Dressed To Kill (1980)
The latest fashion in MURDER
Written/directed by Brian de Palma. Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Keith Gordon, Dennis Franz, David Marguiles.
I ❤️this movie. Miss Angie Dickinson and her Isotoner gloves, Nancy Allen, Bobbi the transsexual.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 189 | February 18, 2023 7:54 PM
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[On Dr Elliott’s answering machine]
“This is Bobbi the tranny. You won't see me anymore, so I thought I'd have a little session with your machine. Oh Doctor, I'm so unhappy. I'm a woman trapped inside a man's body - and you're not helping me to get out! So I got a new shrink, Levy's his name, he's gonna sign the papers so I can get my operation. Oh... I borrowed your razor... and - well, you'll read all about it. Some blonde bitch saw me, but I'll get her”.
by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 18, 2022 9:43 PM
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I love it when she has sex with him then finds out he’s got every SDI under the sun!
by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 18, 2022 9:45 PM
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Yes, shows the upper class, married woman is now tainted by adultery AND disease in one afternoon. What comes next trumps both.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | April 18, 2022 9:50 PM
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OP - this looks like a really entertaining film. That would, obviously, never get made today. That trailer seemed to give most of the film away -- but I'm still intrigued to check it out. You forgot to mention that it's currently streaming on HBO Max!
by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 18, 2022 10:02 PM
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I guess she didn’t need to make that visit to the clinic.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 18, 2022 10:03 PM
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I love Nany Allen’s wholesome hooker role
by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 18, 2022 10:26 PM
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Bobbi was something else!
by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 18, 2022 10:27 PM
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I love the nearly wordless scene at the museum where Kate (Angie) pursues and is pursued by Warren (Ken Baker). Gorgeous tracking shots.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 18, 2022 10:39 PM
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This showed up on HBO in 1981 or 1982 and we kids were forbidden to watch it, or any other R-rated movies. So of course I watched it when my parents were outside with the neighbors socializing one night. Crouched in front of the tv with the sound way down, I kept one hand on the cable box channel changer (no remote for us) the whole time, carefully listening for a parent or sibling to come in. It was such a dirty, sophisticated, exciting movie to me, and I’d say half of that was just from the fear of getting caught watching it. I was 10 and an idiot.
by Anonymous | reply 10 | April 18, 2022 10:57 PM
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I haven't seen it in many years so I'll rewatch on HBO MAX. Thanks for the tip R4.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | April 18, 2022 11:19 PM
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This is very interesting: Nancy Allen giving an overview of her life, sort of. She doesn’t go into a ton of details about most of the movies, but if you love that era…
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 12 | April 18, 2022 11:26 PM
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Keith Godon (the son) is adorkable in it
by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 18, 2022 11:59 PM
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Much to my surprise every cross dresser, drag queen and transperson I've ever met LOVES the film. Well ok then.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 19, 2022 12:01 AM
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I love slick thrillers. And this one with the killer tranny (though dated), mistaken identity, nerdy sleuths and other lurid De Palma fetishes is a fave.
Bonus: the World Trade Center makes several cameos. Now that's creepy!
by Anonymous | reply 16 | April 19, 2022 12:05 AM
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When I first watched this movie, I kinda thought she deserved it. All that trouble for a little bump and grind.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 19, 2022 12:10 AM
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I wouldn't mind catching the clap for a really hot guy but the guy she chased around the museum wasn't particularly attractive.
Another problem I have with the film (as an avid gourmet) is the remarkable tale Miss Dickinson tells to her onscreen son, about Napoleon inventing the eponymous pastry. Mille-feuille was around a long time before Napoleon was even born.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | April 19, 2022 12:13 AM
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Angie Dickinson was pissed off when it was publicly acknowledged a body double was used in the close shots in the shower scene. (“Why tell them it’s Pittsburgh when they think it’s Paris?”)
Apparently the old bat missed the whole point that the shower scene is a fantasy, and Kate’s imagining herself with a centerfold-worthy body.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 19 | April 19, 2022 12:29 AM
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[Quote] Much to my surprise every cross dresser, drag queen and transperson I've ever met LOVES the film. Well ok then.
Maybe because it hits home so well.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | April 19, 2022 12:36 AM
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De Palma was first trying to get involved with Cruising and was working on treatments for the film when a deal wasn’t reached he wrote Dressed to Kill.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 19, 2022 12:46 AM
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Just as well. Cruising is terrible and much more offensive.
by Anonymous | reply 22 | April 19, 2022 12:48 AM
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[quote]This showed up on HBO in 1981 or 1982 and we kids were forbidden to watch it
We were teenagers, 15 and 17. My mother came in WHEN IT WAS ON and instructed us that we had to come in for dinner next commercial. I had to explain that R-Rated movies on HBO did not have commercials!
by Anonymous | reply 23 | April 19, 2022 12:52 AM
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R19, that was not Miss Angie Dickinson's body double. I was.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | April 19, 2022 1:00 AM
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[quote] Angie Dickinson was pissed off when it was publicly acknowledged a body double was used in the close shots in the shower scene.
