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139 reviews in total

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50 out of 62 people found the following review useful:
Another misunderstood masterpiece from De Palma, 14 July 2006

Author: Hands_of_Fate from United States

I was pleasantly surprised when I picked this film up recently. Judging this movie by its cover, and putting a little too much trust in the IMDb rating, I avoided it. Finally having watched it I can honestly say that its a post-modern classic. I love the fact that Craig Wasson's character is involved with a Vampire B-movie, His character, and situation make a film thats extremely fantastical seem somewhat believable. It just goes to show you that Hollywood is indeed one of the craziest places in the world. De Palma demonstrates manic inspired genius by utilizing the southern California back-drop. Caught somewhere between satire, and sexual thriller its one of those special genre films that no one attempts to make anymore. As far as I'm concerned De Palma is the only old-school director that continually takes chances, and still explores new avenues. 10/10

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45 out of 61 people found the following review useful:
A great movie! Tremendously underrated and overlooked, 17 December 2005

Author: sspelling1 from United States

This is a terrific murder mystery / comedy / erotic thriller, and Brian De Palma's next flick after Scarface. Let yourself go along with it for a really fun ride. The style is tongue in cheek, masterful film-making including the usual ballet camera work and wonderfully interesting imaginative staging. It looks like everyone had a lot of fun making this overlooked gem! The star, a young Craig Wasson gives an Oscar caliber performance overlooked by all the critics. What gives with this? Scorsese never won an Oscar for best director either, so the fix must be in. He carries the entire movie and is in practically every scene. An unbelievably great performance! This actor never made it big to the big time, but if you want to see a terrific real actor providing a stunning display of his chops, you must check this flick. Truly one of the great murder mysteries of all time. A real find.

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58 out of 88 people found the following review useful:
Brilliant, 21 October 2004

Author: Jason Forestein (jay4stein79@yahoo.com) from somerville, ma

I was introduced to Brian De Palma at the rather tender age of 7, when I watched The Untouchables with my parents. My friend Nicky and I enjoyed it immensely and found the rousing tale of Elliot Ness et al. an absolutely brilliant cop v. robber/adventure movie. Until Tim Burton released Batman in 1989, Untouchables was our game of choice and we would re-enact the entire movie in my back yard after school.

But I'm supposed to be talking about Body Double... To make a long story short, since I was 7, I didn't know who Brian De Palma was, nor did I really care, so I went about my cinephillic youth without completely immersing myself in his oeuvre. I caught bits and pieces of it, encountering Scarface as a fourteen-year-old and finding it laughable, watching Sisters with (how apropos) my sister before I went off to college and finding it intriguing, and finally seeing Femme Fatale when it was released a couple years ago and thinking it amazing.

So, as you can see, I grew into De Palma and, since watching Femme Fatale, I've gone back and watched many of his films (even Phantom of the Paradise, which was an epiphany - go see it immediately). I re-watched Scarface, Carrie, Blow-out, Wise Guys, the Untouchables, etc. and then this week I saw Body Double at the video store. The cover art, which is horrible, drew me in. I said, Jason, that cover art is so tacky and the movie is called Body Double, it must be awful. Flipping the case over, what should I find? De Palma.

Oh my. I scooped it up then and there, went home, and popped it in the player. How had I not heard of this film? Probably because 2/3 of the natural world finds it a trashy piece of filth. I find it brilliant.

It is your typical De Palma suspense thriller. Riffs on Hitchcock, beautifully fluid camera movements, sexual 'dysfunction,' an exploration of voyeurism, Hollywood satire, a convoluted and endearingly unbelievable story...

So why watch it? Because unlike most movies Body Double cannot seem to take itself too seriously. Body Double moves forward with a straight face but, as evidenced by the Frankie Goes to Hollywood video somehow slipped into this film and an awful rubber mask, De Palma's tongue is so firmly in his cheek it's liable to break through the skin. Could a film that's credits hearken back to the EC Comics font really intend to be taken seriously? No. Oh, and for you scenesters out there, QT may have found inspiration for his first film's title in Body Double's final scene which, you guessed it, contains both a reservoir and dogs.

