The De Palma Decade: Redefining Cinema with Doubles, Voyeurs, and Psychic Teens

Hitchcock’s heir or Hitchcock hack? Brian De Palma has a divisive legacy and an inconsistent filmography, yet even his critically derided titles have ardent fans, and several box office bombs are now considered cult classics. Bouzereau (Spielberg: The First Ten Years) has previously documented the director’s work in print and film. This admiring book examines seven films produced over 10 years (Carrie, Dressed To Kill, Obsession, The Fury, Phantom of the Paradise, Sisters, and Blow Out). Combining cast and crew interviews acquired over his years of research with a close reading of each film, he argues that De Palma has a distinctive voice and illustrates the intentionality of his choices. Many interviews include actors who were shocked by his intricate storyboarding and how music and sound design are emphasized as much as De Palma’s use of split screens, slow motion, and other visual signatures. The general public didn’t initially support his horror/rock musical Phantom of the Paradise. However, it’s the movie De Palma intended to make, and some viewers feel it was made for them.