Brian De Palma

May 28, 8:15 PMCelebrity Profile ExaminerAndy Williamson

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BRIAN DE PALMA

As a distinguished (and founding) member of the "Movie Brat" directors who forever changed Hollywood in the late 60s/early 70s (this group also includes Spielberg, Lucas, Scorsese, Milius and Coppola), Brian De Palma is one of the most respected filmmakers in the world.  He is also one of the most reviled.  That one man can inspire such disparate reactions says something unique about him -- the only response you will never hear about the auteur (and he is) is one of indifference.  Love him or hate him, De Palma will always evoke a passionate response from filmgoers.

Brian Russell De Palma was born on September 11th, 1940 in Newark, New Jersey.  The youngest of three Italian/American boys born to Anthony De Palma (an orthopedic surgeon), and Vivienne Muti De Palma, Brian’s religious heritage was Roman Catholic, though he was raised as a Protestant.  Growing up in Philadelphia and New Hampshire, Brian had an early (and award-winning) interest in physics, and went on to major in that subject at Columbia University.  Not long into his collegiate studies, after seeing (and being enamored by) Citizen Kane and Vertigo, Brian switched gears and began leaning toward the arts, especially theater and cinema.  After making a few student films, Brian left Columbia and enrolled at the newly coed Sarah Lawrence College -- he was one of the first male students in the otherwise estrogen-fueled student body.  It was here that Brian first delved into the works of other filmmakers -- those whom would greatly inform his cinematic style in the years to come: Michelangelo Antonioni, Jean-Luc Godard, Andy Warhol and (especially) Alfred Hitchcock.  Earning his M.A. degree in 1964, Brian supported himself over the next few years by directing documentaries and promotional films for corporations and cultural institutions.

In the late 60s, Brian began making films with another young up-and-comer, Robert DeNiro.  Their collaborations during this period include Greetings, The Wedding Party and Hi Mom!  None of these independently produced and distributed films garnered much box office, but Greetings did make a profit.  On the strength of this, Brian’s next film, Get to Know Your Rabbit, was financed by a major studio, and attracted a very respectable cast, including Orson Welles, Katherine Ross, and Tommy Smothers.  It bombed and Brian was summarily let go by the studio.

BRIAN DE PALMA AND MARGOT KIDDER (1973)

Things began to look up in 1973 when Brian wrote and directed the thriller Sisters.  Influenced heavily by the films of Alfred Hitchcock (as would all of his films over the ensuing decade), Sisters starred a very young (and pre-Superman) Margot Kidder (Brian's then girlfriend) as one of two separated Siamese twins, one of whom is a homicidal maniac.  The incredibly stylish and suspenseful film (highly recommended) was successful enough to let Brian try something even more daring for a follow-up.  1974’s Phantom of the Paradise was a campy (to put it mildly) melding of Faust and Phantom of the Opera, regarding a wronged composer who makes a deal with the devil.  Starring William Finley, Paul Williams and Jessica Harper, this hip rock-opera pre-dated the film version of The Rocky Horror Picture Show by one year, and is also notable for featuring its Phantom as a masked, caped, asthmatic, synthetic-voiced menace ... which may have inspired DePalma's friend George Lucas in his creation of Darth Vader three years later.  A camp classic.

Next came 1976’s Obsession (possibly Brian’s most underrated film), starring Cliff Robertson, Geneviéve Bujold, and John Lithgow in a tale of murder, loss and dual identities.  This homage to Hitchcock’s Vertigo also features the final film score of Bernard Hermann (who also composed Vertigo’s haunting themes), and is made all the more resonant because of it.  Obsession was a minor hit -- it did make a profit -- but as his contemporaries (to date) were responsible for Jaws, American Grafitti, and The Godfather, Brian still hadn’t achieved comparable success.

Then came Carrie.

CARRIE - THEATRICAL POSTER (1976)

Though Stephen King’s first novel had yet to reach the bestseller lists, and though United Artists had only given the property a miniscule $1.8 million budget, Brian immediately saw cinematic potential.  Telling the tale of an abused teenage girl with blossoming telekinetic powers who unleashes her psychic fury after a horrific prank at the school prom, Carrie was Brian’s breakthrough picture.  The film also featured what would become many of Brian’s cinematic trademarks: split screens, long tracking shots, slo-mo sequences, dream imagery, and many obvious Hitchcock references, including its Psycho-esque staccato score, Bates High School, etc ...  The film starred Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie (both of whom received Oscar nominations -- unheard of for a horror film), John Travolta, and Nancy Allen.  In addition to kicking Brian’s film career into overdrive, the film can also be credited with giving a major boost to Stephen King, who would go on (of course) to be the best-selling author of the 20th century.  And to think it all started with a menstrual mishap in a girl’s locker room ...

