Angie Dickinson and Michael Caine star in this, Brian De Palma's third movie. Angie's part is rather short, but memorable! Yes that famous shower scene is in this film ... although not really her.

DVD SUMMARY:
The DVD is quite impressive to say the least. All three versions of the film are included, plus some featurettes. Throw in the great widescreen version and an analysis of the rated versus the unrated, and you come up with a very generous disc. Deserves the title of Special Edition for sure.


Unrated Version now available on DVD. Angie Dickinson!   June 14, 2003
 2 out of 4 found this review helpful

Absolutely the best murder-mystery by Brian De Palma. And Angie Dickinson is magnificent in this film. She draws you into the film. Her acting and facial expressions are perfect. Sometimes I just watch the film just for Angie Dickinson. One important featurette is "A Film Comparison: The 3 versions of Dressed To Kill". Here you will see in split screen the differences of the Unrated version and the Rated "R" version. Then the difference of the Network Version with all adult scenes deleted. "Slashing Dressed To Kill" featurette is 15 minutes long with current interviews with Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Editor Jerry Greenberg, Producer George Litto, Angie Dickinson and Brian De Palma. The "Dressed To Kill: An Appreciation by Keith Gordon" featurette is six-minutes long and is just a continuation of the other featurette. "The Making Of A Thriller" documentary is 43 minutes long. Also, original trailer, animated and advertising photo gallery. This is a must-see film.


A sleek, stylish and suspenseful De Palma masterpiece   April 24, 2003
 7 out of 10 found this review helpful

Brian De Palma's 1980 thriller Dressed To Kill, in my opinion, ranks among his best films. It's a suspenseful murder mystery that plays in Hitchcock's territory. It seems very much like a Hitchcock movie, only with graphic violence and nudity. There are traces of Psycho, Vertigo, Rear Window, Shadow of a Doubt and many others. I'm not sure if De Palma was intentionally referencing Hitchcock or these aspects just came out sort of subconsciously in his script. I don't think that De Palma was "ripping off" Hitchcock in any sense with this movie. I don't think it's really possible for anyone to make a movie in the suspense genre nowadays without having some elements of Hitchcock's work come out. There are indeed some close similarities to Psycho, in particular, but I think De Palma is really just paying homage to the master. His earlier film Obsession (1976) paid homage to Vertigo, now with Dressed To Kill, he sets his sights on Psycho.

The film has a good enough story, but the style is really the star here. Everything from the cinematography to the editing to the use of clever, subtle touches (such as Michael Caine looking in the mirror in several scenes). There's the whole museum sequence, brilliantly shot and acted (without dialogue), the elevator murder scene, and a couple of dream sequences. It's incredibly well crafted altogether, but the film is not just an excuse for nice camera work. There's an incredible amount of suspense and terror. There are many wonderful suspenseful scenes, such as the Nancy Allen shower scene at the end. And of course, great performances from Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Dennis Franz.

Dressed To Kill is a must-see for anyone who likes Brian De Palma or just likes suspenseful murder mysteries. It's probably one of the best suspense films of the past 20 years. Accordingly, it has a great DVD edition which presents the proper widescreen 2.35:1 aspect ratio and gives the choice of R-rated or unrated versions. Some trims had to be made to the film for theatrical release. The film is pretty much the same (and still great) in either version, but the unrated version is more explicit. There are also some good supplemental materials including a documentary on the making of the film and several shorter featurettes (including comparisons of the R-rated, unrated and network TV versions of the film). Unfortunately, Brian De Palma has not recorded an audio commentary for the film. This is a DVD that can be had pretty [reasonablel priced], so De Palma fans or suspense thriller fans are strongly advised to pick this one up.


allcanadianguy@shaw reviews * *   April 18, 2003
 1 out of 3 found this review helpful

Who would like this? : psycho, crime, thriller, mystery, & slice 'em up fans

Worth seeing?...
-buy it : no
-rent it : maybe

Cast:
Michael Caine
Angie Dickinson
Nancy Allen
Keith Gordon
__________________
Brian De Palma
Director

* ok so I'm little disappointed that wasn't Angie we were looking at in the shower - still a pretty good scene even if it wasn't the first of it's kind.