And yet, although the movie on some level parodies the preposterous suspense thrillers of yore, it also never condescends to them. De Palma directs this movie with such glee and exuberance, that you know he loves those types of movies (well, I mean if Phantom of the Paradise, Sisters, and Dressed to Kill hadn't let the cat out of the bag already).

Anyway, if you enjoy maverick directors unafraid of genre-pictures, fun, and enormous drills, this is a movie for you. However, if you like Lars Von Trier or other such beings who take themselves and their art far too seriously at times, go elsewhere.

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31 out of 41 people found the following review useful:
hilarious exercise in style and murder mystery, 12 January 2005

Author: Thomas Rufer (Spanish_Prisoner) from Switzerland

I've been a fan of De Palma long time and I just saw this one this night. To my enjoyment, I had a few smiles, even laughters, intensity, involving to the storyline, getting that suspense that is needed.

This movie is a perfect example to pull of what Hitchcock has done best in "Rear Window" and "Vertigo". De Palma set up those two basic ideas into a story that's really enjoyable and intense same time. Especially when you are in the knowledge of the movies of the 40s and 50s and the art of making a thriller you are just going to be pleased.

My guess is that De Palma made this movie out of pure pleasure, doing all those great stuff with claustrophobia, sexual need, voyeurism, grotesque murder, and most of all terrifying suspense.

The murder sequence was in my opinion of a well crafted exercise in suspense. You fear, then you hope, then you try to guess, it goes all right, then all wrong, the hero comes, it seems at right time, but still too late, it all goes on and on and you can't believe it happened. Loved and hated the sequence, for film-making and emotional purposes.

Not the greatest, but definitely one of De Palmas best.

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23 out of 26 people found the following review useful:
a great movie, misunderstood by most, 7 December 2003

Author: Undead_Master

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

possible spoilers

I'm pretty sure that Body Double is one of the most misunderstood movies of all time. Many people call it a tribute to Hitchcock, other people call it a rip-off of Hitchcock, some people think it's a parody.... I think it's more than any of those things, I think it's an analysis. A humorous, insightful essay on Hitchcock... Kind of like something Godard might do, which isn't surprising when you realize that Godard is also a big influence on De Palma.

The distancing techniques employed in the film, the way he hams it up, the scenes where the internal logic breaks down in obvious ways, like the kissing scene near the tunnel, where the movie suddenly reenacts the famous hotel kiss from the second half of vertigo, at a very unexpected time with almost no set up to make the scene believable... All these things are intentional, designed to let the audience in on the fact that this is not just a straight forward movie (although it can be enjoyed that way). De Palma wants the audience to have some separation from the story so that they can look at the movie in a more critical way, and think about Hitchcock's movies from a different perspective. These distancing techniques also allow de Palma to get away with some pretty harsh/sleazy scenes, and that was necessary because the analysis wouldn't have worked any other way.

This is basically De Palma saying, "what if Vertigo and Rear Window had a baby, but the baby was born in the 80's and raised by a prostitute and a murderous pimp." The result is a fascinating movie that stands up very well, as long as you understand the intentions. If you take it the right way, it's one of De Palma's very best movies.

As a big fan of vertigo and rear window (vertigo is my favorite movie of all time), it was fascinating to me, to see De Palma, rework those story's, twine them together, and put them in a different context. I really enjoyed it both times I've watched it, and I'm pretty sure it's one of those movies that will just keep getting better with repeated viewing.

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18 out of 19 people found the following review useful:
De Palma's lurid and outrageous thriller hits all the right marks as more of a satire or parody than a full-on thriller, and magnificently so, 4 July 2007

Author: MisterWhiplash from United States

With Body Double, Brian De Palma has another of his "Hitchcock rip-offs", but in quotes as it's the easy critical thing that's already been said by others. The film is really a lot more cunning than that, and has a level of cunning wit that one could more associate with De Palma's early comedies that felt very much about skewering the style being homaged as opposed to incurious methods. If one looks at it as much as a big wink and a nod to films like Rear Window and especially Vertigo, with a lot of direct jabs at Hollywood and the whole method of acting and pretending, there's a lot on the table. It's also tasteless in its outrageous depictions of sensuality and seduction, not just sex which gets a lot of wicked moments that veer almost totally into what's being made fun of, and has a huge "gotcha" ending that works specifically for its shock value. It's own self-consciousness is a huge asset, as when De Palma is at his best or at least most assertive, in this case pushing the taboo of mixing regular dramatic fiction with soft-core porno to a limit with glee.