Brian’s next film, 1978’s The Fury, is a fraternal twin of Carrie in that it also deals with telekinesis.  The very stylish (and wonderfully trashy) movie, starring Kirk Douglas, Amy Irving, and Andrew Stevens, is perhaps best encapsulated in Leonard Maltin’s Movie and Video Guide as: bloody and violent -- the ultimate litmus test for those who prefer form over content.  It was nowhere near as successful as Carrie, and in the aftermath of this disappointment, Brian decided to go back to school.

Returning briefly to Sarah Lawrence College as a professor, Brian taught a course in Low-Budget Filmmaking.  The class of undergraduate and graduate students eventually assisted Brian in making a film: 1980’s Home Movies.  Brian later admitted that the comedy was based greatly on his own childhood.

DRESSED TO KILL - THEATRICAL POSTER (1980)

That same year, after returning to full-time filmmaking, Brian wrote and directed what many argue is his masterpiece: Dressed to Kill.  The thriller, starring Angie Dickenson, Michael Caine, Keith Gordon, and Nancy Allen, is yet another ultra-stylish ode to Hitchcock (I cannot say which Hitchcock film without giving too much away).  It soon became a critical and commercial smash ... though it is definitely not for the squeamish.  HIghlights include the museum set piece (a brilliant and daring example of “pure-cinema”), and the “elevator scene.”  (Scared the crap out of me when I was 15.)

Next came 1981’s Blow Out, about a Hollywood sound man who inadvertently records a politician’s murder.  The film, which reunited Carrie’s evil duo, John Travolta and Nancy Allen (her third De Palma film -- they were married at the time), was a critical darling, but (possibly due to a tragically sad ending) did not make much of a ripple at the box office.  Like many of Brian’s films which didn’t initially perform well in their theatrical runs, Blow Out has become a cult favorite.  Even Quentin Tarantino often champions this as one of his all-time favorite movies (and rightly so).

Brian reclaimed his cinematic throne with 1983’s Scarface.  Written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino, this update of the Howard Hawks classic changed the nationality of its lead from Italian to Cuban, its prohibitive substance from alcohol to cocaine, and its depiction of violence from stylishly off-screen to stylishly in-your-face (... however, even its most notorious scene, involving a chainsaw and a bathtub, is filmed in a manner that is not nearly as violent as what you think you see).  Scarface made nearly triple its $25 million budget worldwide -- but in later years it has become a cult classic embraced by action fans, rappers, and (shocker) gangsters.

BLOW OUT - (1981)

Wrapping up over a decade of Hitchcockian thrillers, 1984’s Body Double paid homage to both Vertigo and Rear Window.  The film, starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry, and Dennis Franz (who honed his Hill St. Blues and NYPD Blues personas in no less than four De Palma films), involved voyeurism, mistaken identities, the porn world, and (of course) murder.  One of De Palma’s best.

After 1985’s “comedic” misfire Wise Guys, Brian bounced back in 1987 with The Untouchables.  Starring Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, and Robert DeNiro, the David Mamet-scripted film was Brian’s biggest hit to date.  Extremely entertaining.

After 1989’s Casualties of War (starring Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn) bombed at the box office, Brian’s next project was supposed to make everything right again.  But ... since his follow-up was the notorious 1990 debacle The Bonfire of the Vanities (budget $47 million, gross $15 million), redemption for the director was needed even more desperately.  The troubled production, starring Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith, was detailed in the book The Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood (later retitled The Devil's Candy: The Anatomy of a Hollywood Fiasco).

After back-to-back flops, what could Brian De Palma do next but ... go back to what he knew best.  1992’s Raising Cain, starring John Lithgow as a disturbed child psychologist (Lithgow also played numerous other roles in this tour de force), was written by its director, and was certainly a return to form.  Brian also scripted the psychological thriller, and the film did well enough at the box office to nearly double its modest $11 million budget.  The following year, Brian reunited with his Scarface star Al Pacino, for Carlito’s Way.  While the film received lukewarm reviews, it did respectable box office, making $77 million toward its $30 million cost.

