| Carrie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Brian De Palma |
| Screenplay by | Lawrence D. Cohen |
| Based on | Carrie byStephen King |
| Produced by | Paul Monash |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Mario Tosi |
| Edited by | Paul Hirsch |
| Music by | Pino Donaggio |
Production company | Red Bank Films |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1.8 million |
| Box office | $33.8 million[2] |
Carrie is a 1976 Americansupernatural horror film directed byBrian De Palma from a screenplay written byLawrence D. Cohen, adapted fromStephen King's 1974 semi-epistolary novelCarrie. The film starsSissy Spacek asCarrie White, a shy teenage girl who is constantly mocked and bullied at her school. She later develops the power oftelekinesis and uses it to wreak vengeance on her tormentors. The film also featuresPiper Laurie,Amy Irving,Nancy Allen,William Katt,P. J. Soles,Betty Buckley, andJohn Travolta in supporting roles. It is the first film in theCarrie franchise.
The film was based on King's first published novel. De Palma was intrigued by the story and pushed for the studio's permission to direct while Spacek was encouraged by her husband to audition. It is the first ofmore than 100 film and television productions adapted from, or based on, the published works of King.
Theatrically released on November 3, 1976, byUnited Artists,Carrie became critically and commercially successful, grossing over $33.8 million against its $1.8 million budget. It received two nominations at the49th Academy Awards:Best Actress (for Spacek) andBest Supporting Actress (for Laurie). Critics and audience members alike widely cite it as the best adaptation of the novel among the numerous films and television shows based on the character, as well as one of the best films based on King's publications.
The film has significantly influenced popular culture,[3] with several publications regarding it as one of the greatest horror films ever made. In 2008,Carrie was ranked 86th onEmpire's list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.[4] It was ranked 15th onEntertainment Weekly's list of the 50 Best High School Movies, and 46th on theAmerican Film Institute listAFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills. The film's prom scene has had a major influence on popular culture and was ranked eighth onBravo's 2004 programThe 100 Scariest Movie Moments.[5] In 2022, the film was selected for preservation in the United StatesNational Film Registry by theLibrary of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[6]
Sixteen-year-oldCarrie White is a shy high school student who is frequently bullied by her peers. When Carrie experiences herfirst period while showering after gym class, she panics, having never been taught about menstruation. Her female classmates laugh and throw tampons and sanitary pads at her until the gym teacher, Miss Collins, intervenes. Herabusive andreligiously fanatical mother,Margaret, tells Carrie that her period was caused by sin and locks Carrie in a "prayer closet" to pray to God for forgiveness. At school, Miss Collins reprimands Carrie's tormentors by punishing them with exercise detention, threatening to suspend them and revoke theirprom tickets if they refuse. Carrie's longtime bully, Chris Hargensen, eventually refuses and gets banned from the prom.
Plotting vengeance against Carrie, Chris and her delinquent boyfriend Billy Nolan break into a farm and slaughter pigs to drain their blood into a bucket, which they place above the school's stage in the gym. Carrie realizes she can control objects with her mind when she is upset. She learns her abilities are the result oftelekinesis and begins researching books on the subject.Sue Snell, a classmate who feels remorseful for her part in bullying Carrie, asks her popular athlete boyfriend, Tommy Ross, to invite Carrie to prom. Carrie believes the proposition is a prank, but he insists it is genuine, and she eventually accepts. When Carrie informs her mother she plans to attend the prom, she angrily forbids her. Despite her protests, Carrie rebels as Margaret witnesses evidence of her daughter's telekinetic powers, denouncing Carrie as awitch corrupted by sin.
During prom, Chris and Billy hide under the stage while her best friend, Norma, and other conspirators switch the ballots to ensure Carrie wins the Prom Queen title. As Carrie stands onstage with Tommy, finally beginning to feel accepted by her peers, Sue realizes Chris and Billy's plan and tries to intervene. Miss Collins spots Sue and, thinking that she is plotting a prank, throws her out of the prom. Chris and Billy douse Carrie in pigs' blood before sneaking out of the school. The empty bucket hits an angered Tommy on the head, knocking him unconscious. Norma begins to laugh with some other students, causing Carrie to hallucinate that everyone is mocking her, believing it was their plan all along. She telekinetically seals the exits and the students are attacked by a fire hose, injuring several, and killing Norma. A falling basketball backboard crushes Miss Collins after she and the students attempt to carry Tommy's body, and Carrie electrocutes her principal and English teacher, one of the two bursting into flames, setting the gym on fire. She exits the burning school and seals the doors behind her, leaving the trapped staff and classmates to die. As Carrie walks home, Chris attempts to run her over, but Carrie causes the car to swerve and roll over. Carrie ruptures the gas tank, and the car explodes, killing Chris and Billy.
