Dressed To Kill 4K UHD (1980)

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"Sparkling 4K Transfer With New Extras That's Worth the Upgrade From Blu-Ray"

Nearly 12 years after its Blu-ray release, Arrow Films are bringing out Brian De Palma's occasionally ludicrous but frequently masterful DRESSED TO KILL on 4K UHD with archival extras ported over from both the Blu-ray and the US Kino Lorber release, plus some new ones as well. 

Nice, likeable, middle-aged housewife Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) lives a dull, unfulfilled, middle-class New York life. She is married to Ted (Norman Evans in what must be one of the most thankless roles in cinema), who provides her with a boring sex life. She also has a teenaged son, Peter (Keith Gordon), who is something of an electronics whizz. One morning, after an appointment with her psychiatrist Dr Robert Elliott (Michael Caine) Kate pays a visit to a museum (it’s actually the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the inside). There she meets a man who takes her back to his place for a bit of afternoon bedroom shenanigans. Getting ready to leave, she finds a letter notifying the chap of having a venereal disease (with exclamation mark). Leaving the building she’s attacked in the elevator by a woman wielding a razor and her bleeding, dying body is discovered by call girl Liz (Nancy Allen) who becomes the killer’s next intended victim.

Most people know how DRESSED TO KILL pans out, but in case you don’t I’m not going to reveal any more, suffice to say that this is Hollywood cinema at its most stylish and operatic. When it was originally released DRESSED TO KILL came in for a lot of criticism for being overly misogynistic. In fact, if anything it’s men who get a rough portrayal in this movie. The male characters in the world of DRESSED TO KILL are either beer-swilling useless insensitives (poor old Ted), geeks (Peter), STD-infected lotharios (the chap from the museum) or the perpetrator of the murders. Women come out of this better than men, but at the end of the day, and in the world of the giallo the individual characters don’t matter as much as the overall style of the piece. 

It’s a testament to de Palma’s skill as a film-maker that DRESSED TO A KILL is a film that doesn’t stand up to repeat viewings from a logical viewpoint (the film cheats all over the place, often so blatantly you can’t help but see De Palma with a cheeky grin while doing do) but nevertheless it’s a film you have to see several times to appreciate the sheer technical accomplishment of the piece, as well as the many subtleties that you may miss the first time around. Despite all its problems of narrative logic, and the way it does several things that can’t even be described as sleight of camera to distract, deceive and manipulate the viewer, DRESSED TO KILL has gained status as a deserve classic, mainly because De Palma’s style is so arresting and so mesmerising. 

There are other factors too, however. The acting from Dickinson, Allen, and Keith Gordon is very good indeed, and pretty much lets us forgive Michael Caine who does feel a bit out of place in this (although who else would have been better in the role - another curious DRESSED TO KILL dichotomy). As mentioned above, the elevator murder remains an operatic triumph of direction, editing and music. Pino Donaggio’s work deserves special mention because it really is one of the best dramatic scores composed for a film of this type. Criticised by those with nothing better to do at the time as being a pale imitation of Bernard Herrmann’s score for PSYCHO, Donaggio’s music actually goes well beyond that. While the scraping strings of PSYCHO’s shower murder are imitated in the elevator scene, Donaggio underpins them with woodwind to create an effect that, if anything, feels even more violent and over the top, in keeping with the operatic nature of De Palma’s film.

I reviewed Arrow's 2013 Blu-ray release of DRESSED TO KILL and its extras, all of which have been ported over, back in 2013 so go here to read about them. Extras new to UK viewers on Arrow's 4K disc are two commentary tracks, one by critic Maitland McDonagh and another, newly recorded for Arrow, by podcasters Drusilla Adeline and Joshua Conkel. The McDonagh is a little drier and more academic while the Adeline and Conkel is much chattier and feels as if you're watching it with knowledgeable friends.

There are two new visual essays: BJ and Harmony Colangelo discuss the themes of duality in the film in terms of not just character but the way the film is shot and its narrative structure (11 minutes) , while Jessica Crets talks about De Palma's empathic treatment of his subject matter in a concise but well-worded piece (9 minutes).

Interviews from 2022 (and presumably prted over from Kino Lorber's Blu-ray) include Nancy Allen (18 minutes), Keith Gordon (14 minutes) and associate producer Fred Caruso (8 minutes).

Finally, the image on Arrow's transfer is a step up from the Blu-ray with dark scenes clearer and the colours on brighter scenes really popping (eg in the museum). The bottom line? If you love DRESSED TO KILL then you have to have this.