At least they gave Angie the Penthouse Pet of the Year as her body double. But personally I think Angie would have done just fine as is
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 25 | April 19, 2022 1:15 AM
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Singing my song “You Don’t Look Like Angie Dickinson to Me” to r24
by Anonymous | reply 26 | April 19, 2022 1:16 AM
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Later I’ll sing “Exercise In Futility “ and “That’s Why I Want It!”
by Anonymous | reply 27 | April 19, 2022 1:19 AM
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Ms. Dickinson’s body double (who had been a Penthouse Pet if the Year) later had a long battle with cancer. Ironically, it began in her breast.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 28 | April 19, 2022 1:20 AM
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Angie was involved with selecting the body double, who was listed in the credits. I don’t see how she’d be “pissed” about people discussing her…
by Anonymous | reply 29 | April 19, 2022 1:22 AM
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FYI there are two versions of the movie on HBO On Demand: the theatrical release and the "extended version," which runs a minute longer.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | April 19, 2022 1:33 AM
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The best version is the MGM blu ray. The fantastic music score is remixed for a 5.1 sound field and sounds incredible, really ratcheting up the tension. I don't know what's on HBO, but the Criterion blu ray is in fucking MONO. They didn't even include the n5.1 remix as an option. It sounds flat and dull.
by Anonymous | reply 32 | April 19, 2022 1:43 AM
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Little known fact. Doris Roberts was originally cast as the female lead but clashed with Brian De Palmer over her characters motivation and walked off. Angie Dickinson was brought in to reshoot.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | April 20, 2022 8:36 PM
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Watch the sequence in the art museum; superb ... silent ... suspenseful storytelling.
Skip the rest.
by Anonymous | reply 34 | April 20, 2022 9:04 PM
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The dream/horror sequences are brilliant interpretations of fear, trauma, and voyeurism.
by Anonymous | reply 35 | April 20, 2022 9:14 PM
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Coming soon as a Broadway musical?
by Anonymous | reply 36 | April 20, 2022 10:05 PM
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I like the part where she flicks her bean in the shower
by Anonymous | reply 37 | April 20, 2022 10:05 PM
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R9, thats the one part I dont like. I'm sure I'm missing something, but it seems to go on forever.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | April 20, 2022 10:38 PM
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R39 it's arguably the best part of the movie, perhaps best viewed on a larger screen.
It was filmed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art because the Met refused permission for such FILTH.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | April 20, 2022 11:14 PM
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OK-Why Is it the best part.
by Anonymous | reply 41 | April 20, 2022 11:17 PM
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Philadelphia is the go-to place for anything filthy
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 42 | April 20, 2022 11:19 PM
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The museum scene is a virtuoso. The compositions are gorgeous, the pacing, the visual cues. Alot to dissect (snicker). Angie observing the couples. The unruly little girl (Angie's inner self?) that runs through (later mirrored with the precocious girl in the elevator). The paintings that evoke humor, curiosity, guilt, judgement. The voyeuristic themes of seeing and being seen. The beautiful music score. The seemingly playful cat and mouse. Things not being what they appear. It's funny, sad, creepy. And no dialogue. We didn't need dialogue we had FACES...
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 43 | April 20, 2022 11:31 PM
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[quote] The museum scene is a virtuoso. ..... And no dialogue. We didn't need dialogue we had FACES...
NINE minutes without dialogue. No modern director would dare.
[quote] Angie Dickinson (Kate Miller) said the scene where her character gets seduced in the back of a taxicab was filmed on-location in New York City, where several gawkers observed the scene and shouted, "Right on, Police Woman!" (referring to her previous television role).
by Anonymous | reply 44 | April 20, 2022 11:37 PM
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The cool part about the museum scene is that Brian De Palma wrote voice over dialogue for Angie's character so she had something to play and think while she was doing it. When the film had already been editing for a while, she asked Brian when they were doing the voice overs for that scene and he said that he never intended to use them, but he knew it would help her performance to know exactly what was going on in her character's head. A really smart idea.
It's a beautifully made thriller and the kind that don't get made these days. It goes to show what happens when a talented indie filmmaker is given mostly free reign in Hollywood with a lot of money to help tell their story.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | April 20, 2022 11:50 PM
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OP I love it, too. It’s all so delicious.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | April 21, 2022 12:12 AM
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just love the early sex scene in the movie, where angie's guy is really pumping into her hard with grunting orgasm! NICE!...
by Anonymous | reply 47 | April 21, 2022 12:18 AM
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[quote] It’s all so delicious.
The National Organization of women disagreed.
In late August 1980, almost a month after Dressed to Kill had opened in theatres across the country, feminists began planning a response to this movie that many felt promoted violence against women. On August 28, members of Women Against Violence Against Women, of Women Against Pornography, and of other groups rallied in front of theatres in Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Boston, inviting others to join their protest. In the violence against women it depicted, they argued, Dressed to Kill had gone too far.
