Dressed To Kill [Blu-ray]

When I was 15 or so, during the era of Reagan and Thatcher, pre-recorded pan and scan films on VHS, punitive TV and VCR packages from high-street firms like Radio Rentals that the Mafia could learn from and independent fish shops that would sell you a heart-bursting half-pounder burger made from dubious cows-I kept pimping my credulous older brothers to hire the same three videos for me every weekend. They were, unsurprisingly, John Carpenter's The Thing, James Camerons' Aliens and, most importantly, Brian DePalma's Dressed To Kill. There was something special about the last one. To my perverse adolescent mind it had everything I could wish for...plentiful nudity, ritualized violence and sneering humour. The more I watched it though, the more that slick surface of tabloid thrills gave way to other delights. There was the deceptively romantic score by Pino Donaggio that seemed so yearning, indicative of heightened emotional states and descriptive of the director's specific intent within dialogue-free scenes. There was the play of looks within a formal composition, so difficult to fully appreciate when a portion of the picture was missing.Finally there was the sense that reflections, character-doubling and the deliberate confusion of objective/subjective viewpoints was vital to the understanding of the work at stake. The rental video version of Dressed To Kill disappeared in the form that I remember, to be replaced(like an alien seed-pod replica) by a trimmed retail version and then by a network TV abomination that was so butchered it was wearily incomprehensible. I've purchased numerous other films on laserdisc (both foreign and domestic), replaced them with DVD's and now I'm enjoying the opportunities that blu ray provides.It is in this respect that I must thank Arrow Films for their superb release of Dressed To Kill on the latter format.The extras are diverting, as they should be, but not game-changing in terms of my enjoyment. The film is the thing and what a wonderful job they have made of it. I'm so impressed by the cut(it turns out that what I imagined was the uncut version all those years back was actually the equivalent of the U.S. R-Restricted version). The Arrow version is clearly the Unrated U.S. version. Not only can I visually dissect the intricacy of DePalma's micro-management of mise-en-scene in widescreen, hear profanities on the soundtrack that I had never known were there or see the rich-colour palette in the intended soft-focus delirium of this imagined 1980's world...I can also reflect more upon my own reactions to the voyeuristic pleasures this film provides. There is still plenty left for me to discover in this release and the Arrow blu ray has given one of my all-time favourite slices of lost genre cinema back to me, after thirty years, in a form that I'd barely hoped was still possible. The little booklet provided with the disc was a revelation and the production team should get kudos for it in particular. In sum, this film has been a psycho-sexual mind-virus that I contracted once and couldn't fully recover, and be in remission, from. Arrow have refined the bacillus so that it achieved maximum amplification in my craving system.I owe them a debt of gratitude for my current state of sumptuous imaginative debility. This is an essential purchase. Next stop...Arrow's Battle Royale.

If pushed, I always finger Brian DePalma's mid '90s gangster genre blender 'Carlito's Way' to be his supreme filmic triumph, but I gotta admit - between all the pseudo Hitchockian rip-offery and misogynistic behaviour, this 1980 offering comes a very close second. Featuring a dynamic directing style, razor sharp editing and wonderful leading performances from all concerned, this one tiptoes through a myriad of thriller tropes to deliver a well produced American giallo that ticks a number of boxes...We first meet sexually unsatisfied 40-something wife Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) as she plays hide the sponge in a 'what the hell..?' opening sequence taking place inside the shower. Why director Brian DePalma felt the need to open up his film with this is anyone's guess, but between that and all the soap suds, I was almost fooled into thinking this was an X-rated advert for Bubbleship Matey... Anyhoo, besides fiddling with her tuppence, Mrs Miller relays her sexual fantasies to psychiatrist Dr Robert Elliott (a deadpan Michael Caine) who attempts to dig out why she's so frustrated and hopefully scratch her itch before anything untoward occurs... which it obviously does, as she takes a lover in a Manhattan art museum, leading to an unforseen tragedy. This series of events takes up a large portion of the movie which then switches gears to focus on a high class call-girl (Nancy Allen) and Dickinson's whiz-kid son (Keith Gordon), who together are drawn into his mother's dark world in an attempt to solve the mystery and put a stop to a razor wielding maniac who loves nothing more than slicing up woman for their own sordid pleasure...Although, directed as a nod and a wink to both Alfred Hitchcock (namely 'Psycho' by way of 'Vertigo') and Dario Argento (his giallo 'black gloved killer' motif wrung for all its worth) - there's still plenty to enjoy in this lurid thriller. From the screwy screenplay and inventive direction by director DePalma, this one is a pure cinematic delight - each shot is purposely framed to ensure you see / and don't see exactly what DePalma wants. Kudos too for composer Pino Donaggio's effective score which elevates the visuals and ensures the viewer is given a helluva ride - at times, I didn't know if I should be laughing at the audacity of DePalma, but even so he keeps the train rolling and not once was I bored. This one delivered the goods and like all good movies, focuses on a myriad of characters from Dickinson and Caines' ''older'' cast to the juxtaposition of Allen and Gordon's much younger protagonists, who echo each other and of course all are involved some way or another in the central 'mystery'...Arrow Video have done another sterling job with this UK Blu-Ray release sporting a very fine transfer and amazing audio. The myriad of extra special features include: A chat with producer George Litto while Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen and Keith Gordon all discus their roles in the film. We also get a documentary on the making of Dressed to Kill featuring De Palma, Litto, Dickinson, Allen, Dennis Franz and more! Rounding off are an 'Unrated, R-Rated, and TV-Rated Comparison' featurette, a short regarding the film's original X-rating, photo gallery and reversible sleeve with original and newly commissioned artwork. All in all this movie maybe not for everyone but as a straight forward early '80s thriller/slasher flick it delivers in spades and Arrow's Blu-Ray release ensures this is a must have for new and older fans alike. Recommended.

"Dressed to Kill" is easily the best of De Palma's suspense thrillers. The black and white psychology of these films are off-putting for some but I find it to be an effective way of crafting compelling characters that leave an impression. The tracking shot at the museum, with Pino Donaggio's breathtaking score that treats a coyly sexual pursuit in the same manner, cinematically, as a tense and dangerous chase, is one of the best sequences of De Palma's career.I would recommend getting the Blu to UK viewers- it's a pity that it's only available as an import, because the blu ray contains the uncut version of the film. The differences aren't hugely different but having seen both cuts the cuts do take away from the blatant provocative menace of the scenes they occur in.The main Making Of featurette is quite interesting, especially in putting the film in the context of it's reception and the controversy surrounding it. I always love hearing DePalma talk about the creative process- his distinct visual ideas often get carried over into other films, as shown in the documentary which discusses De Palma's aborted screenplay for "Cruising" (eventually made by William Friedkin, and an awful film it was) and how elements of this turn up in "Dressed to Kill".