Brian De Palma's DRESSED TO KILL is out on 4K UHD from Arrow Films on Monday 3rd March 2025

Carrie (1976)

"The Best Available Version of Brian de Palma's Masterpiece"

Oh yes. Aren't we horror fans grateful for the 1970s, when so many directors decided to grace us with their best work? And mustn't Stephen King have been grateful (and probably a bit surprised) when his first published horror novel was turned into what has long been acknowledged as one of director Brian de Palma's best films? What if you'd gone to see CARRIE only knowing about, say, 1974's PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE? "Maybe it'll be a laugh, with a few songs and some funny performances mixed in there." Then again, maybe not.

Forget the remakes (yes there have been two so far - in 2002 with Angela Bettis and then in 2013 with Chloe Grave Moretz). I can remember nothing about either, mainly I suspect because de Palma's original is so good that it needs someone of extraordinary skill and vision to make anything comparable, combined with the supremely talented cast and crew he had at his disposal, & it hasn't happened yet. 

CARRIE has been released in the UK and the US on Blu-ray befpre in markedly different packages. To anyone / everyone who may wonder why anyone would release the film again, here's what you need to know:

It's a 4k transfer that looks better than any other Blu-ray incarnation.

All the extras from the previous UK MGM Blu-ray release have been ported over (two 40-minute documentaries, 6 minute piece on the musical and a trailer)

All the extras from the US Scream Factory Region A release have been ported over as well (except for a still gallery and text gallery). This includes all the interviews with screenwriter Laurence D Cohen, DP Mario Tosi, composer Pino Donaggio, editor Paul Hirsch and casting director Harriet Helberg. 

There are new extras in the form of a commentary track from Lee Gambin and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and a 21 minute visual essay comparing the various adaptations of the novel over the years. Arrow's package also comes with a 60 page book with new writing on the film by Neil Mitchell, a reprint of a 40th anniversary fanzine and an archive interview with Brian de Palma. 

CARRIE is a classic worthy of a place in the library of any film fan (and not just horror aficionados). Arrow's set is absolutely gorgeous and impressively exhaustive. Another must-buy from the company. 

Arrow Films are bringing out Brian de Palma's CARRIE on Blu-ray on Monday 11th December 2017

Raising Cain (1992)

Brian de Palma’s ‘Greatest Hits’ package of him, Hitchcock and others gets a valuable three-disc dual format DVD and Blu-ray release courtesy of Arrow Films.

Carter Nix (John Lithgow) is happily married to Jenny (Lolita Davidovich) and has a baby daughter, Amy. He also happens to be chloroforming and killing young mothers and abducting their children to deliver to his Norwegian mad scientist father (Lithgow again) who wants to use them in personality-splitting experiments. Dr Nix has already been at it for years, though, and Carter himself is a mixture of the violent Cain, young Josh, and psychopathic Margo (all Lithgow, who is kept extremely busy in this film). 

We learn all this through a monologue from dying psychologist Dr Waldheim (the marvellous Frances Sternhagen from THE MIST & MISERY who makes the most of her awful wig) during one of de Palma’s trademark clever camera sequences (it’s very good - you’ll want to watch this bit at least twice).

Meanwhile Jenny is having an affair, the genesis of which is detailed in an awkward and clunky flashback that culminates in a ‘shock shot’ that made me wonder if de Palma wanted to homage sub-par Ulli Lommel as well as all the other directors who are referenced in this. Carter / Cain tries to kill her and abducts Amy for more mad personality splitting. Will Jenny save her daughter? Will the police get there in time? Will the film end on one of de Palma’s trademark ‘jump’ moments, albeit one possibly pinched this time from a better movie by Dario Argento?

And that’s the main problem with RAISING CAIN - everything here has pretty much been done before, either by de Palma himself (there’s a lot of his superior DRESSED TO KILL in here) or by directors he admires. The Michael Powell PEEPING TOM vibe is a new element, but it’s such an over the top plot for a director who has never been the most restrained when it comes to these kinds of thrillers, that it’s difficult to stay with it. 

John Lithgow is excellent in all his roles. The same cannot be same of Lolita Davidovich in her one role, who just cannot evoke the levels of sympathy we felt for Angie Dickinson who sort of played the same character in DRESSED TO KILL. RAISING CAIN isn’t a bad film, but it is all rather daft, and while de Palma fans would have welcomed it back in the day it’s not difficult to see why general audiences didn’t go for it.

