I was afraid to step in here (given my known history of
squabbling with WA), but really, I'm more a De Palma fan than
not. I haven't seen everything of his, by any means; I need
to catch *Carlito's Way*, for example. But I agree with this
poster about *Carrie *-- first rate -- and although I don't
think
*Dressed to Kill *is "better than *Psycho*," it's pretty darn
strong. *Body Double *is an interesting effort I'd like to
re-visit, and *Blow-Out* is an excellent thriller
(acknowledged by Tarantino) with perhaps John Travolta's best
performance. De Palma's consistent weakness in comparison to
his master Hitchcock is "third act" problems; he and his
screenwriters start the films strongly and then are not
always sure where to take them. That's a reason why *Carrie
*stands out, because it has got not only a strong ending for
De Palma, but one of the best final scenes ever. Even when
you know the shocker involved, you can re-play this scene
endlessly for sheer pleasure in its craft; and that's true of
a number of sequences in De Palma's work. I wouldn't claim
for him the psychological depth of a Hitchcock or a Fritz
Lang, but I don't think he's so easily dismissable as people
sometimes make out.
Mark
On 2/17/08, vagrantpacific <
pacificvagrant@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> > Did DePalma make anything that needed to be
made?
> >
> > William
> >
>
> -- That needed to be made? What does this mean? Are
you trying to
> build a cannon of cinema? Or are you trying to say
that thrillers
> "need" to serve some sort of function other than
their thrills?
> Thrillers in both fiction and cinema serve deep,
deep needs, which is
> probably why they're so popular. You Christians seem
to love noir and
> thrillers because they serve to protect your
Platonic beliefs.
> Buddhists, like myself, really like them, because
they offer a chance
> to show character outside of the formal Christian
dogma. Or, wait, did
> you even mean philosophically? My bad. Carrie is one
of the best
> representations of teenage angst out there. Dressed
To Kill is better
> than Psycho, because it's sexier and funnier.
Carlito's Way is
> probably the best modern hardboiled crime film ever
made, despite all
> the scene chewing from Al Pacino. Body Double is a
fantastic film
> noir, that's so L.A., it probably doesn't even seem
noir to people
> outside of L.A. And then, remember, a lot of you
fellows get so wet
> over Tarantino, and that trog wouldn't even exist if
it hadn't been
> for all that he stole from DePalma.
>
>
>
-- Mark R. Harris 2122 W. Russet Court #8 Appleton WI 54914 (920) 470-9855 brokerharris@gmail.com
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