Brian Russell De Palma ([deˈpalma]; born September 11, 1940) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in thesuspense,crime, andpsychological thriller genres. De Palma was a leading member of theNew Hollywood generation.[1]
An early association with a youngRobert De Niro resulted inThe Wedding Party. The film, co-directed withWilford Leach and producer Cynthia Munroe, had been shot in 1963 but remained unreleased until 1969,[13] when De Palma's star had risen sufficiently in theGreenwich Village filmmaking scene. De Niro was unknown at the time; the credits mistakenly display his name as "Robert Denero".[14] The film is noteworthy for its invocation of silent film techniques and use of thejump-cut.[15] De Palma followed this style with various small films for theNAACP and theTreasury Department.[16]
During the 1960s, De Palma began making a living producing documentaries, notablyThe Responsive Eye (1966), aboutThe Responsive Eyeop-art exhibit curated by William Seitz forMoMA in 1965. In an interview with Joseph Gelmis from 1969, De Palma described the film as "very good and very successful. It's distributed by Pathe Contemporary and makes lots of money. I shot it in four hours, with synched sound. I had two other guys shooting people's reactions to the paintings, and the paintings themselves."[17]
Dionysus in '69 (1969) was De Palma's other major documentary from this period. The film recordsthe Performance Group's performance ofEuripides'The Bacchae, starring, amongst others, De Palma regularWilliam Finley. The play is noted for breaking traditional barriers between performers and audience. The film's most striking quality is its extensive use of thesplit-screen. De Palma recalls that he was "floored" by this performance upon first sight, and in 1973 recounts how he "began to try and figure out a way to capture it on film. I came up with the idea of split-screen, to be able to show the actual audience involvement, to trace the life of the audience and that of the play as they merge in and out of each other."[18]
In 1970, De Palma left New York for Hollywood at age thirty to makeGet to Know Your Rabbit (1972), starringOrson Welles andTommy Smothers. Making the film was a crushing experience for De Palma, as Smothers did not like many of De Palma's ideas.[21] Here he made several small, studio and independently released films. Among them were the horror filmSisters (1972), the rock musicalPhantom of the Paradise (1974) andObsession (1976), a variation on theme ofAlfred Hitchcock'sVertigo (1958) scored by Hitchcock's frequent collaboratorBernard Herrmann.
In November 1976, De Palma releasedan adaptation ofStephen King's novelCarrie.[22] Though some see thepsychic thriller as De Palma's bid for a blockbuster, the project was in fact small, underfunded byUnited Artists, and well under the cultural radar during the early months of production, as King's novel was not yet a bestseller. De Palma gravitated toward the project and changed crucial plot elements based upon his own predilections. The cast was mostly young and relatively new, thoughSissy Spacek andJohn Travolta had gained attention for previous work in, respectively, film andsitcoms.Carrie became De Palma's first genuine box-office success,[23] garnering Spacek andPiper Laurie Oscar nominations for their performances.[24] Pre-production for the film had coincided with the casting process forGeorge Lucas'Star Wars, and many of the actors cast in De Palma's film had been earmarked as contenders for Lucas' movie, and vice versa.[25] Its suspense sequences are buttressed by teen comedy tropes, and its use ofsplit-screen, split-diopter andslow motion shots tell the story visually rather than through dialogue.[26] As for Lucas' project, De Palma complained in an early viewing ofStar Wars that the opening text crawl was poorly written and volunteered to help edit the text to a more concise and engaging form.[27][28]
The financial and critical success ofCarrie allowed De Palma to pursue more personal material.Alfred Bester's novelThe Demolished Man had fascinated De Palma since the late 1950s and appealed to his background in mathematics andavant-garde storytelling. Its unconventional unfolding of plot (exemplified in its mathematical layout of dialogue) and its stress on perception have analogs in De Palma's filmmaking.[29] He sought to adapt it numerous times, though the project would carry a substantial price tag, and has yet to appear on-screen (Steven Spielberg's 2002 adaptation ofPhilip K. Dick'sMinority Report bears striking similarities to De Palma's visual style and some of the themes ofThe Demolished Man). The result of his experience with adaptingThe Demolished Man was the 1978 science fiction psychic thrillerThe Fury, starringKirk Douglas,Carrie Snodgress,John Cassavetes andAmy Irving.[30] The film was admired byJean-Luc Godard, who featured a clip in his mammothHistoire(s) du cinéma, andPauline Kael, who championed bothThe Fury and De Palma.[31] The film boasted a larger budget thanCarrie, though the consensus view at the time was that De Palma was repeating himself, with diminishing returns.[32]
De Palma's work afterMission: Impossible has been less well received. His ensuing filmsSnake Eyes (1998),Mission to Mars (2000), andFemme Fatale (2002) all failed at the box office and received generally poor reviews, thoughFemme Fatale has since been revived in the eyes of manyfilm critics and became acult classic.[3][41][42][43] His 2006adaptation ofThe Black Dahlia was also unsuccessful and is currently the last movie De Palma has directed with backing from Hollywood.