De Palma did much to inflame this environment, hiding behind the First Amendment and ridiculing those groups who failed to see the satire in his films. He told Newsday’s Judy Stone, “I think you should be able to make a film about anything. Should we get into censorship because we have movies that are going to upset some part of the community?” The fact that these protests enhanced the box-office appeal of Dressed to Kill, much to the lament of feminist groups, encouraged De Palma and his distributors to use such tactics for his next two films, Scarface and Body Double.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | April 21, 2022 12:30 AM
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Despite the attention-grabbing nudity and brief but severe violence, the film is told from a female perspective. It's all from Angie's POV (rather sympathetically at that), and then to Nancy's Liz, the not too bight but good-hearted working girl. It has some balance. But it's easy to see why it would cause an uproar. And then the trans issue...so, yeah...
by Anonymous | reply 49 | April 21, 2022 12:42 AM
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I LOVE this movie and yes it could never, ever get made today.
by Anonymous | reply 50 | April 21, 2022 12:47 AM
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I was supposed to play Angie's part but Gary…..well you know…
by Anonymous | reply 51 | April 21, 2022 12:49 AM
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That wacky redhead would be better suited for Liz.
by Anonymous | reply 52 | April 21, 2022 12:50 AM
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I love this movie and it’s on my regular Amazon watchlist rotation. I’m not sure why, but some of these older movies like “Dressed to Kill”, “Halloween” (original), “The Silence of the Lambs”, and pretty much almost every Hitchcock movie have a calming effect on me.
My
by Anonymous | reply 53 | April 21, 2022 12:51 AM
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Angie getting finger banged in the shower was pretty racy for those days.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | April 21, 2022 1:46 AM
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I first saw the movie when I was a judgy 10- or 11-year-old, & remember thinking she deserved to get an STD for being so trampy. (But didn't deserve to get murdered)
by Anonymous | reply 56 | April 21, 2022 1:48 AM
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This movie and Cruising seemed to foretell a sinister sexual atmosphere that was lurking in NYC in 1980. It's almost as if DePalma and Friedkin knew that AIDS was coming in the next year. Both films were warnings against promiscuous sex and the consequences of it, which was death.
They say that people and animals can sense when something really bad is about to happen. I think DePalma and Friedkin sensed it before it occurred.
by Anonymous | reply 57 | April 21, 2022 4:37 AM
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I tried, but I couldn't get past the museum scene which, yes, was shot beautifully. The dialogue felt so stilted and silly and I literally burst out laughing at Angie loudly moaning in the back of that cab. It felt like De Palma wanted to be Hitchcock with more skin.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | April 23, 2022 9:34 AM
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An all-time fave. Those of us who were teens and late pre-teens when this movie came on HBO will never forget it.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | April 23, 2022 9:46 AM
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I hope you see it R4. One of my faves from the 1980s. From a technical level, it's such a mastery of tone, pacing, and camp. Angie Dickinson is fabulous. And the love story between her son and Nancy Allen (who is also fantastic) is touching at times. IMO, peak DePalma. It's right up there with Carrie.
R57, why did you leave out Richard Brooks. Have you not seen Looking for Mr. Goodbar?
by Anonymous | reply 61 | April 23, 2022 9:49 AM
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I never knew up until now that it was Angie Dickinson in the lead role, I always thought it was the stunningly beautiful actress who played Blanche in The Golden Girls. Just shows that you learn something new everyday…
by Anonymous | reply 62 | April 23, 2022 9:51 AM
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Great to find a community here on this thread. It is one of my all time favorites as well and I was 15 when I saw it on HBO in 1981. By the way some of you are talking about the film, did anyone else on here take Amos Vogel's film analysis course at the University of Pennsylvania like I did? He spent an entire semester on Dress to Kill.
And just as a side note, Angie Dickinson's name always makes me chuckle when reminded how they used it on HBO's The Comeback. Valerie Cherish goes to her favorite Palm Springs restaurant which has been renovated to appeal to a much younger Hollywood crowd which she is decidedly no longer a part of. She tells the waiter she'll have her usual salad - the "Angie Dickinson." The waiter responds, "Who?"
by Anonymous | reply 63 | April 23, 2022 10:24 AM
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The museum scene was an elongated copy of similar scenes in Vertigo. When i first saw it I could see myself doing the same museum waltz with Angie and when I got her into my flat there'd be nothing for her to to worry about in my medicine cabinet.
by Anonymous | reply 64 | April 23, 2022 10:27 AM
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Nice to unwind to at the end of your day..
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 65 | July 26, 2022 1:25 AM
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I was 14 when I first saw this (my mother was completely unaware it was an R-rated film and let me stay up and watch it when I told her it was a Hitchcock style thriller) and fell deeply in love with Keith Gordon, who, upon a recent re-watching, puts in a great performance and looks almost ethereal.
Oddly, he lost this quality super-quick - he's still fragile-looking (and very effective) in Christine, but when paired with RDJ in Back to School, he looks oddly rodentish and comes off as a cold fish (although anyone compared to a teenage RDJ has an uphill battle to contend with).