After Carrie bathes herself at home, Margaret reveals that Carrie was conceived when her husband was drunk, an act that Margaret admits she enjoyed. She then stabs Carrie in the back with a kitchen knife. Carrie telekinetically sends knives flying toward Margaret, killing her; then she destroys the house and dies.
Some time later, Sue, who was the sole survivor of that night, has a nightmare in which she goes to lay flowers on the charred remains of Carrie's home. Upon the remains stands a "For Sale" sign, vandalized in black paint with the words: "Carrie White burns in Hell!" Suddenly, Carrie's bloody arm reaches from beneath the rubble and grabs Sue, who wakes up screaming as her mother tries to comfort her.
Carrie was the firstStephen King novel to be published and the first to be adapted into a feature film.[7] During an interview in 2010, King said he was 26 years old at the time and was paid just $2,500 for the film rights, but added that he was fortunate to have this happen to his first book.[8] De Palma toldCinefantastique in an interview in 1977:
I read the book. It was suggested to me by a writer friend of mine. A writer friend of his, Stephen King, had written it. I guess this was almost two years ago [circa 1975]. I liked it a lot and proceeded to call my agent to find out who owned it. I found out that nobody had bought it yet. A lot of studios were considering it, so I called around to some of the people I knew and said it was a terrific book and I'm very interested in doing it. Then nothing happened for, I guess, six months.[9]
Lawrence D. Cohen was hired as the screenwriter, and produced the first draft, which had closely followed the novel's intentions.[10]United Artists accepted the second draft but allocated De Palma a budget of only $1.6 million, a small amount considering the popularity of horror films at the time. The budget eventually rose to $1.8 million.[11] Certain scripted scenes were omitted from the final version, mainly due to financial limitations.[12][13]
Many young actresses auditioned for the lead role, includingMelanie Griffith.Sissy Spacek was persuaded by husbandJack Fisk to audition for the title role ofCarrie White. Fisk then convinced De Palma to let her audition, and she read for all of the parts. De Palma's first choice for the role of Carrie was Betsy Slade, who received good notices for her role in the filmOur Time (1974). Determined to land the leading role, Spacek backed out of a television commercial she was scheduled to film,[14] rubbedVaseline into her hair, left her face unwashed, and arrived for her screen test clad in asailor dress which her mother had made her in the seventh grade, with the hem cut off,[9] and was given the part.Nancy Allen was the last to audition, and her audition came just as she was on the verge of leaving Hollywood.[10] She and De Palma married in 1979 and divorced in 1984.[15]
Filming started on March 1, 1976.[16] De Palma began with director of photographyIsidore Mankofsky, who was eventually replaced byMario Tosi after conflict between Mankofsky and De Palma ensued.[9] Gregory M. Auer, assisted byKen Pepiot,[17] served as the special effects supervisor forCarrie, with Jack Fisk, Spacek's husband, as art director. The exterior of the White house was filmed inSanta Paula, California. To give the house aGothic theme, the director and producers visited religious souvenir shops to find artifacts to decorate the set location.[18] Most interiors were constructed on a sound stage inCulver City, California, while exteriors set on the grounds of the high school were shot atPalisades Charter High School.[16]
Auer and Fisk worked closely on a wraparound segment for the beginning and end of the film which featured the Whites' home being pummeled by stones that hailed from the sky.[19] The opening scene was filmed as planned, though on film, the tiny pebbles looked like rain water.[10] A mechanical malfunction botched filming the night when the model of the Whites' home was set to be destroyed by stones, so the filmmakers burned it down instead and deleted the scenes with the stones altogether. The original opening scene is presumed lost.[10] Auer further devised the mechanism to stabPiper Laurie with flying kitchen knives near the climax of the movie.[19] His special effects work on this movie influenced many subsequent horror movies.[20]
The final scene, in whichSue Snell (Amy Irving) reaches toward Carrie's grave, was shot backwards to give it a dreamlike quality. This scene was inspired by the final scene inDeliverance (1972).[10] Rather than let a stunt double perform the scene underground, Spacek insisted on using her own hand in the scene, so she was positioned under the rocks and gravel. De Palma explains that crew members "had to bury her. Bury her! We had to put her in a box and stick her underneath the ground. Well, I had her husband [Fisk] bury her because I certainly didn't want to bury her".[10]
The score forCarrie was composed byPino Donaggio. In addition, Donaggio scored twopop songs ("Born to Have It All" and "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Love Someone Like Me") with lyrics by Merrit Malloy for the early portion of the prom sequence. These songs were performed by Katie Irving (neither sister of Amy Irving nor daughter ofPriscilla Pointer). Donaggio would work again with De Palma onHome Movies,Dressed to Kill,Blow Out,Body Double,Raising Cain,Passion, andDomino.
