In Reply to: Good. Any chance he will finally figure out how to make a decent one? posted by Victor Khomenko on August 25, 2006 at 06:20:58:
Body Double is a very fine film indeed, one of the very best American films of recent years -- though, I am sure, many will find it distasteful. Femme Fatal was also excellent -- though a bit cerebral for some. Dressed to Kill and Scarface are both great thrillers. They may seem a bit tame and pedestrian today, as do some of Peckinpah's films (a far less talented director in my opinion), but when they were released, their effect on audiences was sensational.DePalma is a true student of films, and often gets ridiculed for "sampling" Hitchcock, and other notable film makers. But his films, though they appear to be simple exercises in suspense and titillation, are really about the art of film-making itself: how we see, hear, and remember; how imagination becomes truth, and how perception becomes reality. And these cinematic quotes are not simply there for the sake of historical reference, but are integral to his films' thematic development.
He has surely been a disappointing film-maker from time to time, precisely because his directorial talents are so considerable -- and he has certainly put out a clunker or two.
But in comparison to most of the refuse that gets churned out of Hollywoods's profit machine, his films, though occasionally flawed, are almost always worth the attention of cinematophiles.
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- I think he's made several ... - halfnote 21:12:36 08/25/06 (0)