Have heard Gordon is very cool in real life.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | July 26, 2022 2:27 AM
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It’s an interesting flick. Even watching it in 2022. The tranny and of course Miss Angie Dickinson!!!!
by Anonymous | reply 67 | July 26, 2022 2:59 PM
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An homage to Hitchcock, I also first saw it on cable tv at a friend's house, and thought it was great. So much sexual imagery, I thought Keith Gordon was geeky nerdy cute, Nancy Allen was very saucy and sexy, she had a body on her and looked great in all her clothes, and out of them. lol I was 14 yo, horny and green, but that movie sure made an impression on me. I still re-watch it on a regular basis...
by Anonymous | reply 68 | July 26, 2022 4:12 PM
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I can't believe that Angie potentially exposed her husband and family to monkeypox by sleeping with that stranger.
by Anonymous | reply 69 | July 26, 2022 4:21 PM
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I thought this was the sexiest and naughtiest movie I'd ever seen as a kid. It made me fall in love with Brian De Palma. I'd seen Carrie and loved it, but this and Blow Out really sealed the deal. I've never understood why people always say he's a ripoff artist. He steals from other films, but always runs the other way and goes to places Hitchcock never could at the time. They might share thematic similarities, but I don't think Psycho and Dressed to Kill feel like the same movie at all. Dressed to Kill has this weird, dreamy feel to it almost like De Palma fell asleep after watching a lot of softcore porn, Psycho, and a handful of Dario Argento movies and then woke up and wrote this.
by Anonymous | reply 70 | July 26, 2022 7:15 PM
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Nasty,ugly and weird film. Miss Dickinson is badly photographed and looks greasy and dried the fuck out simultaneously on the screen.
This theme was explored more interestingly the original Psycho. Hitchcock may have hated women but he photographed them with expertise.
by Anonymous | reply 71 | July 26, 2022 7:25 PM
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DePalma's CARRIE also starts with a soft focus shower scene that ends in (a different kind of) blood -
by Anonymous | reply 73 | July 26, 2022 7:56 PM
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Dressed to shit
That’s how I’m dressed today
by Anonymous | reply 74 | July 26, 2022 8:05 PM
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Just recently got Pino Dinaggio's score on vinyl and have had it stuck in my head for weeks - great score
by Anonymous | reply 75 | July 26, 2022 8:20 PM
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Angie is gorgeously photographed in the film R71 and has always said it was one of her favorites.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 76 | July 26, 2022 8:34 PM
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Angie looks beautiful in the film. Although, seeing her actual ass when she gets up from the bed in her trick's apartment after the opening scene with the body double was a bit of a shock.
by Anonymous | reply 77 | July 26, 2022 9:26 PM
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Can't see how DePalma and tom cruise worked together on the first mission movie.. seems like two polar opposites....both control freaks though I guess is one common attribute..
by Anonymous | reply 78 | July 26, 2022 9:28 PM
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De Palma doesn't seem like a control freak. He knows what he wants and how he wants his shots to look, but actors seem to enjoy working with him and have said he does allow them the freedom to do what they want with their characters, blocking, and even improvise a bit.
by Anonymous | reply 79 | July 26, 2022 9:31 PM
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Aside from the fact that it's beautifully shot, it's worth watching just as a portrait of a New York City that doesn't exist anymore.
by Anonymous | reply 80 | July 27, 2022 12:44 AM
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Yes r80. It really captured the sleaziness of NYC at that time.
by Anonymous | reply 81 | July 27, 2022 12:59 AM
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R80. The subway shots were great; posters visible of many Broadway shows I remember from that time. Also brought back how dangerous the subway was then (and sadly getting back to that now.)
by Anonymous | reply 82 | July 27, 2022 1:21 AM
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And the start of the subway scene there's glimpses of posters for Annie, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, A Chorus Line, Peter Pan, and Nancy runs right by the cool poster for Fosse's DANCIN. Brief but adds to the atmosphere of New York in 1980.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 83 | July 27, 2022 1:51 AM
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You know Nancy must've been sat-is-fied gettin that raunchy De Palma bearcock every night.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 84 | July 27, 2022 1:59 AM
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Not that satisfied, they split a few years later.
by Anonymous | reply 85 | July 27, 2022 2:53 AM
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I do find it strange that neither Allen not De Palma have ever mentioned what caused the split. It's been alluded to that De Palma's real love would always be filmmaking and no one could some between them. It sounds very Sunday in the Park with George.
by Anonymous | reply 86 | July 27, 2022 6:25 PM
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2015 interview with a Nancy.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 87 | July 27, 2022 9:42 PM
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Angie Dickinson, writing a grocery list, in the art museum was hilarious. She looked up and saw a statue of huge gorilla with huge balls. She wrote "nuts" on the grocery list.
by Anonymous | reply 88 | July 27, 2022 9:58 PM
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R77 she’s done a bit of nudity throughout her career before DTK. Nothing too graphic though. I wasn’t shocked. Totally appropriate for her character in this.
by Anonymous | reply 89 | July 27, 2022 10:01 PM
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WHET to Nancy Allen? and speaking of "allens" where is Karen Allen?
by Anonymous | reply 90 | July 27, 2022 10:29 PM
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Karen Allen is randomly one of the people Ethan Hawke has narrating letters and such in the Paul Newman doc -- she does the voice of Joanne Woodward's mother I think? It's very random, made me wonder have Hawke and KA ever worked together before? Nothing comes up when I google it, wonder how they know each other
by Anonymous | reply 91 | July 27, 2022 10:34 PM
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The Angie Dickinson elevator murder scene is a masterclass of directing. They don't show it anymore because of the trans brigade.
by Anonymous | reply 92 | July 27, 2022 10:37 PM
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The Angie-In-The-Elevator scene was So Obvious that I turned to my friend....mind you, the first ten minutes of the film....and told her who the killer was. She denied it. Guess what. Surprise?? (not really). Stupid movie.
by Anonymous | reply 93 | July 27, 2022 10:39 PM
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It's so weird to imagine a movie like this getting a wide release and doing really well. It's such a strange movie. Not at all like your usual slasher or thriller movie.
by Anonymous | reply 94 | July 27, 2022 10:47 PM
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[quote]This movie and Cruising seemed to foretell a sinister sexual atmosphere that was lurking in NYC in 1980. It's almost as if DePalma and Friedkin knew that AIDS was coming in the next year.