The soundtrack album was originally released on vinyl in 1976 fromUnited Artists Records.[21] A deluxe CD edition containing a few tracks of dialogue from the film was released byRykodisc in 1997, and a 2005 CD re-release of the original soundtrack (minus dialogue) was available fromVarèse Sarabande.[22] In 2010, Kritzerland Records released all 35 cues of Donaggio's score for the film on a two-disc CD set which was presented as the complete score. Also included in this edition were the versions of "Born to Have It All" and "I Never Dreamed ..." which were heard in the film, as well as instrumentals of both songs, and hidden at the end of the final track, a version of the "Calisthenics" cue withBetty Buckley's studio-recorded voice-over from the detention scene. The second disc was a remastered copy of the original 13-track album. The Kritzerland release was a limited edition of 1,200 copies. Kritzerland rereleased the first disc as "The Encore Edition" in February 2013; this release was limited to 1,000 copies.[23]
The film opened November 3, 1976, in 17 theaters in theWashington, D.C.-Baltimore area. Two days later, it opened in 9 theaters inChicago, then opened in 53 theaters inNew York City on November 16 and inLos Angeles on November 17.[24][25] It was released in theUnited Kingdom on January 13, 1977.[citation needed]
Carrie received widespread critical acclaim and was cited as one of the best films of the year.[26][27] On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 94% of 78 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Carrie is a horrifying look at supernatural powers, high school cruelty, and teen angst—and it brings us one of the most memorable and disturbing prom scenes in history."[28] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100, based on 14 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[29]
Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times stated that the film was an "absolutely spellbinding horror movie", as well as an "observant human portrait", giving three and a half stars out of four.[30]Variety declared the film had "strong production, unusual plot twists and a fine cast."[31]Quentin Tarantino placedCarrie at number eight in a list of his favorite films.[32] In a 2010 interview, King replied that he thought, although dated now,Carrie was a "good movie".[8]
Nevertheless, the film was not without its detractors.Gene Siskel of theChicago Tribune gave the film two-and-a-half stars out of four and called it "a crude shocker with a little style", praising the "strong performances" but opining that the movie "falls apart" during the climax which he described as "crude and sloppy".[33]
De Palma's directing of the camera—inCarrie as well as his other films—is often interrogated in terms of its seeming indulgence in the male gaze. Scenes such as the opening, in which the camera surveys an array of naked adolescent girls, is alternately justified as representational of the film's themes of female development, or perceived as a disturbingly pornographic introduction to a story that is constructed by the male point of view.[34] An awareness of De Palma's directorial portfolio and personal context encourages insight to the relationship between men in power and vulnerable women in America and particularly in Hollywood, enriching a viewer's experience of the cult classic film.[35]
In the 2010s, the anniversaries of the film as well as thecoming-of-age relatability, especially for young women, was talked about amongst critics.[36][37] The film is rated highly by many critics, labelling it a masterpiece.[38]
Carrie was a box office success earning $14.5 million in theatrical rentals in the United States and Canada by January 1978[39][40] from a gross of $33.8 million.[2] In its first 19 days from 60 markets, the film had grossed $3,882,827.[24] Overseas, the film earned rentals of $7 million for a worldwide total of $22 million.[41]