Arrow’s presentation of RAISING CAIN is excellent. Discs 1 & 2 are the film on Blu-ray and DVD, plus extras. There are a lot of extras, including a new fifteen minute interview with John Lithgow as well as interviews with actors Steven Bauer, Gregg Henry, Tom Bower and Mel Harris, editor Paul Hirsch, and an extensive one with composer Pino Donaggio. There’s also a video essay about the different versions of the film and a trailer.

             Disc 3 is only available as part of a limited edition, and I’d suggest snapping this one up if you can, as it’s the de Palma-endorsed re-edit of the film by Peet Belder Gelderblom, re-ordered according to de Palma’s original script. If you’ve not seen RAISING CAIN before I’d suggest you watch this first, as it does give you a very different viewing experience for the first half of the film. Well done Arrow for including this and all the other extras, which together make up an excellent package. 

Brian de Palma's RAISING CAIN is out from Arrow in a limited edition 3 disc dual-format package on Monday 30th January 2017

Phantom of the Paradise (1974)

      Good old Arrow Films comes through again with this glitteringly beautiful transfer of a pre-CARRIE Brian de Palma’s eccentric, wildly creative, satirical take on the Gaston Leroux classic. When Winslow Leach (William Finley) has his musical version of Faust stolen by rock impresario Swan (Paul Williams) to open his new theatre the Paradise, Winslow swears revenge, especially as Swan has intentions to cast the androgynous and frankly mad Beef (a terrific performance of, amongst other things, Oscar-worthy gurning from Gerrit Graham) instead of pretty Phoenix (Jessica Harper) in the lead role.

Swan has other plans for Winslow, however, and pretty soon our hero has had his face crushed in a record press and all his teeth pulled out during an incarceration in Sing Sing. Escaping in a cardboard box (it’s that kind of film) Winslow acquires mask, cape and electronic voicebox to become the Phantom, signing a contract with Swan in blood to ensure the completion of his cantata, mercilessly electrocuting Beef live on stage, and then living to see Swan make Phoenix his new star while he can only impotently watch. Because it's that kind of film too.

      PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is a deliciously imaginative take on the music industry that’s alternately funny and bitterly angry by turns. The film has been compared to Richard O’Brien and Jim Sharman’s THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW, but PHANTOM really is a different, and more professional, piece of eccentric mid-1970s rock opera than the pleasantly ramshackle efforts of Tim Curry at al. Performances are all excellent, with William Finley offering an appealingly complex portrayal of genius that’s close to madness, with the inherent violence that can ensue as a result. Paul Williams is memorably oily as record producer Swan, who gets the best voice-over introduction in a horror film ever from an uncredited Rod Serling. Jessica Harper is just right as the inexperienced ingenue, and Gerrit Graham is...well...irreplaceable as the no doubt over experienced Beef.

What gives PHANTOM a tremendous punch, though, is the behind the scenes talent. Paul Williams’ songs give an example of just how broad a range he has, with everything from doo wop and Beach Boys-type melodies to the heavier rock of the period augmenting the onscreen action. Brian de Palma’s direction is by turns funny (the shower scene) heartbreaking (the scene where the Phantom views Swan and Phoenix through a skylight streaming with rain sums up one of the many reasons I love horror in one beautiful cinematic moment) and immediate (the cinema verite style filming of the end sequence). PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is a superb piece of 1970s cinema, and the more times I watch it the more I appreciate just how clever it is.

Arrow’s Blu-ray transfer of PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE is nothing short of spectacular. The film has never looked this good, and anyone who is a fan owes it to themselves to get hold of this version. Aside from the crystal clear image (could the film have looked this good in 1974?) the audio setup offers three options: 2.0 Stereo, 4.0 DTS HD and an isolated music and effects track. Whichever option you select, the film sounds better than I’ve ever heard it before so crank up the volume.

Extras include Paradise Regained, a 50 minute interview from 2005 for the French DVD release that includes most of the major participants (Gerrit Graham even answers his questions in French!). There’s a brand new 72 minute interview with Paul Williams conducted by film-maker Guillermo del Toro, and a new featurette made by Arrow that highlights the changes that had to be made after Led Zeppelin’s manager, Peter Grant, beat the movie to it by forming Swan Song records himself before PHANTOM came out. There’s an archival (ie shot on VHS) interview with costume designer Rosanna Norton, William Finley extols the virtues of the 300 Euro Phantom Action Figure, and Paradise Lost and Found treats us to bloopers, alternate takes and deleted scenes. Finally there’s a collection of trailers, radio spots and a gallery.

Arrow are releasing PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE in both steelbook and standard formats with original writing on the picture as well. If you’re one of the many, many people who love this film this is definitely the version to get. 