It's interesting that the first two gay themed movies released in 1980 were Windows and Cruising. Both very negative, dark portrayal of the gay community. It really does set an ominous tone for what is about to follow
Brian DePalma was originally set to direct Cruising. In fact the whole cruising scene in the museum in DTK was based upon ideas he had for directing Cruising. You can't help but wonder how his version would have turned out.
by Anonymous | reply 95 | July 27, 2022 10:56 PM
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Dr. Elliott: Because I'm a doctor, and-- Liz: Fucked a lot of doctors.. Dr. Elliott: And I'm married. Liz: Fucked a lot of them, too.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 96 | July 27, 2022 11:00 PM
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Karen Allen is around. She was up for an Independent Spirit Award like 2 years ago for a small film she did and was pretty good.
by Anonymous | reply 97 | July 28, 2022 5:41 AM
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Angie: Do you find me attractive?
Michael: Yes, I do.
Angie: Do you want to have sex with me?
Michael: Yes.
Angie: Then why don't you?
by Anonymous | reply 98 | July 28, 2022 5:59 AM
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Slant always does the best De Palma reviews.
"No, what we have here is the work of a director who saw the charred aftermath of the sexual revolution’s late-‘70s bust and thought, “I should cast my wife as a hooker again. A real Park Avenue whore.” Who, instead of taking a gritty, hard-on look at the twisted bi-curious ground shared by Ms. 45, Bob Fosse’s All That Jazz, and Walter Hill’s The Warriors, inflates paperback pulp psychology into something like a plot, all the better to demonstrate that filmmaking is an inherently visual storytelling. Who is justifiably confident enough in his craft that he can limit himself to two schools of dialogue: soap-opera exposition and silence. Who, to paraphrase Kael, could turn a seamy museum pick-up into an accelerated, 10-minute Dangerous Liaisons. The pleasures of Dressed to Kill flat out do not translate to print, but for what it’s worth, it’s the most perfectly-directed film ever, provided that you, like me, bust into orgasmic laughter when De Palma’s double-shuffling editing makes it seem like the only threat Nancy Allen and a wooden cop can see boarding the subway is a 250-pound bag lady."
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 99 | July 28, 2022 10:36 PM
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R88 The last thing she wrote on her grocery list was "Pick up turkey." Regrettably, her character in the movie did.
by Anonymous | reply 100 | August 11, 2022 12:25 AM
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Dressed To Kill is currently streaming for free on Tubi, I just watched it again because of this thread.
No.
Psycho ripoff.
No good.
by Anonymous | reply 101 | August 11, 2022 12:32 AM
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The plot doesn’t totally hold together, but as a visual experience, it’s one of my go to films.
That shot of Nancy near the end in Elliott’s office where here eyes look so electric blue is stunning.
by Anonymous | reply 103 | August 11, 2022 12:46 AM
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I saw it first run on the big screen. Mesmerizing imagery from start to finish.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 104 | August 11, 2022 12:50 AM
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I only like the white in white costume of Miss Dickinson. Hate the hair, makeup and sound effects.
Too much cocaine was consumed by the filmmakers during the production of the film.
Hate it.
by Anonymous | reply 105 | August 11, 2022 12:53 AM
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Fuck you too. That film stinks
by Anonymous | reply 109 | August 11, 2022 12:59 AM
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That shower scene where he grabs her pussy...is hot!
by Anonymous | reply 110 | August 11, 2022 1:00 AM
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The version on Tubi is only the R rated cut and it barely looks like dvd quality (a lot of scratches).
by Anonymous | reply 111 | August 11, 2022 1:00 AM
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Not every film is for every...one.
by Anonymous | reply 112 | August 11, 2022 1:00 AM
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It always looked like the dream rapist in the opening was fisting Angie from behind. I never knew what was going on. Great movie and one of the most beautifully shot thrillers/horror movies I've ever seen. Everything's so gauzy and hazy like a dream. If it were to come out today, young film nerds raised on that horrible orange/teal lighting/color correction style would probably think it looked terrible.
by Anonymous | reply 113 | August 11, 2022 1:18 AM
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[quote]R33 Little known fact. [bold]Doris Roberts [/bold]was originally cast as the female lead but clashed with Brian De Palmer over her characters motivation and walked off. Angie Dickinson was brought in to reshoot.
People always get that story wrong.