Carrie is one of the few horror films to be nominated for multipleAcademy Awards. Spacek and Laurie received nominations forBest Actress andBest Supporting Actress awards, respectively at the49th Academy Awards. The film also won the grand prize at theAvoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, and Spacek was given theBest Actress award by theNational Society of Film Critics. In 2008,Carrie was ranked number 86 onEmpire's list of The 500 Greatest Movies of All Time.[4] The movie also ranked number 15 on theEntertainment Weekly list of the 50 Best High School Movies, and No. 46 on theAmerican Film Institute's list of100 Greatest Cinema Thrills, and was ranked eighth for its ending sequence onBravo'sThe 100 Scariest Movie Moments (2004).[5]
| Award | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | Best Actress | Sissy Spacek | Nominated | [42] |
| Best Supporting Actress | Piper Laurie | Nominated | ||
| Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival | Grand Prize | Brian De Palma | Won | |
| Special Mention | Sissy Spacek | Won | ||
| Edgar Allan Poe Awards | Best Motion Picture | Lawrence D. Cohen | Nominated | [43] |
| Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Piper Laurie | Nominated | [44] |
| Hugo Awards | Best Dramatic Presentation | Directed by Brian De Palma; Screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen; Based on thenovel byStephen King | Nominated | [45] |
| National Society of Film Critics Awards | Best Actress | Sissy Spacek[46] | Won | [47] |
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | Best Actress | Runner-up | [48] | |
| Saturn Awards | Best Horror Film | Nominated | ||
| Turkish Film Critics Association Awards | Best Foreign Film | 8th Place | ||
The Rage: Carrie 2 was released in 1999. It featured Rachel Lang (Emily Bergl) another teenager with telekinetic powers who is revealed to have shared a father with Carrie. It received generally negative reviews, which criticized the routine recycling of the original film's story and themes. It was also abox office bomb, grossing $17 million against a $21 million production budget.[51] Irving reprised her role of Sue from the previous film.
In 2002, atelevision film based on King's novel and starringAngela Bettis in the titular role was released. The film updated the events of the story to modern-day settings and technology while simultaneously attempting to be more faithful to the book's original structure, story, and specific events. However, the ending was drastically changed: Instead of killing her motherMargaret White (Patricia Clarkson) and then herself, the film has Carrie killing Margaret, being revived viaCPR by Sue (Kandyse McClure) and being driven to Florida to hide. This new ending marked a complete divergence from the novel and was a signal that the film served as a pilot for aCarrie television series, which never materialized. In the new ending, the rescued Carrie vows to help others with similar gifts to her own. Although Bettis' portrayal of Carrie was highly praised, the film was cited by most critics as inferior to the original.[52]
In 2011,Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer andScreen Gems acquired the novel rights to adaptCarrie to film once more.[53] PlaywrightRoberto Aguirre-Sacasa wrote the script as "a more faithful adaptation" of King's novel but shared a screenplay credit with the 1976 film's writer Lawrence D. Cohen. Aguirre-Sacasa had previously adapted King's epic novelThe Stand intocomic-book form in 2008.
The role of Carrie was played by 16-year-old actressChloë Grace Moretz.[54]Julianne Moore starred as Carrie's mother Margaret White, andGabriella Wilde as Sue Snell.[55]Alex Russell andAnsel Elgort played Billy Nolan and Tommy Ross respectively.[56]Portia Doubleday was given the role of Chris Hargensen, andJudy Greer was cast as MissRita Desjardin.[57]Kimberly Peirce, known for her work onBoys Don't Cry, directed the new adaptation.[58] It was released on October 18, 2013, and received mixed reviews.
