X" version floating around too.......doesn't matter - "X" or "R" - it is still one of the most erotic moments on film to date. Angie Dickinson is perfect as the bored "Mrs.", and Mr. Caine brings just the right degree of creepiness to his "Dr. Feelgood". A rare De Palma and good companion piece[s] to the earlier "Sisters" and "Obsession".
Rating:
Summary: beautifully filmed thriller
Review: To watch Dressed to Kill is to watch art in motion. The photography is beautiful, as well as Pino Donaggio's soundtrack. The documentary about the making of the film is also well worth watching. The director talks about how the critics and the censors attacked the film, but it appears on the DVD in both edited and unedited formats. This is a film I watch just to admire the way it was put together. Noteworthy is the museum scene which is full of emotion but no dialogue, as well as the frantic subway chase scene. If you watch it once you'll probably want a second look.
Rating:
Summary: Writer/director De Palma pulls off Hitchcockian formula
Review: After an unsatisfied housewife (Angie Dickinson) is murdered with a straight razor after a liasion with a stranger, a kindhearted prostitute who witnessed the attack (Nancy Allen), the victim's son (Keith Gordon), and a sleazy police detective (Dennis Franz) all scramble to find her killer. Especially her therapist (Michael Caine), who knows who the culprit is - and whose straight razor is missing from his office. Very dark, tense, and violent - and Hitchcock fans will have a field day noting references to "Psycho" and "Vertigo" among others. Lots of DVD extras: cast and crew interviews, an unrated version option, photo galleries, and the theatrical trailer.
Rating:
Summary: Dressed to the nines
Review: This is the one that had all the country talking about Angie and her shower scene. Was it really her? Depends on which rumor is going around at the time. If dark,erotic and twisted is what your looking for, this is the one. Mr. Caine is great as usual and this movie helped Nancy Allen win the best new actress award for 1980. While Angie Dickenson was only involved in the first 36 minuetes, it is a half hour of intense emotion and mayhem. Ive never seen the VHS but the widescreen DVD version is wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: An Incredible Flick and DVD
Review: This is an absolutely outstanding film. Yes, it is very trashy, the acting is only so-so (except for Michael Caine's usual top-caliber performance)and the style takes precedence over content . . . but when you have a director who knows as much about style as De Palma . . . who cares? Both terrifying and very funny all at once. The DVD transfer is about as good as they come in a wonderful letterbox format. The sound is great as well, and compliments the brilliant musical score very well. Features are endless . . . sometimes a bit repetitive . . . and self-appreciative . . . but good fun nonetheless.
Rating: 
Summary: How to lure others into watching porn
Review: It says on the box "thriller", so one Friday night me and my friends decide to watch it. The beginning is stupid-there is nothing but a porn opening with a bad-looking lady. Than this lady walks around for 25 minutes THEN gets killed. Then the movie is hard to follow after. I gave it two stars because of the surprise ending. The rest of the movie is compelety forgettable.
Rating:
Summary: Deluxe DVD treatment for one of De Palma's best
Review: Brian De Palma's superb "Dressed to Kill" (1980) borrows the plot structure of "Psycho" (1960) to tell a completely original story in a manner which Hitchcock would surely have admired. The 'Pure Cinema' approach deployed here also evokes the best work of Dario Argento, though De Palma clearly has his own agenda. His script attends the fall-out from a terrifying attack on a frustrated housewife (Angie Dickinson) by a razor-wielding maniac who then turns his/her attentions to the sole witness, a streetwise hooker (Nancy Allen) who teams up with Dickinson's teenage son (Keith Gordon) when she becomes a suspect in the case. A masterful example of visual storytelling, "Dressed to Kill" employs constantly roving camerawork to propel complex characters through a series of bravura set-pieces (the museum, the elevator, the subway, etc.), filmed in breathtaking Panavision by the late cinematographer Ralf Bode. At a time when most current scope movies are designed primarily for TV - which rather defeats the whole purpose of scope photography! - it's a revelation to see the entire width of the 2.35:1 frame being used to define characters and advance the plot through an accumulation of visual tricks and counterpoints. Pino Donaggio's memorable score provides an often thunderous accompaniment to the on-screen horrors, and it's refreshing to find a grown-up cast (including a restrained Michael Caine) making the most of a scenario which addresses mature themes in an intelligent manner. This intense thriller refuses to sacrifice integrity for the sake of cheap shocks, but it still manages to scale the dizzying heights of genuine horror. De Palma and the film's principal contributors chart the film's production in a number of documentary extras included on this 'special collector's edition' from MGM, and while some of their comments may seem a little too self-congratulatory, they also provide fascinating insights into De Palma's working methods and the motivation behind some of the devices employed by the director to tell his story. In a special section detailing his collision with the MPAA, De Palma wearily defends the film from charges of misogyny and explicit violence, and his views are supported by the likes of Angie Dickinson, amongst others. Besides, anyone who thinks THIS is misogynist