Sisters (1973)

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:

Crew or equipment visible: After Grace leaves her mother and gets into the phone booth to call a newspaper office, a cameraman and a moving camera are reflected in the shiny part of the phone, and the glass door of the booth.

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)

De Palma's first Hitchcockian thriller, and still one of his best.

Brian De Palma is often unfairly dismissed as "that guy that rips off Hitchcock", a statement that overlooks the variety of his output. Of his twenty-odd full length movies only a handful have been thrillers, in fact before 'Sisters' he was best know as a maker of quirky comedies like 'Greetings' and 'Get To Know Your Rabbit'. 'Sisters' was De Palma's first foray into Hitchcock territory, and I think his subsequent stereotyping shows just how impressive he was in this genre. He has made several more famous and successful movies subsequent to this one, but it still remains one of his most entertaining works. Margot Kidder, a few years prior to her fame as Lois Lane, is brilliant as troubled separated siamese twins with a secret. Jennifer Salt ('Midnight Cowboy') plays a spunky newspaper columnist who believes she has witnessed one of the twins commit a murder (a deliberate nod to 'Rear Window'). She cannot get the police to believe her and begins to do her own investigations, helped by a small time private eye Larch (Charles Durning - 'Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?'). She finds out that there is a lot more to the sisters' than meets the eye, and vows to find out what is really going on. Kidder is of course the star of the movie, but equally memorable is De Palma regular William Finley ('The Phantom Of The Paradise', 'Eaten Alive') in a wonderfully creepy performance as one of twins ex-husband. Kidder and Finley and De Palma's assured direction, which includes a brilliant murder sequence and cool use of split screen in another, make this a thriller that won't easily be forgotten. Highly recommended.