Sisters (1973)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Brian De Palma (screenplay)
Brian De Palma (story)

Release Date:

27 March 1973 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What the Devil hath joined together let no man cut asunder.

Plot:

Sibling rivalry begins when orphan twins, raised by nuns, are finally separated after years of togetherness.

Plot Keywords:

Reporter | Model | Twin | Game Show | Neighbor

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Margot Kidder	...	Danielle Breton / Dominique Blanchion
Jennifer Salt	...	Grace Collier
Charles Durning	...	Joseph Larch
William Finley	...	Emil Breton (as Bill Finley)
Lisle Wilson	...	Phillip Woode
Barnard Hughes	...	Arthur McLennen
Mary Davenport	...	Mrs. Collier
Dolph Sweet	...	Detective Kelly

Also Known As:

Blood Sisters (UK)

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Black and White (flashback sequence) | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (DVD rating) | UK:18 (re-rating) (1986) | Ireland:18 | Iceland:16 | West Germany:18 | Portugal:M/16 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | UK:X (original rating) (cut)

Filming Locations:

Alexander Hamilton Apartment Building - 36 Hamilton, Staten Island, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Trivia:

The film was inspired to Brian De Palma after he read an article about a set of Soviet Union Siamese twins that were successfully separated after an operation. Brian De Palma said he was haunted by a photograph of the twins in which one looked cheerful and healthy, while the other looked surly and disturbed. The article went on to include issues about the twins psychological problems after their separation.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the woman in the bakery is decorating the cake, she begins writing "Happy Birthday" in block-style capital letters, but when the cake is revealed at the apartment, the writing is in a more cursive style, and only the first letter of each word is capitalized.

Quotes:

Grace Collier: I saw a murder, and I'm going to prove it!

Movie Connections:

Edited into Mad Ron's Prevues from Hell (1987) (V)

A Good Horror film

The first time I viewed it was in 2003, on cable television. Considering that it was a Brian DePalma film, I was expecting something interesting and suspenseful. I really enjoyed his films BLOW-OUT(1981), and THE UNTOUCHABLES(1987). Here were two films where he demonstrated his effective use of creating suspense that was more integral to the plot. After recently re-watching his 1973 shocker, SISTERS, my opinion of him has been unchanged.

Sure, maybe there are things about it, such as visuals and styles,that are extremely similar to Hitchcock, but I thought that this movie was completely original story wise. The opening sequence is very cleverly played out so that you don't quite know what you're going to watch and by the end you are surprised by the direction it takes. The story involves a woman who says that her identical twin sister lives with her and is apparently crazy.

This may ring a bell with Hitchcock fans as sounding a little too familiar and indeed it does as there are very similar events that somewhat mirror scenes from his films. Before long, an innocent man is murdered and we are immediately introduced to a woman reporter who believes that there is something amiss. Afterward, the movie gets very creative with some of the strangest characters. The film also ends with a weird twist that seems to have some sci-fi overtones to it.

Despite being a little twisted and confusing toward the end, the film is very well made and effectively scary. I wouldn't recommend the film to people who don't really like thinking during movies as this film has an ending that leaves a confusing plothole behind. It is the kind of plot hole that was left in too obviously to be done on accident. But I guess that's part of the charm of DePalma. All of his films offer something similar in the suspense element, but different in every other way.