obviously hasn't seen the likes of "The New York Ripper" (Lo Squartatore di New York, 1982), "Red to Kill" (Yeuk Saat, 1994), or some of the more squalid dregs from the Japanese sex-and-torture subgenre. Now THERE'S misogyny for you!! Anyway, viewers of MGM's excellent anamorphic transfer of "Dressed to Kill" can judge for themselves, because the disc contains both the R-rated print (104m 23s) and the unrated director's cut (104m 50s). The former has suffered a number of subliminal edits which make very little difference to the overall effect, rendering them pointless, except for the elevator sequence which loses some of its visceral impact due to the alterations. As such, the unrated print is definitely the way to go! Amusingly, the disc's supplemental section also allows you to compare scenes from these two versions with the network TV edition, which is a travesty. Elsewhere, De Palma convincingly rejects the argument that he's a mere Hitchcock imitator - after all, Hitchcock rarely aimed for the kind of sustained visual flamboyance demonstrated here, though it's clear he would have employed a greater level of explicit detail if he hadn't been restricted by censorship throughout his career ("Frenzy" [1972] was a belated example of this). MGM's region 1 disc presents the film in 5.1 surround, but this unnecessary revision merely subdues the score and adds an unnatural 'reverb' to the sound effects. Thankfully, the original (two-channel) mono track is also included, and provides a much stronger audio presentation. Closed captions are provided, but there are no 'open' English captions available via the menu, which is unfortunate. Isn't it about time that DVD technology consigned the idea of 'closed' captions to the trashcan of history?! That small caveat aside, this disc represents the definitive version of "Dressed to Kill" on home video, and is therefore wholeheartedly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Among De Palma's most visceral thrillers
Review: De Palma's scary, sexy thriller is a study in extremes: practically every scene is either very scary, very violent, very erotic, or very clever in some way. The movie is obviously the work of a film maker brimming with ideas (most of them visual) who loves to make movies. MGM does the movie proud with an excellent DVD loaded with genuinely interesting features. I especially liked seeing all the various "Dressed to Kill" movie posters used around the world to promote the movie. To conclude on a slightly downer note, one could quibble that a better print of the film should have been used to produce this DVD, as minor flaws and scratches occasionally pop up, including one nasty slash across the image during the museum sequence. But as the print is not ridiculously bad, I don't think a letter-writing campaign or anything of that nature is in order. Just turn down the lights and enjoy the movie.
Rating:
Summary: dressed to kill
Review: Brian de palma's little classic marvel--an ingenious variation on themes from hitchcock that is in many ways more formally rigorous and consistent than the "master"--has here for the first time since laser disc given the viewer a chance to see it as it should be seen, it's full screen surprises, featuring clever dirty jokes, the lush fluidity of the museum ballet, one of the greatest cinematic slashings ever filmed, suspenseful slitherings at the edge of the screen, and a conclusion to the key split-image sequence. Liz, having seemingly escaped Bobbie the transexual killer, finds "her" once more shadowing her(Liz's) apartment. A head shot of the two women looking at some pointless street noise shows us Liz visually doubling the killer in a manner impossible to see in standard formats, which clearly evokes the underlying point to this giggly and jittery movie. The making of documentary, though entertaining, does not give us a forthright Mr Depalma discussing what he wished to convey in this work's strict structural symetries and various inter-echoes. Keith Gordon's appreciation doesn't do quite enough--enjoy him in the movie instead. Definitely a must see.
Rating:
Summary: Brian DePalma's Last Great Thriller
Review: I saw an edited version of Brian DePalma's "Dressed To Kill" on NBC-network television in 1984. A few weeks ago, I saw an uncut version of this film on videotape. "Dressed To Kill" may be DePalma's greatest thriller. A sexually frustrated housewife is seeing a psychiatrist and is murdered after a one-night stand with a stranger. Her prodigy son and a knowing prostitute join forces in order to find the murderer. With the possible exception of "Carrie," "Dressed To Kill" is Brian DePalma's greatest thriller. "Dressed To Kill" is a truly dazzling and fast-paced murder mystery. DePalma cleverly borrows from his own super-thriller "Sisters" and Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." He also makes excellent use of a great cast. Michael Caine gives an outstanding performance as a doctor with his own share of problems. Angie Dickinson perhaps gives the finest performance of her career. Dickinson is one of cinema's more underrated beauties and I am only sorry that she never became a superstar. DePalma also deserves praise for an excellent screenplay; the dialogue between the characters is utterly realistic and convincing. After "DTK," Brian DePalma hasn't made one fully satisfying film. DePalma used to have a unique talent for not only scaring but also morally troubling his viewers. In such films as "Carrie" and "DTK," he forces his audience to deeply empathize with the intense torment and anguish of the characters on the screen. In recent years, DePalma has sadly lost this special gift. "DTK" is a must-see for all Brian DePalma fans and anyone who loves murder mysteries.
| 
