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Summary: Brian De Palma has crafted a classic suspense/thriller
Review: Brian De Palma is a director praised for his visual style and originality. Unfortunately, his style rarely has had the chance to mix with a great script (the major exception is The Untouchables). He's been on a slump recently, as he just came out with the critically drubbed Mission to Mars and the absolutely atrocious Snake Eyes. Though if one wants to see exactly how fine a director he is, you should check out his films in the 80's, which was definitely the time of his heyday. De Palma is particlarly good at crafting suspense, as I noticed when I watched Body Double, his last erotic thriller. That was a seriously underrated film and it made me want to watch some more of his suspense/thrillers. Dressed to Kill seem to have the most resemblance to Body Double so I chose to watch that film. Now, I didn't think Dressed to Kill could possibly match Body Double's suspense but to my surprise, Dressed to Kill is just as great a film, as it's suspense is, to some regard, even more unnerving.The film begins surrealistically as we see a woman taking a shower. She runs her hands over body sensuously and the expression on her face is obviously one of pleasure. The score that runs in the background at the time is a pleasant one, but this sensuous bubble is burst when a man steps behind this woman, grabs her, and begins to rape her in the shower, and the scene makes a sudden change as we see a man having sex with the same woman on a bed. We find out the woman's name is Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) and that she has marital troubles. She sees a psychiatrist named Dr. Elliott (Michael Caine) about these problems. In a session early in the film, she tells him that she no longer enjoys sex with her husband. Afterward, she goes to an art museum where she meets a man she feels attracted to. In true De Palma fashion, the camera pans around the entire museum as we see Kate playing a game of cat-and-mouse with this man. When Kate believes she's lost him, the man appears in a taxi, and Kate enters inside, to which they then have a sexual tryst inside. Later, she awakens inside his apartment, apparently having the spent the whole afternoon with this stranger. As she is putting her clothing back on (the stranger is asleep) she finds a health report inside a drawer stating that he has contracted a venereal disease. Shocked and scared, Kate leaves the apartment and heads for the elevator. In what is one of the film's most suspenseful and shocking sequences, Kate realizes she has left her wedding ring in the apartment and heads up through the elevator again. As the door opens, a blonde woman with a razor creeps in and slashes her to death. It's a shocking scene as the audience begins to believe that Kate is the film's protagonist, until she is killed just a half hour into the film. Her murder is witnessed by a prostitute named Liz Blake (Nancy Allen) and her life is now in obvious danger from this blonde woman known only as Bobbi. With the help of Kate's brilliant son Peter (Keith Gordon), Liz attempts to find the killer and her identity. After a slow first 25 minutes, Dressed to Kill is filled with unbearable suspense for the next 75 minutes. The last 3 minutes of the film are particularly nerve wracking. There are so many great suspense sequences that work throughout the entire film, all the way from the elevator scene to a chase into the subway. Those scenes should give any viewer a good scare. It's certainly what one would describe as edge-of-your seat suspense. I know those sequences freaked me out, and those last few minutes in the film is a true heart-pounding nerve jangler. This is what De Palma is good at and he should make more films like this. The film's acting is also quite good. The film's main protagonists, played by Nancy Allen and Keith Gordon, are likeable characters and there's a certain romantic tension that develops between them. The chemistry between both characters works well. Michael Caine also delivers a good performance as the psychiatrist who begins to suspece a patient of his as the murderer. Fun to watch is an early role for Dennis Franz as the detective on the case. Angie Dickinson, though only in the film for a short time, develops her character into a sympathetic one, despite her adulterous behavior. From the plot description above, it may seem like the film has a lot of nudity, and in truth, there is. But it never gets too explicit and it's place in the film is appropriate and it works well. Is this an erotic thriller? Well, it is somewhat like one but it doesn't really rely on a lot of sex to maintain the viewer's attention (there's really only one sex scene in the movie) such as a movie like Basic Instinct. Instead, the film is more of a psychological thriller, as it relies more on suggestion than explicit detail to scare the viewer. Is Dressed to Kill De Palma's best suspense/thriller? Well, it's at the very least as good as Body Double. Both films have certain similarities and similar tones. There are certain aspects that work better in one film than another. For one example, the sex and nudity in Body Double does get a little gratuitous and sleazy in the second half (There's even nudity in the closing credits) while it never gets that way in Dressed to Kill. Body Double has a more ominous and creepy musical score and a very interesting protagonist (that's not to say the protagonists of Dressed to Kill aren't interesting because they are). Double's plot twists are also extremely unpredictable while one of Dressed to Kill's twists becomes obvious at least half way through the film (though I didn't think that hurt the movie). But it's really not fair to compare those two. They're separate films and should be considered on what each has to offer. I would very much highly recommend you watch both movies, definitely late at night and with no more than one other person.
