Sisters (1972)

A fledgling Staten Island journalist witnesses a brutal murder in the neighboring apartment of a French-Canadian model, but the police do not believe that the crime took place. With the help of a private detective, she seeks out the truth.

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Brian De Palma (screenplay), Louisa Rose (screenplay)

Stars:

Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt, Charles Durning

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited 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. Peyson Collier
Dolph Sweet	...	Detective Kelly
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bobby C. Collins

Storyline

The Staten Island apartment of lovely model Danielle becomes the scene of a grisly murder that is witnessed by her neighbor, Grace, a reporter. But the police don't believe her story, so it's up to Grace to solve the murder mystery on her own.

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Plot Keywords:

f rated | psycho | grindhouse film | murder | police | 

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Taglines:

Take a trip into terror!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English French

Release Date:

26 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sisters

Filming Locations:

156 W. 44th St., New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

American International Pictures (AIP), Pressman-Williams

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White (flashback sequence) Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

While the majority of the film was shot on 35mm film, the dream sequence was shot on 16mm film to give it a more gritty atmospheric appearance.

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Goofs

After Grace and the police have exited the apartment building, her mother comes out of the front door and during the following conversation suggests that Grace should change clothes. Grace then walks back into the building to do this, even if she lives across the street.

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Quotes

Crazy Woman: Did you know that the germs can come through the wires? I never call and I *never* answer. It's a good way to get sick. Very, very sick... That's how I got so sick! SOMEONE CALLED ME ON THE TELEPHONE!

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Alternate Versions

For the original 1973 UK cinema release cuts were made by the BBFC to edit the violent stabbing of Phillip Woode. All later releases were fully uncut.

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Connections

References Psycho (1960)

User Reviews

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.