It was Sada Thompson.
by Anonymous | reply 114 | August 11, 2022 1:22 AM
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Doris Roberts? The secretary from Remington Steele? The mom from shitty Raymond?
by Anonymous | reply 115 | August 11, 2022 1:25 AM
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I like Kael's description of it as "a suspense comedy about sex and fear."
by Anonymous | reply 116 | August 11, 2022 1:26 AM
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The choices were apparently Jill Clayburgh and Liv Ullman. They both turned De Palma down.
by Anonymous | reply 117 | August 11, 2022 1:45 AM
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Nancy Allen was so pretty in this.
by Anonymous | reply 118 | August 11, 2022 2:31 AM
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Nancy and Donald Pleasance host a well edited collection of horror and thriller movie scenes, including Dressed to Kill.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 119 | August 11, 2022 2:37 AM
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Do you prefer Dressed to Kill or Blow Out?
I think I prefer DTK because it's sexier and has a slightly more interesting storyline to me, but they're both two of my favorite films from the 80s.
by Anonymous | reply 120 | August 11, 2022 2:43 AM
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As others have said, Dressed To Kill really captures the sleaze and danger of NYC in that time period.
by Anonymous | reply 121 | August 11, 2022 3:19 AM
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The ending of Blow Out really strains credibility. Why the fuck would he let her go on her own with the film (even with a wire, considering that a person he put a wire on in the past ended up getting murdered) when he knows that they’re both caught in the middle of a conspiracy and could end up getting rubbed out?
by Anonymous | reply 122 | August 11, 2022 3:21 AM
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Great movie and wonderfully describes the danger cross dressing might lead to
by Anonymous | reply 123 | August 11, 2022 4:08 AM
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Oh do fuck off R123.
And Se7en wonderfully describes the danger Christianity might lead to.
by Anonymous | reply 124 | August 11, 2022 6:50 AM
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Dressed to Kill and Blow Out are so different to me. I could never pick a favorite. I do think the last 10 minutes of Dressed to Kill, as masterful as they are, don't really need to be there. That final dream sequence is great and very suspenseful, but it just seems like De Palma ran out of ideas and thought "hey, that last scene in Carrie really got them talking. What if I did that again, but stretched it to 10 minutes?" Blow Out does have a more concise gut puncher of an ending. I cried the first time I saw it as a kid and still tear up whenever I rewatch it. Mary, I know!
by Anonymous | reply 125 | August 11, 2022 6:54 PM
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I wonder who they wanted for the part before settling for Miss Anjuh Dickinson.
by Anonymous | reply 126 | August 11, 2022 7:27 PM
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I could sort of imagine Stella Stevens in the part.
by Anonymous | reply 127 | August 11, 2022 10:32 PM
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The two choices before Angie Dickinson were Jill Clayburgh and Liv Ullman. Ullman also apparently turned down an offer to play a murderess in Dario Argento's Phenomena. She wasn't a fan of violent movies.
by Anonymous | reply 129 | August 11, 2022 11:17 PM
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Clayburg and Ullman were way hotter in the movies than Dickinson. There had to be more names between the former two and the latter.
by Anonymous | reply 130 | August 11, 2022 11:34 PM
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[quote]R126 I wonder who they wanted for the part before settling for Miss Anjuh Dickinson.
As stated above, Sada Thompson shot several scenes with Keith Gordon as well as the shower sequence. De Palma was not pleased with the results and only then we’re other actresses were considered.
by Anonymous | reply 131 | August 12, 2022 12:08 AM
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Sada sported the waxed look long before it came into fashion.
by Anonymous | reply 132 | August 12, 2022 12:10 AM
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Does anyone have a source for the Sada Thompson casting? I can’t find anything online and it seems unlikely that ABC would’ve let her make this movie while she was on Family…
by Anonymous | reply 133 | August 12, 2022 12:56 AM
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It was a theatrical release, so no competition for FAMILY.
by Anonymous | reply 134 | August 12, 2022 12:58 AM
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Her scenes were scheduled while FAMILY was on hiatus.
by Anonymous | reply 135 | August 12, 2022 1:13 AM
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First Kate Jackson losing out on KRAMER VS. KRAMER, and then Sada...
by Anonymous | reply 137 | August 12, 2022 1:23 AM
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It’s a little different, because Thompson got her ass fired. Kate Jackson didn’t even get to shoot any scenes. If she had she’d have that Oscar, and Streep’s career now.
Meryl would still be stuck with Shakespeare in Central Park.
by Anonymous | reply 138 | August 12, 2022 1:30 AM
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Of course, Lucy received an offer from DePalma and the two were in correspondence in the pre-production, De Palma says she sent Polaroids to show she wouldn't need a body double for the shower scene, but apparently at the last minute she was advisied with going forward with the project because of tv persona.
by Anonymous | reply 139 | August 12, 2022 1:44 AM
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Blow-Out cost almost three times what Dressed to Kill did to make, but made less than 1/2 @ the box office.
by Anonymous | reply 140 | August 12, 2022 1:48 AM
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The Sada/Lucy trolls are insufferable.
by Anonymous | reply 141 | August 12, 2022 1:49 AM
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Hun, this movie isn’t that good. Don’t take it so seriously.