A political controversy erupted over the portrayal of US soldiers in De Palma's 2007 filmRedacted. Loosely based on the2006 Mahmudiyah killings by American soldiers in Iraq, the film echoes themes that appeared inCasualties of War.Redacted received a limited release in the United States and grossed less than $1 million against a $5 million budget.[44][45][46]
De Palma's next project was the thrillerDomino (2019), released two years after the film began production. It received generally negative reviews and was released direct-to-VOD in the United States, grossing less than half a million dollars internationally.[49][50] De Palma has also expressed dissatisfaction with both the production of the film and the final result; "I never experienced such a horrible movie set."[51]
In 2018, De Palma published his debut novel in France,Les serpents sont-ils nécessaires? (English translation:Are Snakes Necessary?), co-written with Susan Lehman.[52] It was published in the U.S. in 2020. De Palma and Lehman also wrote a second book, currently unpublished, calledTerry, based on one of De Palma's passion projects about a French film production making an adaptation ofThérèse Raquin.[53][54]
It was announced in 2018 that De Palma would write and direct a horror film titledPredator, inspired by theHarvey Weinstein sexual abuse cases,[55] and would directWagner Moura in a film titledSweet Vengeance, based on two real-life murder cases. Filming on the latter was to have begun in early 2019 inMontevideo.[56] In a 2020 interview with theAssociated Press, De Palma confirmed thatPredator was retitledCatch and Kill and added that he was to have started filming in August that same year.[52]
In September 2024, De Palma revealed toVulture that he had "one other" undisclosed film he was planning to make, and that he was in the process of trying to cast it.[57][58]
De Palma's films can fall into two categories: histhriller films (Sisters,Body Double,Obsession,Dressed to Kill,Blow Out,Raising Cain) and his mainly commercial films (The Untouchables,Carlito's Way, andMission: Impossible). He has often produced "De Palma" films one after the other before going on to direct a different genre, but would always return to his familiar territory. Because of the subject matter andgraphic violence of some of De Palma's films, such asDressed to Kill,Scarface andBody Double, they are often at the center of controversy with theMotion Picture Association of America,film critics and the viewing public.[1]
De Palma frequently quotes and refers to other directors' work. His early work was inspired by the films ofJean-Luc Godard.Michelangelo Antonioni'sBlowup andFrancis Ford Coppola'sThe Conversation plots were used for the basis ofBlow Out.The Untouchables' finale shoot out in the train station is a clear borrowing from theOdessa Steps sequence inSergei Eisenstein'sThe Battleship Potemkin. The main plot fromRear Window was used forBody Double, while it also used elements ofVertigo.Vertigo was also the basis forObsession.Dressed to Kill was a note-for-note homage to Hitchcock'sPsycho, including such moments as the surprise death of the lead actress and the exposition scene by the psychiatrist at the end.[1]
Film critics have often noted De Palma's penchant for unusual camera angles and compositions. He often frames characters against the background using acanted angle shot.Split-screen techniques have been used to show two separate events happening simultaneously.[1] To emphasize the dramatic effect of a certain scene De Palma has employed a360-degree camerapan. Slow sweeping, panning, andtracking shots are often used throughout his films, often through precisely-choreographedlong takes lasting for minutes without cutting. Split focus shots, often referred to as "di-opt", are used by De Palma to emphasize the foreground person/object while simultaneously keeping a background person/object in focus. Slow-motion is frequently used in his films to increase suspense.[1]
De Palma has been married and divorced three times, to actressNancy Allen (1979–1983), producerGale Anne Hurd (1991–1993), and Darnell Gregorio (1995–1997). He has one daughter from his marriage to Hurd, and one daughter from his marriage to Gregorio.[59] He resides inManhattan,New York.[60]
De Palma is often cited as a leading member of theNew Hollywood generation of film directors, a distinct pedigree who either emerged from film schools or are overtly cine-literate.[1] His contemporaries includeMartin Scorsese,Paul Schrader,John Milius,George Lucas,Francis Ford Coppola,Steven Spielberg,John Carpenter, andRidley Scott. His artistry in directing and use of cinematography and suspense in several of his films has often been compared to the work ofAlfred Hitchcock.[1][5][61] Psychologists have been intrigued by De Palma's fascination with pathology, by the aberrant behavior aroused in characters who find themselves manipulated by others.[62]
De Palma has encouraged and fostered the filmmaking careers of directors such asMark Romanek andKeith Gordon, the latter of whom collaborated with him twice as an actor, both in 1979'sHome Movies and 1980'sDressed to Kill.[63] Filmmakers influenced by De Palma includeTerrence Malick,[64]Quentin Tarantino,[65]Ronny Yu,[66]Don Mancini,[67]Nacho Vigalondo,[68] andJack Thomas Smith.[69] During an interview with De Palma, Quentin Tarantino said thatBlow Out is one of his all-time favorite films, and that after watchingScarface he knew how to make his own film.John Travolta's performance as Jack Terry inBlow Out even resulted in Tarantino casting him as Vincent Vega in his 1994 filmPulp Fiction, which would go on to reinvigorate Travolta's then-declining career.[70] Tarantino also placedCarrie at number eight in a list of his favorite films.[71]