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Summary: Thank you Mr.De Palma!
Review: Dressed to kill is one of the better thrillers ever made!Everything is perfect in this movie!Michael Caine, Nancy Allen are excellent and Angie Dickinson,Dennis Franz great!The direction is fantastic.De Palma keeps the suspense until the last moment.In this helps also Pino Donnagio's music.Angie Dickinson is a married woman suffering from erotic fantasies.Michael Caine a psychiatrist tries to help her.Dickinson cheats her husband and after she does it she's getting killed by a blonde woman!Nancy Allen,a hooker witnesses the murder and tries solving it with Caine and a policeman(Franz).I suggest you will buy this movie because it's classic and you can see it many times!
Rating: 
Summary: AN UNFORGETTABLE SCHOCKER!
Review: Angie Dickinson was terrific, but that was NOT her body in the shower scene. I haven't seen a thriller like this since. It makes movies like "Scream" seem very poor. RELEASE THIS MOVIE IN WIDESCREEN! It is a great injustice to see the camera work butchered by the pan & scan process.
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Summary: DePalma's Best Homage to Hitchcock
Review: When I consider the career of Brian DePalma I am disappointed. Early on many of his films (especially this one) demonstrated great talent and innovation. Now it seems that he has just become another Hollywood hack director for hire. Dressed To Kill is a gem from the past that shouldn't be missed by any fan of A. Hitchcock. I applaud the performance of Michael Caine, the cinematography (especially the opening sequence in the Metropolitan), the moody and atmospheric score, and the restrained direction of DePalma (most of his later films are loaded with the current Hollywood disease - the constant reminders to the audience that scream out "Yes you ARE watching a movie here! "). I hope that someone can make a suspense film this good again someday, but it looks like DePalma isn't up to the task.
Rating:
Summary: Wow
Review: They don't make them like this anymore. Funny, scary and blissfully obscene - there's no way this would get an R rating today. And believe it or not, Angie Dickenson actually gives a terrific performance. Don't watch this one alone.
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Summary: MESMERIZING PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
Review: Brian De Palma proves himself the modern master of suspense. Though 20 years old, this film holds up beautifully. Although many critics pan the film as a rip off of Psycho, De Palma simply draws upon the story and interprets it in his own inimitable style. The acting is flawless, the photography is breathtaking, and the suspense is nerve-wracking. Add to this Pino Donaggio's hauntingly beautiful score, and you've got a masterpiece. The only drawback to the VHS edition is the presentation in pan and scan rather than widescreen -- this is the ONLY reason I did not give this video 5 stars.
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Summary: THE BEST POST-HITCHCOCK THRILLER OF ALL TIME!!
Review: A mesmerizing, cinematic work of art. The murder scene is truly classic and jolting -- Gorgeous camera work and score... The DVD transfer looks great and offers extras. Hitchcock would have been proud.
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Summary: De Palma Technical Genius
Review: Brian De Palma is a true genius at the technicalities of filmmaking, and his 1980 Hitchcockian thriller, "Dressed to Kill," is very interesting. Some people think De Palma is merely an Alfred Hitchcock ripoff; he isn't. De Palma borrows elements from Hitchcock's entertaining horror film "Psycho" and elaborates on them with a modern theme that is all his own. "Dressed to Kill" is a good metaphorical work and a worthy tribute to one of the greatest directors of all time.
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Summary: DePalma's standard style over substance Hitchcock wannabe
Review: Director Brian De Palma has made a career of imitating key elements from the works of master Alfred Hitchcock. With "Dressed to Kill," he's sucseeded in creating a completley shameless tribute to Hitch. The direction is copped entirelt from Hitchcock. Maybe that's why it looks so good. The story however is nothing Hitchcock would be caught dead directing. The plot is a tasteless exploit into an idiotic world of sex and murder. A predictable mystery that unwinds itself much to early. The pay off is nothing special nor nothing intresting. This is simpley a bogus journey into the ego of Brian De Palma.
Rating:
Summary: Sexy Shocker
Review: This is a classic thriller. Like the other comments, they dont make em' like this anymore. Micheal Caine was excellent, and Nancy Allen was HOT!!!!!!!!!!!
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