233. Body Double (1984)
We're shooting Body Shots, here. Not Last Tango.
Title: Body Double
Date Watched: 8/16/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: 8
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8
Synopsis: A man housesits and, in the process of peeping on a neighbor, witnesses a gruesome murder.
The Good: Jesus Christ, Brian De Palma knows how to direct. The murder sequence is phenomenal and so is the porno within the movie, not to mention any number of other moments.
The Bad: Silly and dated (though I'm starting to like the 1980's feel), derivative of Hitchcock (but I kind of like that element of it).
Why Do I Own This Movie?: It was pricey, but they only printed 3000 copies and I loves me some Hi-Def De Palma.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yeah. I should have bought three copies because they're going for $100 on ebay right now. Live and learn.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Hey! That guy lives in my friend's old apartment (or maybe a couple of units down the street).
Other Impressions: I'm on a real Brian De Palma kick right now, particularly his Hitchcock homages. I know that objectively, they're not great movies (and a number of people have referred to them as self-parodies, which may or may not be the case), but the plot isn't the point. The point is that De Palma really shows admiration for Hitchcock's work and, though his movies are derivative, he adds his own special touch to give the movies a fresh, but familiar feel.
Body Double is mostly a re-imagining of Vertigo (with a hint of Rear Window thrown in for flavor) and, here comes the heresy, I like it a hell of a lot more. The claustrophobia is kind of cheesy, but no worse than Jimmy Stewart's vertigo, and the plot is just more exciting without the faux-ghost story element. Also, making the protagonist creepy instead of a detective adds an additional element that I think Hitchcock would have gone for.
If the movie isn't at least outright sexist, it's at least promblematic, with both of the main female characters being weak and moronic. That one of them is a porn star probably doesn't help its case, either. One one level, moments of Body Double play like a twelve year old fantasy (Dressed to Kill also had this element) and, with the self-parody element, I don't think it's completely out of the question that De Palma is commenting on the roles of women in thrillers like this. But commenting on them isn't the same as addressing them and, no matter what the intention, the movie never really subverts the genre, at least in this element.
Overlooking that, however, Body Double is a sleazy delight -- less an erotic thriller than a soft-core porn (but with more skill behind the camera than those late-night Cinemax productions). I enjoyed the hell out of it.
The List
Title: Body Double
Date Watched: 8/16/2013
Original Ranking Out of 10: 8
Revised Ranking Out of 10: 8
Synopsis: A man housesits and, in the process of peeping on a neighbor, witnesses a gruesome murder.
The Good: Jesus Christ, Brian De Palma knows how to direct. The murder sequence is phenomenal and so is the porno within the movie, not to mention any number of other moments.
The Bad: Silly and dated (though I'm starting to like the 1980's feel), derivative of Hitchcock (but I kind of like that element of it).
Why Do I Own This Movie?: It was pricey, but they only printed 3000 copies and I loves me some Hi-Def De Palma.
Should I Still Own This Movie?: Yeah. I should have bought three copies because they're going for $100 on ebay right now. Live and learn.
What Did I Notice That I Didn't Notice Before?: Hey! That guy lives in my friend's old apartment (or maybe a couple of units down the street).
Other Impressions: I'm on a real Brian De Palma kick right now, particularly his Hitchcock homages. I know that objectively, they're not great movies (and a number of people have referred to them as self-parodies, which may or may not be the case), but the plot isn't the point. The point is that De Palma really shows admiration for Hitchcock's work and, though his movies are derivative, he adds his own special touch to give the movies a fresh, but familiar feel.
Body Double is mostly a re-imagining of Vertigo (with a hint of Rear Window thrown in for flavor) and, here comes the heresy, I like it a hell of a lot more. The claustrophobia is kind of cheesy, but no worse than Jimmy Stewart's vertigo, and the plot is just more exciting without the faux-ghost story element. Also, making the protagonist creepy instead of a detective adds an additional element that I think Hitchcock would have gone for.
If the movie isn't at least outright sexist, it's at least promblematic, with both of the main female characters being weak and moronic. That one of them is a porn star probably doesn't help its case, either. One one level, moments of Body Double play like a twelve year old fantasy (Dressed to Kill also had this element) and, with the self-parody element, I don't think it's completely out of the question that De Palma is commenting on the roles of women in thrillers like this. But commenting on them isn't the same as addressing them and, no matter what the intention, the movie never really subverts the genre, at least in this element.
Overlooking that, however, Body Double is a sleazy delight -- less an erotic thriller than a soft-core porn (but with more skill behind the camera than those late-night Cinemax productions). I enjoyed the hell out of it.
The List