Critics who frequently admire De Palma's work includePauline Kael andRoger Ebert. Kael wrote in her review ofBlow Out, "At forty, Brian De Palma has more than twenty years of moviemaking behind him, and he has been growing better and better. Each time a new film of his opens, everything he has done before seems to have been preparation for it."[4] In his review ofFemme Fatale,Roger Ebert wrote about the director: "De Palma deserves more honor as a director. Consider also these titles:Sisters,Blow Out,The Fury,Dressed to Kill,Carrie,Scarface,Wise Guys,Casualties of War,Carlito's Way,Mission: Impossible. Yes, there are a few failures along the way (Snake Eyes,Mission to Mars,The Bonfire of the Vanities), but look at the range here, and reflect that these movies contain treasure for those who admire the craft as well as the story, who sense the glee with which De Palma manipulates images and characters for the simple joy of being good at it. It's not just that he sometimes works in the style of Hitchcock, but that he has the nerve to."[5]
Julie Salamon has written that critics have accused De Palma of being "a perverse misogynist",[62] to which De Palma has responded with, "I'm always attacked for having an erotic, sexist approach – chopping up women, putting women in peril. I'm making suspense movies! What else is going to happen to them?"[73]
His films have also been interpreted as feminist and examined for their perceivedqueer affinities. InFilm Comment's "Queer and Now and Then" column onFemme Fatale, film critic Michael Koresky writes that "De Palma's films radiate an undeniable queer energy" and notes the "intense appeal" De Palma's films have for gay critics.[74] In her bookThe Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema,Linda Ruth Williams writes that "De Palma understood the cinematic potency of dangerous fucking, perhaps earlier than his feminist detractors".[75]
Robin Wood consideredSisters an overtly feminist film, writing that "one can define the monster ofSisters as women's liberation; adding only that the film follows the time-honored horror film tradition of making the monster emerge as the most sympathetic character and its emotional center."[76] Pauline Kael's review ofCasualties of War, "A Wounded Apparition", describes the film as "feminist" and notes that "De Palma was always involved in examining (and sometimes satirizing) victimization, but he was often accused of being a victimizer".[77]Helen Grace, in a piece forLola, writes that upon seeingDressed to Kill amidst calls for a boycott from feminist groups Women Against Violence Against Women andWomen Against Pornography, that the film "seemed to say more about masculine anxiety than about the fears that women were expressing in relation to the film".[78] De Palma has also expressed contrition for the depiction of a transgender murderer in the film, saying in a 2016 interview "I don't know what the transgender community would think [of the film now]... Obviously I realize that it's not good for their image to be transgender and also be a psychopathic murderer. But I think that [perception] passes with time. We're in a different time." In the same interview, he said he was "glad" that the film had become a "a favorite of the gay community".[79]
David Thomson wrote in his entry for De Palma, "There is a self-conscious cunning in De Palma's work, ready to control everything except his own cruelty and indifference."[80]Matt Zoller Seitz objected to this characterisation, writing that there are films from the director which can be seen as "straightforwardly empathetic and/or moralistic".[81]
Directed Academy Award performances Under De Palma's direction, these actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles.
^abBizio, Silvia (March 23, 2020). "L'intervista: Brian de Palma".la Repubblica (in Italian).[Susan Lehman and I] have already written another book. It's calledTerry. It is inspired byEmile Zola'sThérèse Raquin and it's about a film production that is making a film about the book. There is alove triangle in the film, a lover, and a murder. And the same thing happens among the characters who are making the film.
^Fischbach, Hélène (March 29, 2019)."Les serpents sont-ils nécessaires ? Une heure avec Brian De Palma et Susan Lehman" (Podcast) (in French).Quais du Polar. Event occurs at 53:12 – via Sondekla.I've made a lot of movies here [in France]. AndThérèse Raquin is an idea I've... always had an idea for a movie for.Thérèse Raquin's been made many times, but I think I have a new way of... in fact, that's sort of the subject of our next novel, isn't it? We love the French, that's why we're here. They're very kind to me.
Thomson, David (October 26, 2010).The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fifth Edition, Completely Updated and Expanded (hardcover ed.). Knopf.ISBN978-0-307-27174-7.
Salamon, Julie (1991).Devil's Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood (hardcover ed.). Houghton.ISBN0-395-56996-6.
Bliss, Michael (1986).Brian De Palma. Scarecrow.
Blumenfeld, Samuel, Vachaud, Laurent (2001).Brian De Palma. Calmann-Levy.
Dworkin, Susan (1984).Double De Palma: A Film Study with Brian De Palma. Newmarket.
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