What I love about DePalma is his matching of visual style (his excellent use of split screen sequences, deep focus shots, the “stalking camera” shots) and the highly entertaining content in all his movies. ÊDePalma has worked in all kinds of different film genres, although he is most known for his exciting psychological thrillers, he also has brought his own personality and style to gangster films, horror films, sci fi and action adventure films as well.
Heres a list of all my favorite DePalma films:
Scarface (Crime/Gangster genre 1983), Blow Out (1981 Crime-Conspiracy thriller), Casualties of War (1989 Crime-War), Phantom of the Paradise (1974 Horror/comedy/musical/thriller), Obsession (1977 Psychological Thriller), Mission Impossible (1996 Adventure Espionage), Carlitos Way (1993 Crime Gangster), Raising Cain (1992 Psychological thriller), Carrie (1976 Horror), Body Double (1984 Horror/thriller), The Untouchables (1987 Crime Gangster), Dressed To Kill (1980 Erotic Thriller/Horror), The Fury (1978 Sci Fi/Horror/Thriller), Femme Fatale (Crime/Erotic Thriller 2002).
These films are all brilliant works of cinema. Many people don’t give DePalma the respect he deserves, but to cinema lovers that know movies he is as important as Spielberg and Scorsese. I can’t say enough about his stuff, I just ask people to give his films a chance and see if your not entertained and excited by his directing, humor and comments on society and life in general.
Great thoughts indeed!.. btw… have you seen the DePalma movie “Hi Mom”? I think they put it out on VHS again a year or two ago… its an older movie of his… but I’ve yet to run into a DePalma fan that has seen it. Anyway “Hi Mom” is one of my favorite DePalma movies and overall one of the wildest cinematic experiences I’ve had with a movie…
yes, I saw Hi Mom, with DeNiro.
What was the other title it was released under?
SPOILER ALERT:
The building collapses in the end, right?
END SPOILER
that’s something a hi mom fan needs to tell you to prove that he’s seen it. Lots of posers out there.
What was the other title that movie was released as? I heard there was another title?
[quote]Great thoughts indeed!.. btw… have you seen the DePalma movie “Hi Mom”? I think they put it out on VHS again a year or two ago… its an older movie of his… but I’ve yet to run into a DePalma fan that has seen it. Anyway “Hi Mom” is one of my favorite DePalma movies and overall one of the wildest cinematic experiences I’ve had with a movie… [/quote]
Thanks Badass.
No I haven’t seen his earliest films yet (1968-71). But I’m glad I have yet to watch them, it gives me another thing to look forward to.
I havent seen: Hi Mom, Dionysus in 69, Murder ala Mod, Greetings, The Wedding Party, Get to Know Your Rabbit.
Ive seen every one of his films from Sisters to Femme Fatale (except Home Movies).
The first DePalma film I ever saw was Scarface ( I was around 10 or 11). Growing up I saw all his films in the theaters like The Untouchables (87), Carlitos Way (93), Raising Cain (92). Then on VHS I first saw Carrie, Blow Out, Phantom of the Paradise, The Fury, Dressed To Kill, Casualties of War, etc. Now I’ve been collecting them on DVD.
Upcoming news:
[quote]Esplatter is reporting that Brian De Palma will shortly be making his way back to the horror movie genre with an adaptation of Gardner McKay’s novel, Toyer. The film is about “a sadist who psychologically messes with the minds of women – and then uses a surgical instrument to put them in a coma – before he kills them.”[/quote]
[quote]Upcoming news:
Esplatter is reporting that Brian De Palma will shortly be making his way back to the horror movie genre with an adaptation of Gardner McKay’s novel, Toyer. The film is about “a sadist who psychologically messes with the minds of women – and then uses a surgical instrument to put them in a coma – before he kills them.”
[/quote]
SWEET! I’ve read a bunch of news about this over at one my favorite DePalma websites (DEPALMA ALA MOD). DePalma hasnt done a horror film in a long time. I hope he does this one to show the Hollywood fools how its supposed to be done. 
I like some of his stuff(Blow Out, Hi, Mom!, Sisters. Carrie, Dressed to Kill) but a lot of his stuff I just can’t get into. I really don’t like Snake Eyes, Scarface or Casualties of War. I kind of liked The Untouchables but I couldn’t give a fuck about any of the characters except for old Mr. Bond.
Vega,what are your thoughts on Scarface?
Ive always been a fairly big Scarface fan,but after recently watching it again,I was a little unsure on how good a film it is
No doubt Pacino is one of the finest actors in film history,and as usual hes great in Scarface.Sometimes I feel that he carried this film,and its success and cult status has been due to his iconic character.The film is very outdated,but thats not my main concern.What annoys me the most,is the fact that the movie is essentially supposed to be an epic tale about the rise of Tony Montana,struggling refugee to druglord,and the ONE film doesnt really do the story justice.There also seems to be some uneccessary character development,such as that of his sister
Do you agree that this ‘epic’ shouldnt have been packed into just one film?Give me some reasons to remind me why I used to love this film
[quote]Vega,what are your thoughts on Scarface?
