Amid howls from his detractors that Dressed to Kill was merely a warmed-over rehash of Psycho, Brian De Palma actually has fashioned a sleek, stylish, and scary thriller with Dressed to Kill. The film has beautifully designed and executed suspense sequences, and it’s one thing that Psycho definitely isn’t: undeniably and unashamedly erotic. With no Production Code to worry about, the film is also viciously violent when it needs to be, but the director doesn’t wallow in the gore and brutality, and the film’s tender moments and a genuine camaraderie between two unlikely characters give it an unmistakable vibe all its own.
Dressed to Kill (Blu-ray)
Directed by Brian De Palma
Studio: MGM
Year: 1980
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 105 minutes
Rating: NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; 1.0 mono French
Subtitles: SDH, French, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 16.99
Release Date: September 6, 2011
Review Date: September 5, 2011
The Film
4/5
[spoilers follow]
Sexually frustrated Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) has been seeing her psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliott (Michael Caine) for some time trying to work through her dissatisfaction with her love life with her husband. She even comes on to her doctor who remains professional and doesn’t take her up on her proposition. That afternoon at a museum, however, Kate meets a handsome stranger (Ken Baker), and they go back to his place for an afternoon of sexual bliss. Upon leaving, Kate is savagely assaulted in the elevator by a mysterious blonde woman and killed. Witnessing Kate’s dying gasps is upscale call girl Liz Blake (Nancy Allen) who snatches the murder weapon off the elevator floor when the killer drops it and has now made herself a target of the dangerous psychopath. Upset over the murder of his mother, brilliant teenager Peter Miller (Keith Gordon) overhears at the police station that the murderer may be a patient of Dr. Elliott, and he sets out, with the help of Liz, to discover this blonde woman’s identity. Liz is especially anxious to discover who she is since Detective Marino (Dennis Franz) thinks she looks pretty good for the crime.
Brian De Palma also wrote the screenplay for this thriller which makes full use of the sensual and graphic opportunities the more liberal 1980s allowed him (the film still had to be cut to avoid an X rating). His direction is masterful throughout, not only with the intriguingly erotic opening shower scene which leaves nothing to the imagination, but with all of the film’s suspense sequences: the playfully sexy bob and weave around the museum, the hair-raising subway stalking sequence which sustains beautifully over several harrowing minutes, the unnerving coda in which, if anything, he steals from himself in Carrie, and, of course, the elevator murder. Far from ripping off Psycho (which never once showed the blade slicing into the flesh of the victim), De Palma’s murder sequence takes a completely different approach with specific razor slashes which are excruciating to watch (at one point, we do see the reflected brutality in the elevator mirror, a stylish touch amid such carnage). De Palma also uses split screen effects rather cleverly (though one Phil Donahue clip is rather too much of a giveaway) offering us sometimes two fascinating counterpoint activities which equally and thus frustratingly divide our attention. Yes, there are some plot holes in the story as it transpires (specifically concerning Kate’s unexpected return that leads to her death), but they don’t really mar the otherwise sly combination of sexy titillation and graphic depictions of some extreme facets of human existence.
The actors have all been superbly cast and mostly play with great freedom and expressiveness. The best performance in the film comes from Keith Gordon as the feisty son determined to get to the bottom of his mother’s murder. Dennis Franz gets a head start on his N.Y.P.D. Blue character by making a most convincing hard-shelled New York detective. Angie Dickinson’s Kate offers a wonderful opportunity for her to display both sexual allure, frustration, and resignation over the sexual fates which seem to be against her. Michael Caine gives a fine surface performance as the concerned psychiatrist, but the layers that need to be present in his characterization seem strangely missing here. Nancy Allen seems to be having a really good time as a high class call girl who might not be quite as tough as she thinks.
Video Quality
4/5
The film’s theatrical 2.35:1 Panavision aspect ratio is faithfully reproduced in a 1080p transfer using the AVC codec. Sharpness is good for the most part though there are some establishing shots which seem less clear and precise, and soft focus is discreetly used in several instances. The transfer has no problem dealing with street smoke and bathroom steam, and one look at the 480i bonus feature clips from the movie alive with jaggies makes one grateful for the wonderfully solid transfer here with no problems concerning compression artifacts. Color fidelity is strong though flesh tones sometimes seem to veer on the rosy side. Black levels are very good. The film has been divided into 16 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The film has been given a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix, and it’s a very effective one with strong spread through the soundstage of Pino Donaggio’s excellent score and a rather subtle use of the surrounds for ambient effects (the museum sequence makes nice use of footsteps moving through various channels). Dialogue has been well recorded and resides clearly in the center channel.
Special Features
3.5/5
Unless otherwise noted, the video featurettes are presented in 480i.
“The Making of a Thriller” is the most substantial extra on the disc: 43 ¾ minutes in which writer-director Brian De Palma, producer George Litto, and all of the film’s stars except Michael Caine comment on their characters and the movie.
A featurette dealing with the three available versions of the film (R-rated theatrical cut, unrated European cut, and the television version) compares and contrasts the changes and edits, sometimes in side-by-side comparisons. This runs 5 ¼ minutes.
“Slashing Dressed to Kill” is another featurette detailing the edits that had to be made so that the film would not be given an X rating by the MPAA. This piece runs 9 ¾ minutes.
“Dressed to Kill: An Appreciation” is a 6-minute video piece by actor-director Keith Gordon expressing his admiration for De Palma’s writing and direction of the movie illustrating how well his ideas played out in real time and even how improvising on the set aided in making the movie a memorable one.
An animated photo gallery showing stills and behind-the-scenes shots of the cast and crew runs for 6 ¼ minutes.
The film’s theatrical trailer is presented in 1080p and runs 2 ¼ minutes.
In Conclusion
4/5 (not an average)
Dressed to Kill can handily stand on its own feet as a stylish, erotic thriller. The Blu-ray transfer presents the film in its best-ever home video release, and the ported-over bonus features are welcome additions to the package. Recommended!
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
