Brian De Palma's finest hours... (10 titles)

A personal top ten of one of the great visual storytellers. Like him or loathe him, De Palma is for me the great torch carrier for Hitcockian storytelling. Yes he's over indulgent, can't usually write real female parts or even cast a decent actress. He has a consistent leaning towards the cheese-plate and yes, he rinses the slow-mo's... But I still love his movies just as much for all their flaws. In descending order.

by: OttoParts from Wales

73.4% from 3 members

The Fury

10. The Fury. Many De Palma themes and stylistic fingerprints on show here. Entirely original.

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The Fury on DVD (1978)
Starring: Kirk Douglas, John Cassavetes, Carrie Snodgress
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
In THE FURY, former government agent Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) searches for his son (Andrew Stevens), kidnapped by a secret agency hoping to exploit the young man's telekinetic powers for their own ends. Meanwhile a young woman, Gillian (Amy Irving), begins to display her own psychic abilities ..read more »

Rate this: 57% from 622 members

Obsession

9. The begining of the director finding his voice. Basically his first decent film. The start of a brilliant eight years. The most fruitful era of his career.

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Obsession on DVD (1976)
Starring: Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold, John Lithgow
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
In one of director Brian DePalma's many cinematic tributes to Alfred Hitchcock (this one borrows from VERTIGO and employs Hitchcock's frequent collaborator, composer Bernard Herrmann), Cliff Robertson portrays an American businessman whose wife and child are killed in a botched kidnapping rescue ..read more »

Rate this: 58% from 268 members

The Bonfire Of The Vanities

8. This film gets slated everywhere. Magazines, websites (including this one). Perhaps don't listen to me on this one because I really liked it.

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The Bonfire Of The Vanities on DVD (1990)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, Bruce Willis
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
Brian De Palma (SCARFACE) directed this lavish adaptation of Tom Wolfe's best-selling satirical novel, featuring Tom Hanks, Melanie Griffith, and Bruce Willis. Hanks stars as Sherman McCoy, a distinctly 1980s brand of wealthy Wall Street wizard who takes a mighty fall from his glitzy lifestyle ..read more »

Rate this: 50% from 1,428 member

Dressed To Kill

7. His first out and out Hitchcockian movie. Don't want to say too much...

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Dressed To Kill on DVD (1979)
Starring: Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
In this Brian De Palma film that combines Hitchcock's slick premises with modern-day gore, a lonely wife (Angie Dickinson) follows the advice of her shrink (Michael Caine) and seeks comfort in a stranger. After a seductive, dangerous encounter, the wife meets a homicidal maniac. The prostitute (..read more »

Rate this: 56% from 902 members

Snake Eyes

A show piece for the director's bag of visual and storytellig tricks. Like Jimmy Stewart, this is the genre where Nicloas Cage belongs. Great fun.

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Snake Eyes on DVD (1998)
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Gary Sinise, John Heard
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
From its incredible opening tracking shot to its suspenseful finale, this Brian De Palma thriller maintains a giddy, fever pitch of cinematic style and excitement. Nicolas Cage stars as Atlantic City detective Ritchie Santoro (his explosive energy and flashy clothes mirror the tone of the film), ..read more »

Rate this: 59% from 8,536 members

Scarface

5. It's all about Al Pacino. The World is yours...

Scarface on DVD (1983)
Starring: Al Pacino, Robert Loggia, Michelle Pfeiffer
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
A tense and violent update of the 1932 Howard Hughes gangster classic with the setting changed from Chicago to Miami. Al Pacino stars as Tony Montana, whose intelligence, guts, and ambition help him skyrocket from dishwasher to the top of a criminal empire but whose eventual paranoia and ..read more »

Rate this: 77% from 32,942 members

Body Double

4. You can't call this a re-make/re-working of Rear Window, because this story is far more vast. One of the most over-looked films of the eighties.

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Body Double on DVD (1984)
Starring: Craig Wasson, Deborah Shelton, Melanie Griffith
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
An unemployed young actor watches a beautiful woman performing a striptease in front of her bedroom window every night. Then suddenly one night he witnesses her murder. His avenging instincts eventually lead him into the world of blue movies. 'Frankie Goes To Hollywood' provide musical heat.

Rate this: 54% from 618 members

Carlito's Way

3. This would probably be most people's choice for De Palma's best film I'd imagine. I won't argue with anyone who says it's his masterpiece.

Carlito's Way on DVD (1993)
Starring: Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
Notorious Puerto Rican heroin dealer Carlito Brigante (Al Pacino) is released from jail on a technicality thanks to the manipulations of his sleazy lawyer buddy (Sean Penn). All he wants is to keep his nose clean and earn enough money to start a business in the Bahamas--and maybe rekindle romance ..read more »

Rate this: 74% from 20,212 members

Carrie

2. Original. Inventive. Terrifying. Probably his most flawless film. I wouldn't touch a frame.

Carrie on DVD (1976)
Starring: Sissy Spacek, John Travolta, Piper Laurie
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
Brian De Palma's commercial breakout, based on a novel by Stephen King, helped launch a whole slew of teen-based horror films, and Carrie the blood-spattered prom queen has taken her throne in the pantheon of modern American myth. High school girls played by Amy Irving (in her film debut), P.J. ..read more »

Rate this: 67% from 12,537 members

Blow Out

1. ...No, not The Untouchables. It's the Untouchable - Blow Out. A hyper-blend of Blow-Up and The Conversation. John Travolta is perfectly cast. If you haven't seen it, give it a chance. A real thriller.

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Blow Out on DVD (1980)
Starring: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow
Director: Brian De Palma
Certificate:
While outdoors recording sound effects for a movie, audio technician Jack Terri hears a tire blowout and a car crash. Before the car sinks into the river, he manages to save the female passenger from drowning. Because the other passenger was a presidential candidate, Jack suspects that the "..read more »

Rate this: 60% from 1,535 member