Arrow Films are releasing Brian de Palma's PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE on limited edition steelbook and standard edition Blu-ray on 24th February 2014

The Fury (1978)

While on holiday in the middle east, Peter Sandza (Kirk Douglas) is witness to the kidnapping of his son Robin (Andrew Stevens) while his friend Ben Childress (John Cassavetes) looks on. It soon becomes apparent that Robin, who has psychic powers, has been abducted by a US government department run by Childress who are trying to turn young people with telekinetic powers into deadly weapons. While Sandza searches for his son, another young woman, Gillian (Amy Irving) realises she can causes her classmates noses to bleed with just a thought, and soon she becomes the target of the shady government agency as well. As Robin becomes more destructive and more insane as a result of incessant testing, the film reaches a climax at the isolated country house where he is being held prisoner.

Sandwiched between CARRIE (1976) and DRESSED TO KILL (1980), THE FURY cannot help but come off as the least of de Palma’s three horror projects. There are moments of genius (Amy Irving’s flashback to Andrew Stevens’ pursuit), spectacle (the fairground scene), and gloriously operatic violence (Fiona Lewis’ demise is especially cruel and memorable). Somehow, however, these moments don’t make for an overly satisfying whole. The film begins with an action packed scene in an exotic locale, and whereas in a James Bond picture this sort of thing works, in a film like THE FURY it just feels as if we’ve walked in halfway through the story, and the lack of character development or identification prior to the mayhem makes what happens far less effective. There are far too many lengthy dialogue scenes featuring people sitting around tables, and no matter how de Palma moves his camera he can’t make any of them terribly interesting. The climactic killing of the evil villain by Amy Irving is quite spectacular, but it feels tacked on, as if the studio had told de Palma to ‘go back and film an ending to top CARRIE’.

THE FURY isn’t a dead loss by any means, but it does have quite a few problems, Coming in the wake of THE OMEN and a host of other movies about evil children with remarkable powers, THE FURY keeps its scary (and increasingly insane) teenager out of the picture for most of the running time to concentrate on Kirk Douglas’ quest. While it’s always a pleasure to watch Mr Douglas work, the film really suffers from this being his story, and not that of Andrew Stevens’ character. 

Arrow’s Blu-ray presentation of Brian de Palma’s THE FURY is second to none, offering a package that’s far superior to the Twilight Time Region A release that’s currently available stateside. As well as offering a gorgeous remastered print, the disc has a wealth of extras unavailable on other editions. First up is ‘Blood On The Lens’ - an interview with cinematographer Richard H Kline, in which he discusses what it was like to work with the director, and how he convinced de Palma to rely less on storyboards and try rehearsals instead. ‘Spinning Tales’ offers an interview with Fiona Lewis, star of quirky cult classics such as Ken Russell’s LISZTOMANIA, Andrew Sinclair’s BLUE BLOOD and , of course, Robert Fuest’s DR PHIBES RISES AGAIN. She talks about the filming of THE FURY, and in particular of one scene that was cut by the film-makers for being too extreme after she had filmed in 24 times and ended up black and blue as a result. Sam Irvin was an intern on THE FURY, and he’s interviewed about the film’s locations. Irvin’s short film DOUBLE NEGATIVE is also included on the disc. Described as ‘a valentine to de Palma’ it’s actually a lot of fun and well worth watching. I’d love to know if film producers Max and Milt (played by William Finley and Wayne Knight) were named after Amicus main men Max J Rosenberg and Milton Subotsky. Rounding out Arrow’s package are some original archive interviews from the time with de Palma, producer Frank Yablans, Amy Irving and Carrie Snodgress. There’s also a booklet with new writing on the film, and an interview with John Farris about his and de Palma’s unrealised film version of Alfred Bester’s The Demolished Man. 

Arrow Films are releasing Brian de Palma's THE FURY on Region B Blu-ray on 28th October 2013

Dressed to Kill (1980)

Before I begin this review proper I’ll make an admission: DRESSED TO KILL is my favourite Brian de Palma film. Some prefer SCARFACE, others think CARRIE is his horror highpoint, and THE UNTOUCHABLES the absolute pinnacle of his career. But for me it’s DRESSED TO KILL that I can watch over and over, and for a multitude of reasons. Bearing this in mind I was already excited when I received the news that Arrow Films were bringing this little masterpiece out on Blu-ray, and with a horde of extras as well. And this package doesn’t disappoint.
Nice, likeable, middle-aged housewife Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) lives a dull, unfulfilled, middle-class New York life. She is married to Mike (Fred Weber in what must be one of the most thankless roles in cinema), who provides her with a boring sex life. She also has a teenaged son, Peter (Keith Gordon), who is something of an electronics whizz. One morning, after an appointment with her psychiatrist Dr Robert Elliott (Michael Caine) Kate pays a visit to a museum (it’s actually the Philadelphia Museum of Art on the inside). There she meets a man who takes her back to his place for a bit of afternoon bedroom shenanigans. Getting ready to leave, she finds a letter notifying the chap of having a venereal disease (were New York clinics always this sensitive about breaking bad news? In capitals, no less!). Leaving the building she’s attacked in the elevator by a woman wielding a razor and her bleeding, dying body is discovered by call girl Liz (Nancy Allen) who becomes the killer’s next intended victim.

