Body Double, one of Brian DePalma’s most divisive films, arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
The Production: 4/5
Down on his luck actor Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) has just been fired as the lead in a low budget vampire film after becoming paralyzed inside a coffin due to his claustrophobia, and then loses his home and girlfriend when he arrives home early only to find her in bed with another man. Jake crosses paths with another actor, Sam Bouchard (Gregg Henry), who just so happens to be looking for someone to take over his housesitting gig while he’s out of town. Desperately needing a place to stay, Jake moves in, but not before Sam clues him in on a little secret – the woman in the house across the way has a nightly habit of dancing and frolicking erotically before going to bed. Jake becomes entranced by the woman, watching her nightly through the telescope that just so happens to be aimed at her bedroom. But strange things begin to happen – a man enters the house one evening and argues before striking her and storming out, and a large Native American man has been hanging around outside the house and on the telephone pole. One day, Jake follows her to a seaside hotel, where the Native American man snatches her purse, taking her keys. Jake tries to stop him, chasing him through a long tunnel before becoming paralyzed by his claustrophobia. The woman, Gloria (Deborah Shelton), leads him out of the tunnel, thanking him and the two embrace in a passionate kiss before Gloria suddenly breaks away. That evening, Jake witnesses her house being ransacked by the same man that stole her purse, running to warn her and ultimately witnessing her gruesome death. The police rule her death as the consequence of a robbery gone bad, but warn Jake that his failure to report all of the strange occurrences with her attacker may have contributed to her death. Then, one evening, during a bout of insomnia, Jake stumbles across a porn channel on TV featuring an actress, Holly Body (Melanie Griffith), performing the same erotic dance as Gloria. With his gut telling him that it is too much of a coincidence, he begins tracking Holly down, pretending to be a film producer, ultimately stumbling upon the truth of Gloria’s murder.
Brian DePalma’s Body Double is one of the director’s better tributes to Alfred Hitchcock, borrowing elements from Rear Window and Vertigo in a rather tightly wound and at times humorous erotic thriller. DePalma was fascinated by the idea of using a body double as the central part of a thriller while shooting Dressed to Kill in which a body double was used for Angie Dickinson. The film has some interesting twists and turns that will keep you on your toes, but is also a love letter of sorts to 1980s Hollywood while at the same time lovingly poking fun at the industry. Melanie Griffith’s portrayal of Holly Body earned her a Golden Globe nomination and was a star-making turn for the actress.
Video: 5/5
3D Rating: NA
Body Double was photographed and completed on 35mm film with an intended theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Although Sony’s press release is rather vague, I assume the 2160p HEVC encode (which includes both Dolby Vision and HDR10 high dynamic range) was sourced from a 4K scan of the camera negative. This is a terrific looking transfer, with organic film grain that is never obtrusive, colors that often pop (particularly in the Frankie Goes to Hollywood Relax music video shoot sequence), and excellent contrast with deep blacks containing strong shadow detail. The film has never looked better, and the included Blu-ray is sourced from this 4K master.
Audio: 4.5/5
Originally released theatrically with a matrixed Dolby Stereo surround optical track, a new 5.1 mix was created for the film’s DVD release, and now for its UHD release, Sony has upgraded that 5.1 to Dolby Atmos. It is not quite as revealing as one would expect, with Pino Donaggio’s romantic score benefitting the most from the additional speakers and LFE. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.
Special Features: 3/5
The UHD disc is movie-only. Special features can be found on the remastered Blu-ray, much of it recycled from previous physical media releases plus some previously unreleased archival content.
Featurettes (upscaled 1080i; 51:57): Ported from the special edition DVD release from several years ago, Laurent Bouzereau’s four part documentary can be viewed as one piece or in its individual segments: The Seduction, The Setup, The Mystery and The Controversy.
**NEW** EPK Interviews (upscaled 1080i; 10:03): It is hard to believe that back in the 1980s, studios sent out press kits that included video footage of key principals answering set questions that local television stations could use and insert their own reporter asking the questions. Three of those type of interviews are included with title cards containing the question, featuring answers by Brian DePalma, Craig Wasson and Melanie Griffith.
**NEW** Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s Relax Music Video (upscaled 1080i; 4:02): The Body Double version of the band’s signature tune.
Still Gallery (1080p; 2:17): A non-interactive slide show of production stills.
Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 1:28): This is the teaser trailer, not the theatrical trailer.
Digital Copy: A Movies Anywhere code is included to redeem a 4K digital copy.
Movies Anywhere: 4K HDR10, Dolby 5.1
Apple TV: 4K (no HDR), Dolby 5.1
Fandango at Home: 4K (no HDR), Dolby 5.1
Prime Video: 4K (no HDR), Dolby 5.1
Overall: 4/5
Body Double on UHD Blu-ray has never looked or sounded better.
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