Lucy or Sada would have livened things up considerably.
by Anonymous | reply 142 | August 12, 2022 1:50 AM
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Linda Lavin should have gotten the Angie part.
by Anonymous | reply 143 | August 12, 2022 1:51 AM
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No praise for Michael Caine?
by Anonymous | reply 144 | August 12, 2022 1:51 AM
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I coulda sung a helluva love theme song too!
by Anonymous | reply 145 | August 12, 2022 1:54 AM
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There was talk that Angie would be nominated but it didn't happen.
John Travolta should have been nominated for Blow Out. Might be his best performance.
by Anonymous | reply 146 | August 12, 2022 2:02 AM
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I never understood why Angie's character was cheating on her uber hot husband. He was one hot DILF.
by Anonymous | reply 147 | August 12, 2022 2:10 AM
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He pleasured himself, not her.
by Anonymous | reply 148 | August 12, 2022 2:12 AM
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[quote]r145 I coulda sung a helluva love theme song too! — LL
Bah-dah-boo-BAH!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 149 | August 12, 2022 2:14 AM
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r147 he was a two pump chump. He couldn't satisfy her sexually, it was all about him getting off and not her.
by Anonymous | reply 150 | August 12, 2022 2:14 AM
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I always saw Anissa Jones in the role of Sally, as far as “Blow Out” is concerned. She’d have been 23.
by Anonymous | reply 151 | August 12, 2022 2:24 AM
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Lee Remick would have been nominated.
by Anonymous | reply 152 | August 12, 2022 2:26 AM
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They were originally going to make Blow Out as a much smaller scale, gritty indie movie, but De Palma was talking to Travolta one day and he'd mentioned the idea and Travolta wanted to play Jack and that was that. Because of Travolta's star power at the time, it became a much bigger film and the studio decided for a summer release which everyone involved thought killed its chances of box office success because it wasn't exactly a feel good blockbuster kind of movie. It was Travolta's idea to bring in Nancy Allen as well. He loved working with her on Carrie and this role wasn't written with her mind unlike the role in Dressed to Kill.
by Anonymous | reply 153 | August 12, 2022 2:33 AM
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I had no idea Dressed To Kill grew out of Nancy Allen's mind.
by Anonymous | reply 154 | August 12, 2022 2:35 AM
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Did they not approach Lee Remick because they didn’t have the budget?
by Anonymous | reply 155 | August 12, 2022 2:36 AM
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While I won't say Nancy is any kind of great actress, she is effective in the right role. It always breaks my heart in this scene at 2:22 when a single tear runs down her face during the line, " I didn't really have to do anything like screw 'em or anything..." The clip is only standard def, it's easier to see in HD. A moving performance, it's harder to play a dim character than you'd think, and Allen did a great job.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 156 | August 12, 2022 2:38 AM
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When did Nancy and DiPalma get together?
by Anonymous | reply 157 | August 12, 2022 2:40 AM
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De Palma was dating Lee Remick while preparing Carrie, but became attracted to Nancy Allen during shooting. Remick went to England to shoot The Omen and De Palma asked Allen out when their shooting wrapped.
by Anonymous | reply 158 | August 12, 2022 2:50 AM
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R156, I think Allen's really great in Blow Out, too. She's very sweet in it and my heart always breaks for her.
by Anonymous | reply 159 | August 12, 2022 2:55 AM
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I love Lee Remick, a solid actress and a great beauty. But she projects a kind of authority that is wrong for Liz. Nancy has the sexiness and a certain false confidence and vulnerability that was perfect for Liz in Dressed to Kill.
by Anonymous | reply 160 | August 12, 2022 2:56 AM
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I thought Remick would have been more in line for Kate. That is, if she was ever considered for the role which I doubt she was.
by Anonymous | reply 161 | August 12, 2022 3:00 AM
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Why? She had been reduced to TV Movies of the Week by then?
by Anonymous | reply 162 | August 12, 2022 3:06 AM
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Remick would have made a great Kate, but almost seems too strong and smart for it. Angie has a confused, unsure quality that works well for the character, especially in the museum. I can't imagine Remick letting herself get caught up in the cat and mouse aspect of it. Angie takes the bait, as it were, more realistically with a relatable innocence.
by Anonymous | reply 163 | August 12, 2022 3:07 AM
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But didn't Remick get caught up in alcoholism, not to mention selling her soul to Phil Silvers?
by Anonymous | reply 164 | August 12, 2022 3:08 AM
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Remick didn’t think they should work together on Carrie while they were involved (De Palma wanted her for Sue) and then later, considering their history, she turned down both Kate and Sally.
Remick is a big part of why De Palma and Allen split.
by Anonymous | reply 165 | August 12, 2022 3:11 AM
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Where did someone hear that Remick & De Palma ever dated? link please
by Anonymous | reply 166 | August 12, 2022 3:11 AM
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Did Edie McClurg audition for Kate or Liz?
by Anonymous | reply 168 | August 12, 2022 3:13 AM
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No word about Gene Kelly and John Belushi who were both considered for Michael Caine's part when George Cukor was attached to direct? Belushi shot the elevator scene in drag. But he was too drugged so they wanted to replace him with Kelly. Then Cukor directed RICH AND FAMOUS instead and Kelly didn't want to work with De Palma because he despised the "filth" of that generation's New Hollywood. Gene Kelly then buried his film career with XANADU in the same year. If you write DL fantasies please use males from time to time, it's not that hard.
