Brian de Palma

[ie]

Brian de Palma



dontdigonswine: have you seen The Untouchables?
ie: Nope, although since it's by Brian de Palma, I could probably tell you that it's pretty cool in the beginning and then the ending is unrealistic, unbelievable and brings the rest of the movie down slightly.
ie: That's his signature style.

In other words, his style consists of making a decent movie and then fucking up the ending.


I know Dan hates Scarface.

And I've only seen Scarface, Blow Out and I may have seen Mission: Impossible, but I've heard enough of his other movies to make that generalization.

[agentknight]

Scarface is shit, The Untouchables was boring and Mission: Impossible was a dull action movie. Can't say I like the dude much.

[ie]

I know not to expect much from a de Palma movie.


Scarface was alright. I'd need to see it again to really give a passing judgement on it, but I thought it was overrated the first time I saw it.

Blow Out was okay, but there are many better movies to watch.

[criterionmaster]

He is a good director, not mind-blowing or anything. He is able to pay homage to many different genres of films and does that pretty well. Sometimes he hits, other times he misses pretty bad.

Carrie is a classic horror film and one of the best. It has some moments that fit into my definition of classic horror. Just a timeless film.

Scarface is not good. It should have never been made and frankly is one of the most overrated movies of all-time. Pacino gives one of the most over-the-top, stupid performances ever. The whole thing never should have been made! See the original, not this.

The Untouchables is his best, featuring great performances from the entire cast. And one of the best homage’s to the gangster genre ever.

Casualties of War is a good war film but not amazing. There are some very good parts but the ending throws it completely off no matter your take on it, it isn’t good. Penn is quite good though.

Mission Impossible was the first film I ever saw in the theater, me and my dad, so at least it has that, which is one of the few things the film has. There are great parts but it is overlong and quite boring.

I also think I saw Mission to Mars but don’t remember any of it, nor do I care to, so oh well.

I am dying to see his films Sisters and I will see probably all or most of the stuff he makes, just because he has been good, and he is a well respected director. He is actually listed in the top 100 best ever.

[kiddo]

I have got the impression that De Palma is a very arrogant guy

Look aside from that, and we have quite a talented director. I like The Untouchables. Before, when I was younger, I remember loving the film (as it was one of my first "violent films"), but now, when I've seen it some times and my taste has developed, I'm more so-so to it. Not a bad film, but far from a masterpiece. An ok film, I guess.

It's pretty much the same with Scarface, which I trough the years have praised as a great film. Now, I'm not so much fan of it, and as cm, I definitevely prefer the original. If you haven't seen it, you will be blown away by it! It is a masterpiece.

I have just seen parts of Carrie, which was good, so I'll have to see it soon.

Mission Impossibleis ok. Long time since I saw it, and I remember I liked MI:2 better (I am almost emberrast to tell you that). It has it's moments, but overall a bit tame.

But now we come to Carlito's Way; this is one of his best. I like the acting very much, espesially from Pacino and Penn. The film is very good as a whole, but it has quite a couple of flaws.

So, as a conclusion, I find De Palma to be quite an overrated director which makes good films, but not many great ones.

[criterionmaster]

I am really looking forward to Carlito's Way as well.

[kiddo]

Yeah, you should see it, but no need to be hasty. It's not a masterpiece or anything, just a solid crime thriller with some excellent acting.

[ie]

Then there's the new Carlito's Way movie coming out in 2007, is it? And, is it a prequel? (Rise to Power, I think is its subtitle.)

Then shouldn't we check out that one first, which would mean waiting even longer which is fine because there are better movies?

[PTAhole]

That terrible Carlito's Way prequel went straight to video. There is an Untouchables prequel (Capone Rising) coming out, but De Palma is actually involved. Still, if it's about the rise of Al Capone, the why do they just need to slap the Untouchables name on it? (I love the first movie, by the way.)

[criterionmaster]

From Criterionco:

De Palma Goes Digital
Following in the footsteps of Steven Soderbergh, Brian De Palma will direct a feature for HDNet Films, the high-definition video production company founded by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban. Like Soderbergh’s Bubble, De Palma’s Redacted, a narrative about the horrors and dehumanization that befall a group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq, will be simultaneously released on HDNet Movies (www.hd.net), DVD, and in theaters.

[Evan]

I really enjoyed The Untouchables

[hayrold]

i'm shocked to read all this criticism
i utterly adore de palma. i watched alot of his films when i was little and have recently studied his entire body of work and i can honestly say he's one of my favourite directors.

i've mentioned it in a post somewhere else; but i consider him an artist, i watch his films purely for the cinematic form and not usually the story... but saying that alot have stories i enjoy

i'm glad someone mentioned casualties of war because i LOVE it.
i passionately hate the war genre but thankfully this is a narrative primarily about the characters and not the vietnam war itself.
i recommend it!

and can i just say... SPLIT DIOPTER APPRECIATION!??
maybe it's just me that gets excited by them, but that's upsetting.

my favourite 360 degree shot is of course the carrie prom spin with tommy.
[second favourite john travolta in blow out getting paranoid in his room]

and i'm not gonna go on and on for my love of scarface [1983] there's not much point. you either love it or you don't.
but i consider it a masterpiece.

[captainofbeef]

I'm very mixed on De Palma as well. I think he has made some films that come very to close to being masterpieces (Carrie, The Untouchables). He has also made some movies that I thought were decent but nothing incredibly special (Scarface, Blow Out, Casualties of War, Carlito's Way, Mission Impossible). But then, the bad ones come in and there is not a shortage of them (The Bonfire of the Vanities, Raising Cain, Snake Eyes, Mission to Mars, and The Black Dahlia). I caught some of Femme Fatale as well, that looked awful.

Nevertheless, I am interested in Sisters and I will see anything he makes because sometimes he gets lucky and makes a damn good film. But most of the time, he is just average.

[ie]

I'm going to have to agree.

How's that whole "that it's pretty cool [sic ] in the beginning and then the ending is unrealistic, unbelievable and brings the rest of the movie down slightly" theory hold up, though?

[captainofbeef]

Its not always true, but in the case of Scarface and The Black Dahlia, I'd say that was the case.