Dressed to Kill (1980)

O yes ...was just telling how extremely BAD a director De Palma is ... i mean i have seen at least a couple of notable movie he made ... Carrie ... (the only work of Stephen King made to film i have really liked so far btw ...) or Scarface ...i do admit i haven't seen all of his works really although have seen enough not to be very curious in seeing the rest ... so pardon my harshness if i'm going a little bit too fast ...but this one's a really weak movie imo! only a few slightly noteworthy moments that don't last long enough to make you feel good really while some well known actors offer very bad acting ... and that tells me only one thing: the director didn't make it!the story is cheesy as well ... too obvious i'd say ... and considering at the time of making this failure of a movie the director's been into making movies for two decades already yet failing at it would make me feel a little bit surprised in fact, especially when he's already made a good one not so long before this and another very good one only three years later ...i guess De Palma's kind of overly obsessed with sex and violence himself or he wouldn't be making movies like this that actually fail in delivering both items in a decent manner! he did so even more badly in another one of his movies but can't remember its name now ... it was more like a porn movie actually but dressed over with an apparently serious story ... another bad work of his imo ...please don't get me wrong though! most of his movies i have seen so far are VERY WELL MADE indeed from the viewpoint of 'art direction' so to say ... but even in the best of them there are often some really bad 'silly mistakes' here and there that makes one think what's going on really ...

Following a housewife's brutal murder, the only witness to the incident teams up with the woman's son to try to find the culprit which leads them to the patient of a psychiatrist who treated her and tries to stop the killer from striking them in order to cover the crime.This one turned out to be quite the rather enjoyable effort. A lot of the film's great parts come from the manner in which this one deals with the expectations featured here of the film by following so close to its influences. As it follows so close to the main format here, as the general structure employed here comes directly with the structure of having the first half focus solely on the victim to get killed off and then morph over into the investigation into the incidents, that makes for a great deal of fun here as it deals with the few changes to be had with the storyline. That familiarity lends itself a great deal to the overall manner in which this one moves along as that keeps this one a lot more entertaining than it really should be without a whole lot of slashing action throughout here. With a big emphasis on the murder investigation and her involvement in the procedure, there's a nice emphasis here to follow up the later adverts of that ones' followers in a distinctly European manner by introducing not only the main investigation from the police but also going rather nicely into the amateur investigation by way of a piece of evidence only briefly glimpsed during the incident that becomes a central part of the investigation. These elements all give it a rather distinct and pronounced atmosphere to these brands of films which really lets it dwell in that type of sleaze far more comfortably than would be expected, not only from the type of nudity but also the rather stark sex scenes and frequently intoned psychosexual themes from the killer's motivation which is straight out of that particular school of thriller which makes this one connect quite well there. Even with some incredibly well-done stalker scenes, including the opening attack in the elevator, the subway sequence or the finale at the office which give this some rather suspenseful stalking as well to balance it all with plenty to like. These don't help the fact that there's just not a whole lot of slasher action here, as the more thriller aspects here dominate this one so it doesn't have a lot of stalking scenes and the body count itself is so low as to not really offer much in the way of bloodshed or gore. Those looking for a straight-up slasher won't be interested in this one at all.Rated R: Extreme Graphic Language, Full Nudity, Graphic Violence and several intense sex scenes.

**** May contain strong spoilers ****This is a review made by StoneDraim... and that means that if you want to read a probably different kind of review, keep reading....This is my personal experience, my personal point of view/perspective and my personal opinion... and my opinion is just one of like 7 billions in this world.Typical Brian De Palma movie magic, this movie begins like a blend of a romantic adult scene and a deeply psychological thriller with a little touch of "Psycho". Were I surprised and a little chocked over all the details that were shown during the woman's shower? Yes, I was.About 16 minutes into this one, there is an epic scene where the lady is at an art gallery. Her emotions and impressions is very effectively enhanced by the wonderful orchestra doing the music in a almost Italian sense of way. Her desperation is matched perfectly by the strings. Just the fact to give about 5 minutes of a movie describing a sexual frustrated woman's own inner war in chasing a man, then turning the back to the man, losing her glove to the man and chasing him in a subtle way is fantastic! These five minutes following the opening scene is showing what is going on inside of her. A successful lady bored of life and starting to walk the edge of experimental minds a little too much... to the edge of madness.Brian De Palmas usual technique of camera angles and zoomings blended together with close shots is all over the place and gives "Dressed to kill" that special Mr. De Palma touch.Amazing work on the script. Almost 35 minutes of the entire movie is spent to the woman and her life in more than one way. Then she is killed and the main character is suddenly all gone... the story turns around and continues with other characters following that. Piece of art! The killing is very intense and blood is floating everywhere. The razor is drawn along the woman's throat and in details I can witness the brutality. From a observation in psychology into this immediately and effective turn. Well done, Mr. De Palma!1 hour and 35 minutes... I am in awe! Like a psychological version of an insane asylum with the touch of....yes... Dracula.... with an escaping patient rounding it off in "Psycho" way!Over to the movie as a product: - The production : Brian De Palma. All through a great production from 1980. Pino Dinaggio's score lifts it up a great deal. - The actors : Michael Caine is.... Michael Caine; hooray! He delivers every time. Nancy Allen.... I saw Robocop and went crazy on her good skills. Now... well....... From 1980 to 1987 of Robocop, she made the major leap, let me tell you that. Besides that, good acting on the behalf of the other actors. Dennis Franz is making a hilarious portray of a little over the edge experienced civil "cop". - The story : Major twists makes this a solid top notch story. From a little intense drama to a combination of thriller, crime and detective mystery thing. - Entertainment : Hard to really appreciate it to the fullest 36 years later. Even so... more than good. - Age : 15. A good old slashing makes the age pop up more than 5 years.7,0 out of 10. (The final rate is based most on my own entertainment of the movie. Short elucidation of the rating: 7 Well made movie. Proper entertainment.)

Dressed to Kill (1980)A nifty little thriller. The opening shower scene with Angie Dickinson showing all to the world was something of a sensation at the time, but I don't know that it makes much sense to the movie. It's all for the starved men in the audience, or maybe for the audaciousness of it, to let you know that this is going to be a stylized, almost fun, thriller.And it is fun! De Palma is a director who knows how to needle the viewer. His fans like being needled, I think (or like knowing that other people are being needled). Examples abound—"Carrie" and "Body Double" come to mind—where the sensational plot is partly an excuse to unleash some good old male voyeurism and sexism. Which is why the movies work so well for a certain audience.And they are well made, certainly, and edited with a clipped economy. "Dressed to Kill" has the advantage of Michael Caine in a leading role (though underused, for a two hour film). The rest of the cast is mediocre, frankly, holding up the character types needed for the main conflict.Oh, if you have any feelings for transgender issues, this movie will only reinforce the old stereotype that people with mixed or cross gender issues are sick and need help. Too bad, and shame on you, Mr. De Palma, for perpetuating that kind of thing. 35 years later, I know, but really.Final word—there are many brilliantly made sections of the movie, including a long stretch near the start in the museum that is a kind of hyped up Hitchcock style ("Vertigo"). Indeed, Hitchcock is being made love to all along here —"Psycho" with this movie's main character's double nature, and even "Rear Window" with the peering through windows. Which makes it a movie very much worth seeing. Caveats in place.