A 1988Broadway musicalof the same name, based on King's novel and starring Betty Buckley,Linzi Hateley, andDarlene Love, closed after only sixteen previews and five performances. The musical is framed as Sue Snell's reliving of the events leading up to Carrie's attack on her classmates at prom, through the device of an interrogation by interviewers who are trying to uncover the details of the massacre. An Englishpop opera filtered throughGreek tragedy, the show was so notorious that it provided the title toKen Mandelbaum's survey of theatrical disastersNot Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops.[59]
Early in the twenty-first century, playwright Erik Jackson attempted to secure the rights to stage another production ofCarrie the musical, but his request was rejected. Jackson eventually earned the consent of King[60] to mount a new, officially sanctioned, non-musical production ofCarrie, which debutedOff-Broadway in 2006 with drag queenSherry Vine in the lead role.[61] Similarly, many other unofficial spoofs have been staged over the years, usually with a gym teacher named Miss Collins (as opposed to the novel's Miss Desjardin and the musical's Miss Lynn Gardner), most notably the "parodage"Scarrie the Musical,[62] which hit the Illinois stage in 1998 and was revived in 2005; Dad's Garage Theatre's 2002 production ofCarrie White the Musical;[63] and the 2007 New Orleans production ofCarrie's Facts of Life,[64] which was a hybrid ofCarrie and the sitcomThe Facts of Life. A high school production of the musical is the focus of "Chapter Thirty-One: A Night to Remember" episode ofseason two ofRiverdale.[65]
In the United States and Canada,Carrie has been made available several times on DVD format fromMGM Home Entertainment, debuting on September 29, 1998,[66] while a "Special Edition" set was released on August 28, 2001.[67] On December 4, 2007, the film was released a part ofMGM's "Decades Collection", which included a soundtrack CD.[68] The film was additionally released within multiple sets via MGM; first, as part of the United Artists 90th Anniversary Prestige Collection on December 11, 2007.[69] A set featuringCarrie,The Rage: Carrie 2, andCarrie (the 2002 television film) was released on September 14, 2010,[70] and, as part of MGM's 90th anniversary, the film was included withMisery andThe Silence of the Lambs on June 3, 2014.[71]
The film was released for the first time on Blu-ray in the U.S. and Canada from MGM on October 7, 2008, which contained anMPEG-2 codec, with new DTS-HD 5.1 Master Lossless Audio, while retaining the original English Mono, and included Spanish Audio and French 5.1Dolby Surround. The only special feature on the set is a theatrical trailer.[72] The film was again released on Blu-ray on July 18, 2013, when it was available exclusively throughComic-Con in San Diego from MGM and FoxConnect, containing a slipcover with exclusive artwork.[73] Two further editions were made available from MGM in 2014; a "Carrie 2-Pack" set containing the original film and the 2013 adaptation, released September 9, and finally, a re-issue Blu-ray with a collectible Halloween faceplate, on October 21. Home distribution rights are currently held byShout Factory, and the film was released via their subsidiary label,Scream Factory on October 11, 2016, in a two-disc "Collector's Edition", now available withMPEG-4 coding, and a new4K scan. Special features on the set include the theatrical trailer,Carrie franchise trailer gallery, new interviews with writer Lawrence D. Cohen, editorPaul Hirsch, actors Piper Laurie,P. J. Soles, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley,William Katt, andEdie McClurg, casting director Harriet B. Helberg, director of photographyMario Tosi, and composer Pino Donaggio, "Horror's Hallowed Grounds" – Revisiting the Film's Original Locations, "ActingCarrie" featurette, "VisualizingCarrie" featurette, a look at "Carrie the Musical", TV spots, radio spots, still gallery, "Stephen King and the Evolution ofCarrie" text gallery. The set also includes reversible sleeve containing original artwork and newly commissioned artwork fromShout Factory, and a slipcover containing the new artwork.[74] Shout Factory additionally released a "Deluxe Limited Edition" of 2000 copies, which includes the slipcover contained in the "Collector's Edition", with an additional poster matching the slipcover, and an alternative slipcover and poster consisting of different artwork.[74]
Carrie would later receive a "Limited Collector's Edition" Blu-ray of 5,000 copies fromArrow Films, providing the definitive release of the film. The set contained a new 4K restoration, with special features, including commentary by authors Lee Gambin andAlexandra Heller-Nicholas, recorded exclusively for the release; brand-new visual essay comparing the various versions and adaptations ofCarrie; "ActingCarrie" featurette; "More ActingCarrie" featurette; "WritingCarrie", an interview with writer Lawrence D. Cohen; "ShootingCarrie", an interview with cinematographer Mario Tosi; "CuttingCarrie", an interview with editor Paul Hirsch; "CastingCarrie", an interview with casting director Harriet B. Helberg; "Bucket of Blood", an interview with composer Pino Donaggio; "Horror's Hallowed Grounds", a look back at the film's locations, gallery, trailer, TV spots, radio spots;Carrie trailer reel; and 60-page limited-edition booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Neil Mitchell, alongside reversible artwork, poster and art cards. The set was released on December 11, 2017.[75][76] On December 13, 2022, Shout Factory! released (under license from MGM) a 4K Blu-ray with the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen and formatSteelBook in United States.[77][78]
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