Most people know how DRESSED TO KILL pans out, but in case you don’t I’m not going to reveal any more, suffice to say that this is Hollywood cinema at its most stylish, operatic, and (dare I say it but I’m going to anyway) giallo. When it was originally released DRESSED TO KILL came in for a lot of criticism for being overly misogynistic. Even when I first saw it, at the tender age of 14, I wondered how critics could view a film so superficially. Angie Dickinson’s murder in the lift is supremely horrible - in fact it’s one of the great operatic moments of horror cinema - but one of the reasons for this is because we’ve come to like and sympathise with her beforehand. In fact, if anything it’s men who get a rough portrayal in this movie. The male characters in the world of DRESSED TO KILL are either beer-swilling useless insensitives (poor old Ted), geeks (Peter), STD-infected lotharios (the chap from the museum) or nutters (guess who). Women come out of this better than men, but at the end of the day, and in the world of the giallo (because it is, come on, of course it is) the individual characters don’t matter as much as the overall style of the piece. And what style! It’s a testament to de Palma’s skill as a film-maker that DRESSED TO A KILL is a film that doesn’t stand up to repeat viewing from a logical viewpoint (the film cheats all over the place, often so blatantly you can’t help but see de Palma evincing a cheeky grin while doing do) but nevertheless it’s a film you have to see several times to appreciate the sheer technical accomplishment of the piece, as well as the many subtleties that you may miss the first time around.

      Like I said above, despite all its problems of narrative logic, and the way it does several naughty things that can’t even be described as sleight of camera to distract, deceive and manipulate the viewer, DRESSED TO KILL remains one of my favourite films, mainly because de Palma’s style is so arresting and so mesmerising. There are other factors too, however. The acting from Dickinson, Allen, and Keith Gordon is very good indeed, and pretty much lets us forgive Michael Caine who does feel a bit out of place in this (although I can’t think who would have been better in the role - another curious DRESSED TO KILL dichotomy!). As mentioned above, the elevator murder remains an operatic triumph of direction, editing and music. Pino Donaggio’s work deserves special mention because it really is one of the best dramatic scores composed for a film of this type. Criticised by those with nothing better to do at the time as being a pale imitation of Bernard Herrman’s score for PSYCHO, Donaggio’s music actually goes well beyond that. While the scraping strings of PSYCHO’s shower murder are imitated in the elevator scene, Donaggio underpins them with woodwind to create an effect that, if anything, feels even more violent and over the top, in keeping with the operatic nature of de Palma’s film.
Arrow Films’ Blu-ray of DRESSED TO KILL has been remastered by MGM studios, but anyone expecting revelatory new image quality might be a bit disappointed. The museum scenes (and the art in them) now look crystal clear but I suspect the original photography of many of the darker sequences is always going to look a bit grainy. The good news is that the uncut version of de Palma’s movie is now available for the first time in the UK. 

Extras are many and bountiful. Ported over from the old MGM release are the documentary ‘The Making of DRESSED TO KILL’, a featurette on how the film had to be changed to avoid an American X rating, and a comparison of the unrated, R (ie 18) rated and television versions of the film. Anyone who caught DRESSED TO KILL on its premiere screening on ITV in the 1980s will no doubt cringe at the memory of the awful TV version and it’s all here for you to feel horrified by all over again.
A short appreciation by Keith Gordon on the old disc has been left off to make way for a swathe of new material, including lengthy interviews with stars Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon. There’s also a new interview with producer George Litto. A piece from Pino Donaggio would have been nice but I could probably never have too many extras for this film. As usual we get trailers, a picture gallery, a reversible sleeve with new artwork and the original poster art, and a booklet with a new essay by Maitland McDonagh.
Arrow’s DRESSED TO KILL package is just splendid, and an essential purchase for fans of this gorgeously shot, melodramatic suspense thriller. 

DRESSED TO KILL will be released on Blu-ray by Arrow Video on Monday 29th July 2013