THE UNTOUCHABLES - THEATRICAL POSTER

Brian came back into his own in 1996 when he directed Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible.  The update of the 1970’s TV show cost $70 million to produce, but earned nearly half a billion dollars worldwide.  It was Brian’s biggest hit, and spawned a franchise.

As of this writing, Brian has yet to top that gargantuan hit.  His films since then have included 1998’s Snake Eyes with Nicholas Cage (a taut respectable thriller), 2000’s Mission to Mars (the less said about this derivative mess the better), 2002’s Femme Fatale (the best thriller Brian has made in years), 2006’s The Black Dahlia (utter shite), and 2007’s Redacted (a hugely controversial, Iraq War related bomb that is greatly responsible for much of the venom recently spewed toward the brilliant but inconsistent director).

Brian De Palma has been married three times: to actress Nancy Allen (‘79 - ‘83), producer Gale Anne Hurd (‘91 - ‘93, one daughter, Lolita), and Darnell Gregorio (‘95 - ‘97, 1 daughter, Piper).

Brian De Palma is once again in need of some cinematic redemption.  But if the brief history I just recounted is any indication, Brian always bounces back with renewed vigor.  Here’s hoping we get some more of those Hitchcockian ... nay, De Palmian thrillers that he does like nobody else’s business.

For a fascinating career-retrospective interview, Scene by Scene with Brian De Palma, visit The Wordslinger.

Brian De Palma Quotes:

“The camera lies all the time -- lies 24 times/second.”

“I've never been accepted as that conventional artist.  Whatever you say about David Lynch or Martin Scorsese, they are considered major film artists and nobody can argue with that.  I've never had that.  I've had people say it about me.  And I've had people say that I'm a complete hack and you know, derivative and all those catchphrases that people use for me.  So I've always been controversial.  People hate me or love me.”

“My films deal with a stylized, expressionistic world that has a kind of grotesque beauty about it.  I like stylization.  I try to get away with as much as possible until people start laughing at it.”

BRIAN DE PALMA

Regarding Alfred Hitchcock: “He is the one who distilled the essence of film.  He's like Webster.  It's all there.  I've used a lot of his grammar.”

Regarding Sissy Spacek: “Sissy's a phantom.  She has this mysterious way of slipping into a part, letting it take over her.  She's got a wider range than any young actress I know.”

On accusations that his films are misogynistic: “Women are more sympathetic creatures in jeopardy, plus they're more interesting to photograph.  I'd rather photograph a woman walking around with a candelabra than a guy.  It's as simple as that.  Somebody once said that the history of cinema was made photographing women, and I think one could truthfully say that.  ... It's hard to make movies where you put women in peril any more.  You can't really stalk women around anymore.  It's very difficult.  It's sort of unsettling to field a lot of hostile questions about why you keep doing this and why you dislike women so much.  You say, "It's a murder mystery, I'm running out of victims."  It's all right to kill men, but women are out.  No one complained when I killed a man in Sisters.”

BRIAN DE PALMA

Regarding the The Bonfire of the Vanities: “The initial conception of it was incorrect.  If you're going to do The Bonfire of the Vanities you would have to make it a lot darker and a lot more cynical, but because it was such an expensive movie we tried to humanize the Sherman McCoy character -- a very unlikeable character, much like the character in The Magnificent Ambersons.  We could have done that if we'd been making a low budget movie, but this was a studio movie with Tom Hanks in it.  I think John Lithgow would have been a better choice for Sherman McCoy, because he would have got the blue-blood arrogance of the character.  I thought we were going to get away with it, but we didn't.  I knew that the people who had read the book were going to be extremely unhappy.  I think if you look at the movie now, and you don't know anything about the book, and you get it out of the time that it was released, I think you can see it in a whole different way.”

On accusations of cinematic plagiarism: “I don't think I do referencing, I use ideas which I think are effective in this particular piece at the moment.  If they've been used before, fine.  I mean, who cares?  To me, it's all grammar.  If I've got that word available and it was used before and if I can use it again more effectively for my piece -- why not?  It's the history of art from the beginning of time.  Why do you think painters still paint Chartres Cathedral?  Do you think they should be painting some rock in a garden?  But they have this incredible architectural thing in front of them!  Are they copying, are they simulating it?  Well, maybe they have a different interpretation of the piece of art that's in front of them.  I mean, how unusual ...”