I don't know what happened to Nancy Allen. She seemed to have a solid career up to the ROBOCOP trilogy into the early 1990s. I've last seen her in a little part in 2001's CIRCUIT, she aged well (despite a battle with cancer). Her last IMDb credit is from 2008. She's now 72 and should be rediscovered.
by Anonymous | reply 170 | August 12, 2022 3:34 AM
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Belushi insisted on Carrie Fisher for Liz.
by Anonymous | reply 171 | August 12, 2022 3:35 AM
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Nancy Allen had a small part in Soderbergh's "Out of Sight." She was more human than J.Lo.
by Anonymous | reply 172 | August 12, 2022 3:35 AM
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Liv Ullmann seems a very strange choice for Kate. I can understand Jill Clayburgh because De Palma used her in The Wedding Party back in 1969 but Liv Ullmann??
by Anonymous | reply 173 | August 12, 2022 3:57 AM
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The casting troll is tiresome.
Jo Anne Worley as Bobbi!
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 174 | August 12, 2022 4:03 AM
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I'd rather JoAnn than Katrina Lenk.
by Anonymous | reply 175 | August 12, 2022 4:09 AM
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Ann-Margret would have been wonderful as Kate. Maybe even better than Angie?
by Anonymous | reply 176 | August 12, 2022 6:02 AM
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That opening sex scene is supposed to show her husband is a bad lover but it looks pretty good to me.
by Anonymous | reply 177 | August 12, 2022 6:03 AM
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I thought Angie was perfect.
Love Nancy Allen. She's great in both Dressed to Kill and Blow Out. She also seems like a lovely person if you watch her interviews for the Blu Ray for I Wanna Hold Your Hand.
by Anonymous | reply 178 | August 12, 2022 7:20 AM
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I like Nancy Allen but she was limited as an actress, at least at the time. If she wasn't sleeping with the director I doubt if she'd have been cast. She does an appealing Girl Nextdoor quality.
Can't decide if she was supposed to be the 'comic relief' in the film or she just thinks every movie is a comedy. Depalma's films usually have some macabre humor.
by Anonymous | reply 179 | August 12, 2022 7:56 AM
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Doris Day would have been an interesting choice in Angie's role.
by Anonymous | reply 180 | August 12, 2022 8:04 AM
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Yeah, she’d have rushed RIGHT out of retirement to get sliced up in THIS dreck!
by Anonymous | reply 181 | August 12, 2022 8:45 AM
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Doris didn't mind the public observing her nipples.
by Anonymous | reply 182 | August 12, 2022 2:23 PM
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“Would you like to touch me?”
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 183 | August 12, 2022 2:35 PM
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AVC: Do you have a favorite of the four movies you made with him?
NA: No, not really. Carrie was special because it was my first significant role in film, and it was an amazing experience. Home Movies was kind of fun because I got to do something really silly. And Dressed To Kill was written for me, so that was a nice surprise, because it’s wondrous to have something written for you. And Blow Out I came to love because, you know, what an extraordinary cast to work with. And to take a character that I didn’t really quite like, and make it work for me and find something that I really liked about her… that’s always fun and interesting. But they’re each special to me in their own way.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 184 | August 12, 2022 9:44 PM
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Keith Gordon gives his own reading of the film.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 185 | August 13, 2022 5:40 AM
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I first saw the film in a college screening. I had been afraid to see it having heard about it as a slasher film but was taken on a date (!). When the museum scene started I got hooked and never wanted that scene to end. But when Kate realizes she forgot her wedding ring in the stud's apartment and had to go back for it, I knew she would die. .
by Anonymous | reply 186 | August 13, 2022 5:54 AM
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I just rewatched this since getting the 4K disc that was released last year. It is a strange film, but I find it extremely entertaining and well done. There are some fantastic sequences in it that are unforgettable, Hitchcock ripoff or not. Nancy Allen, who is mediocre at best, is actually pretty good in this I think. I'd rate it as De Palma's second-best movie after "Carrie"—"Sisters" comes in third for me, and I can give or take the rest for the most part. I know "Body Double" is much beloved, but I think "Dressed to Kill" is a better movie.
by Anonymous | reply 187 | February 18, 2023 2:55 AM
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The museum scene is extraordinary, but Bobbi's modus operandi leaves me puzzled. How does she know where Angie's character was going after the museum? Sure, she saw Angie enter the cab...but that's not enough to go on (unless there's a scene that makes clear Angie is followed that I somehow missed).
Keith Gordon's character is even stranger. He seems completely unsexed in the face of Nancy Allen in a way you wouldn't expect a teenage boy to be (unless he's supposed to be gay), his take on his mother's death is straight out of an Italian giallo (i.e. bland surprise) and what the hell is going on with his hair?
by Anonymous | reply 188 | February 18, 2023 7:38 PM
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R151 she was dead as a door nail years before this movie went into production. Plus nobody would work with a known druggie for insurance reasons.
by Anonymous | reply 189 | February 18, 2023 7:54 PM
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