Body Double (1984)

Starts off as a total rip off/homage to Vertigo/Rear Window/Dial M for Murder then goes off to another plane and becomes something more, like a crazy Tales from the Crypt comic with a dash of Hollywood magic exposure. Great fun!

And now watching it fully realizing it's a De Plama movie, I can see what a huge fan of Hitchcock De Plama is, which makes it so much cooler.This movie feels like Vertigo, Strangers in a Train, Rear Window, all combine.Craig Wesson was a perfect leading man in this, playing a young actor trying to get out of his shell, but it's funny, every time I see Wesson I keep thinking Bill Maher (He was the guy in Amazon Women on the Moon). He plays Jake Scully doing a B-Vampire movie, Vampire's Kiss, who's Claustrophobia effects shooting. He comes home and finds his lady in bed with another man (Following a long beautiful tracking scene down the hallway, which everyone could see coming, except Jake, in turn making it sadder). His life is on a downward spiral, until he meets a fellow struggling actor who cuts him a break allowing him to house sit, it's here where he begins spying on his next store neighbor that gets him tied up in a mystery, when someone else has taking interest in her It has some great visuals that you would expect from a De Plama picture, but more than anything it's a great homage to Alfred Hitchcock, just combining some of his best films into one. Makes me wonder what the fat man would have thought of the movie if he was alive to see it. If De Plama were not already so skilled at his craft, with great acknowledgment of that skill, this movie could have been shunned for ripping off Hitchcock (Although when done right Hitchcock is definitely the guy to rip off). De Plama's style seems to shine more in the violence in the film, which he shows far more than Hitchcock.Plus I love movies about Hollywood. Taking place at the end of the Golden Age of Porn, it was cool looking at how the industry worked when porn was more of a movie industry.Body Double has always been a movie worth watching, whenever I caught it, but now its even better knowing it's a Brian De Plama (channeling Hitchcock) film.http://cinemagardens.com

One of Brian De Palma's masterpieces and yet one that is grossly underrated. It's amazing how, even in this day and age, (see "The Neon Deomn"), critics still tend to judge films on content rather than on style or technique and "Body Double" is style personified. He was still paying homage to Hitchcock, (in this case both "Rear Window" and "Vertigo") and he still tended to use actors who were somewhat limited in their abilities, (the exception being the extraordinary Melanie Griffith who won the National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actress prize), but the set pieces are sublime and the suspense sequences are beautifully handled. Essential.

Body Double (1984) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Unemployed actor Jack Scully (Craig Wasson) is having a hard time as he loses a job, finds his girlfriend cheating on him and he just can't catch a break. He's given a side job of taking care of a man's house while he's away and soon he begins to spy on his neighbor Gloria (Deborah Shelton) who is doing a sexy striptease. This soon leads to an obsession, which takes a deadly turn when Jack witnesses her murder.Brian DePalma was still in his Hitchcock phase when BODY DOUBLE was released and it's basically elements of VERTIGO, REAR WINDOW and DIAL M FOR MURDER rolled into a film that of course has more nudity and sexuality. It's strange that I've watched BODY DOUBLE so many times and especially when you consider that it's far from a good movie and I think there are countless flaws in it. I'm really not sure what it is but this is a movie I will watch ever so often even though I'm always disappointed in the end.I think there's a good movie somewhere in here but for the most part you've got to consider this a misfire for its director. By this time he was known for being the Master of Suspense but that's exactly what's lacking here. There's really no tension to be found in this movie, which is a real surprise and especially when you consider that DePalma was just a few years off from DRESSED TO KILL. There's a long sequence here inside a mall that is meant to draw you into the story and pack on the terror but it just doesn't happen and this entire sequence comes across as bland.Things really don't get any better throughout as all the scenes meant to build up suspense just fizzle out and this includes the murder sequence. DePalma adds a few nice touches but everything here is just lacking and seems like a "B" picture. This includes the cinematography, the score and just about everything else in the technical categories. It's not that the stuff is bad it's just that it never reaches the high level that you expect from DePalma.The film does feature some nice performances with Wasson doing a very good job in the lead and he's certainly believable in the part. Shelton offers up a great hint of mystery and Melanie Griffith is very good and sexy in her supporting role. Another problem with the film is its screenplay, which just never really grabs your attention or features anything to help carry its somewhat long running time. BODY DOUBLE is mildly entertaining but you can't help but wish it was better.