It's not even that one can't take it sort of seriously as a work of kind-of pop-art, as in taking in the outlandish brilliance of a much better-than-average paperback book, because De Palma is on his toes the whole time in crafting a melodramatic thriller. There's even an experiment in tension which starts as an long homage to the 'following' sequences in Vertigo, but then building to a high crescendo and then to another. In fact, Body Double is silent for a lot of the time, but as something that is worked into the main character. Craig Wasson is a perfect foil for the events that unfold around him as the "witness" to all that comes before his watchful eye in a befriended man's apartment. In what is, to be sure, fairly typical material for the director with the basics of the substance, the story calling back to Hi, Mom and Sisters especially (hence as well the connection to the knowing dips into comedy, of which both of those could be considered as), though this time the 'hero' is a of weakling with panic attacks at the moment to act, albeit already an actor. A murder is witnessed following a pivotal plot point and high-flying moment of romance (again, calling attention to its over-length), then the dive into porno comes around.

It's trashy, sure, but why shouldn't that make it more enjoyable if one's to get the kidding and sharp sensibility after a while? Wasson, looking a bit like a double of Bill Maher sometimes, has the expression of terror in his eyes, and a kind of strange guts needed to pull off a hilariously flawed pawn. De Palma also intentionally casts to type with both women and the villains, one for each being more deceptive (i.e. Henry's Brouchard and Shelton's Gloria, who are very much like "movie" caricatures from the craftiest and most seductive of film-noir), and with one 'villain' called the Indian, donning a face that's a riot just to look at, who at one point engages in a murder including the most blatant phallic imagery in any murder scene from the filmmaker. But, again, it all works exceptionally for rhythm and a sort of momentum build into even the smaller moments. As cheesily 80's as it is, I loved the whole music video Relax, where occasionally as De Palma almost makes us forget that a movie is being shot within this scene, the camera shooting Wasson and Griffith comes into view in a mirror. But that's just a sly joke, as opposed to the scenes where suspense and humor get the back and forth treatment, where you aren't sure whether to laugh or cringe or look at the screen through closed fingers peeking out.

I can actually understand some of the negative criticisms of Body Double. I probably wouldn't be so forgiving of it being so proudly 'B-movie' while appearing to be a big Hollywood crime-drama, if I wasn't at least intrigued on the outset from the sensibility behind it all. 'Guilty Pleasure' comes to mind as a defense, but I should digress into what it really comes down to- either you'll go along for a De Palma atmosphere that is wild and cynical and full of rough-edges, or you won't. In other instances with the director I've gone for the latter, but this isn't one of them. One of the best of 1984.

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21 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
Much better than expected, 3 April 2002

Author: shaun98 from Milwaukee WI

I admit when I rented this movie, I did so just to get some cheap thrills. I was aware of the negative reviews from uptight critics who dismissed it as sleaze, and to be honest, that's what I was in the mood for. Besides, my curiosity was aroused. (No cheap jokes, please!)

To my surprise, this is actually a compelling, well-crafted thriller. Let me take it a step further. It's an improvement over DePalma's effective but overpraised "Dressed to Kill." "Body Double" is actually better-constructed and better-paced. Perhaps the extremes of the film's content turned off some members of the critical community. And keep in mind that many of these people loved Dressed.

However, if you can stomach some of the content (it would certainly warrant an NC-17 in today's climate), there's much to like here. DePalma's approach might be manipulative, but when he does so this effectively, it's hard to complain. Technically, it's a marvel of film technique. Wasson's claustrophobic attacks are effectively conveyed to the viewer. When they hit him, they hit us just as hard. The very ending, which I wouldn't dream of giving away, is a work of pure genius. The infamous drill murder is a terrific setpiece.