Ive always been a fairly big Scarface fan,but after recently watching it again,I was a little unsure on how good a film it is
No doubt Pacino is one of the finest actors in film history,and as usual hes great in Scarface.Sometimes I feel that he carried this film,and its success and cult status has been due to his iconic character.The film is very outdated,but thats not my main concern.What annoys me the most,is the fact that the movie is essentially supposed to be an epic tale about the rise of Tony Montana,struggling refugee to druglord,and the ONE film doesnt really do the story justice.There also seems to be some uneccessary character development,such as that of his sister
Do you agree that this ‘epic’ shouldnt have been packed into just one film?Give me some reasons to remind me why I used to love this film[/quote]
I always felt the great thing about Scarface was how it showed that Tony Montana’s greed and paranoia became like a disease that infected everyone around him. As far as the film not being long enough? Its a long film, it takes place over a number of months, it showed how somebody with ambition and no fear could make it fast and big in a short amount of time. Which was very true if you look at the film at the time it was made.(Back in the early 80s there were hundreds if not thousands of Tony Montanas running around the US). ÊBut, I think the film works fine in the space of time it was made for. ÊÃÅ
Reasons why I love the film:
a) The great atmosphere. Scarface is really like a film noir gangster tale, but DePalma turned the dark, shadowy environment of 40s film noir into the exact opposite: a bright, neon filled, beautiful Miami setting. This adds an even more interesting layer to it.
b) Al Pacino. This is his best performance in a film for my money. He IS Tony Montana in this. His accent, his craziness, his subtle shades of humor, just brilliant.
c) The colorful characters: Before I even knew who Quentin Tarantino was, I knew Brian DePalma. He had the same kind of crazy characters in his films. Dark, ironic, satirical. Just watch his other films, youll see what I mean. ÃÅ
- After watching Pulp Fiction and Scarface back to back recently I noticed that Mia Wallace could be like a 90s version of Elvira (Michelle Pfieffer). Watch both actresses in the films, see if you can see what I do.
- The film IS dated. But it is a specific period piece. 1980’s Miami was a much different time than now.
- I don’t think that the character development of Tony’s sister Gina really makes the film bad, the film didnt focus totally on her, but once she came into the story, Tony affected her. It was a natural progression in the film. Her mothers fears came true, even SHE knew that Tony was like a Black Hole that sucked people in and destroyed them eventually. (Which he does throughout the film).
- On another note: If youve seen the film, you saw the scene where Tony and Manny are watching Treasure of The Sierra Madre (one of my favorite films of all time) on TV at the refugee camp. Treasure and Scarface are basically dealing with the same material. The difference being in Treasure the greed and madness was based around the GOLD, but in Scarface it was based around Cocaine and power.
Watch both films, you’ll see the similarities between them. Bogarts Fred C Dobbs is basically an earlier version of Tony Montana. Tony even imitates Fred C Dobbs in the film (Those filthy cockaroachezz).
Pacino’s portrayal of a cuban is steriotypical and lame. I’d be offended in I were cuban.
I am not sure if I’ve seen Scarface already because it surely has a different title here in Germany.
Is that the movie where they are on a boat and throw someone into the water? 
[quote]I am not sure if I’ve seen Scarface already because it surely has a different title here in Germany.
Is that the movie where they are on a boat and throw someone into the water? 
[/quote]
No I think your thinking of Carlitos Way. Thats another great DePalma gangster film with Pacino. I highly reccomend that one too.
ah yeah righ, Carlito’s Way…
by the way, I will get my Taxi Driver DVD tomorrow 
[quote]ah yeah righ, Carlito’s Way…
by the way, I will get my Taxi Driver DVD tomorrow Ê
[/quote]
"Its been growing in my brain for some time now: TRUE FORCE, All the kings men cannot put it back together again.
Here is a man who would not take it anymore, a man who stood up to the cunts, the dogs, the filth, the shit, heres a man who STOOD UP.
Here is…"
Awesome film.
cheers vega!
what you said has really given me a whole new perspective and understanding of a film I already liked
out of any film related critique I read on the net,I hold your posts in the highest regard.I put my complete trust into all your recommendations and have great respect for everything you say.This isnt intended to sound like asskissing,I just wanted to point out that it its really nice to see someone with such a genuine love for cinema,and it inspires me to see more movies and extend my knowledge on cinema
sorry,hope that didnt sound weird
[quote]cheers vega!
what you said has really given me a whole new perspective and understanding of a film I already liked
out of any film related critique I read on the net,I hold your posts in the highest regard.I put my complete trust into all your recommendations and have great respect for everything you say.This isnt intended to sound like asskissing,I just wanted to point out that it its really nice to see someone with such a genuine love for cinema,and it inspires me to see more movies and extend my knowledge on cinema
sorry,hope that didnt sound weird[/quote]
Hey thanks for the compliments Milk. I’m glad I could help out.
i think i’m getting the australian Scarface DVD… is scarface really worth the money?
[quote]i think i’m getting the australian Scarface DVD… is scarface really worth the money? [/quote]
Well I’ll put it this way, if you’d like a film that has an Oliver Stone written screenplay, Al Pacino playing a psychotic Cuban drug lord, blasting guns, a Colombian drug dealer wielding a chainsaw, Pacino snorting huge piles of cocaine, lots of swearing, Michelle Peiffer as a coke addict, more swearing, one of the best movie endings ever, than yes Scarface is worth buying.
“SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND!!”
to webmaster
why the australien rc 4.
the british one is i thin the same.
and got german track.
and is much cheaper about 15 € on play.com
cu
[quote]to webmaster
why the australien rc 4.
the british one is i thin the same.
and got german track.
and is much cheaper about 15 € on play.com
cu[/quote]
because i can get the australian for only 5 pounds and it is the same as the british.
i dont order at play, because of the VAT.