One aspect that interested me was its attitude towards porno. So-called "dirty movies" are not condemned, but treated as simply being another side of the film industry. It's not considered right or wrong; it's just there. Such a nonjudgmental outlook is refreshing after hearing the tiresome rants of self-appointed "moral watchdogs." Likewise, there is a loving tribute to B-movies during the opening and closing credits.

"Body Double" isn't good art by any means, but it's good trash. Watch it, and you will behold DePalma at his sleazy best. He makes no apologies for what he does, nor would we want him to do so.

***1/2 (out of ****)

Released by Columbia Pictures

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23 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
De Palma in his Hitchcock Phase, 25 June 2002
Author: GizmoMkI from Arizona

Sort of a cross between "Rear Window" and "Vertigo" but instead of James Stewart we get Craig Wasson as a struggling actor mixed in with some sly jokes at the film studios, actors, and adult films. Visually very stylish with hypnotic score. Bizarre music video sequence is well done to the tune of "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood. If you can look past the plot holes, it's an entertaining over-the-top effort from De Palma.

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20 out of 30 people found the following review useful:
DePalma at his brilliant best!, 6 November 2003

Author: Maga from The Greater Southwest

This has to be one of my favorite films of all-time. I first saw it some ten years ago and I still cannot get it out of my mind. It was in fact, the muse for the future great film "Boogie Nights." It centers a masterful story around the porn industry of Southern California during the early 1980's. It mixes in excellent cinematogrophy with vivid sets and mind altering music. It is as fun to watch as it is to listen to. The story grabs you early and it does not release you till the very end. Mix in comedy, violence, sex and drama, and of course, if Mr. DePalma is involved, you will have more than a few twists (there are plenty). Melanie Griffith is hotter than hot! This movie has it all, I really do love it.

The story involves an out of work actor who is down on his luck. He soon becomes infatuated with a beautiful woman that he sees brutally killed by a rather disfigured Indian character. Ahh, but things are not what they appear to be. To give away anymore would deny you the fun and excitement that comes with watching this brilliant film. Enjoy!

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Audacious, sleazy, insanely inventive thriller, 17 February 2006

Author: fertilecelluloid from Mountains of Madness

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

It's amazing what Brian De Palma managed to get away with in the 80's. This audacious thriller, which launches itself off "Vertigo", is insanely inventive, incredibly well shot (by Stephen Burum, who also photographed "Rumble Fish"), beautifully scored (by Pino Donaggio) and very well acted by Craig Wasson, Greg Henry, Melanie Griffith, Dennis Franz and Al Israel. The sleazy plot, which is a superb excuse to showcase eye-popping eroticism, lurid violence and surreal hallucinations, is predictable but such fun to watch unravel. Borrowing bits from "Rear Window", "Vertigo" and his own "Dressed To Kill", the film becomes a heady amalgam of virtuoso cinematic tricks and ridiculously complex plotting. Despite there being a shining roster of great, twisted characters such as Greg Henry's "Sam", the stand-out character for me is The Indian, a frightening, rubber-faced, snarling symbol of fear and intimidation who is also a filthy pervert who gets his jollies watching women undress. The shot of him working on the satellite dish towards the third act of the movie is one of cinema's finest. De Palma has such an interesting way of conveying information and he clearly relishes the possibilities of the medium. The film did not do good business at the box office and was subjected to the wrath of ugly, fat feminists during its theatrical release, but while those old heifers have aged and fattened, De Palma's "Body Double" has achieved cult status and retained its brilliance. In closing, I'd like to take a moment to single out the gorgeous Deborah Shelton for her terrific contribution to this film's aesthetic success. The impossibly delicious object of many a pervert's misguided affections delivered one of exploitation cinema's hottest performances by simply being Deborah and taking a phallic drill bit between her legs like few have before her. God bless Ms. Shelton and receive her into paradise.

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