I’m about to watch CARRIE (1976) for the first time

We’re all gonna laugh at you

Cover your dirty dildoes!

No.

Not really, prepared to be bored out of your mind. It really hasn't aged well in that regard.

Yes, and you are (hopefully) going to love it. It has aged just fine. Come back to report you experience, OP. If you want, live post and we can help through any questions. On the other hand we have a lot of bitches....well, cunts... who like to post spoilers, so maybe not. Stay out of this thread and check in after.

Make sure you have cocktails and nibbly things at hand.

Enjoy!

It’ll end in tears, and by tears I mean blood.

We're all very sorry, Cassie.

OP what took you so long? You are about to enter into 98 minutes of perfection in every cinematic aspect there is. I am thrilled for you and I am watching along with you in spirit.

r8 How thoughtful. Where is it streaming/where are you watching? Sounds fun, and I do hope OP took the advice to chat about it later. Maybe then can temporarily ignore the thread while we old timers have a good gab.

A random guy started talking to me out of the blue in Home Depot last week; he was rambling on about everything and nothing, but seemed harmless. After a few minutes of chatter, he said "And this is my wife," looking over my shoulder: I turned and swear Piper Laurie as Margaret White was standing 6 inches behind me ready to start lighting candles. I immediately said I had to go and rushed off.

I consider it more of a period film.

Both Spacek and Laurie should have won Oscars. The fact that they even got nothing for a horror genre film says a lot.

Julianne Moore deserved an Oscar*

Did anyone else relate to Carrie as a young gayling? I was bullied mercilessly in elementary school and the first time I watched Carrie in eighth grade it had a profound effect on me.

r12 you're overlooking the REAL star!!

Sin never dies, whore

The one and only time in his life that Travolta has received a blow job from a woman.

She really was radiant, especially up against the cunty chicks. Even what's her name that played Sue Snell couldn't compare. I thought they guy who played Tommy was nothing to look at twice. Eh.

Why thank you, r18!!

R14 Meeeeee! *holding hand up and waving in "a certain way"*

I'm amazed anyone could ever call this movie boring.

I'm very excited for you. There's something so special about that original 1976 movie. They've adapted the story again several times and none of them can hold a candle to this one. It has the best performances, style, humor, and creepiness. I can't watch the scene where she's going up to the stage after being announced as prom queen without sobbing. How many other horror movies can do that?

The split screen and slow motion during the gym sequence is riveting.

R22 De Palma put his heart and soul into it. It's a drama with horror elements, not a horror.

There's so much genuine pathos in this movie. The whole sequence from the prom scene to where she goes home and tries to get some comfort from her psycho mother is just astonishing and touches on every possible emotion (including dark humor), as well as being great filmmaking. No remake will ever touch that.

The other adaptations seem to miss the humor altogether and are simply dreary. De Palma knew it needed humor and style to work.

Thank you, R9. It's not streaming anywhere thatI know of. I have it on dvd.

And the first sin was intercourse

As soon as the credits in the beginning roll and the theme music plays, I’m a blubbering mess. Very important movie for me.

Piper Laurie said she got her audition all wrong because she thought is was some type of satire.

"The one and only time in his life that Travolta has received a blow job from a woman."

I tried once (May 23rd, 1983 at 6:32 am) but he kept whining, "No, not down there. Stop".

Will you go to prom with me, r11?

[quote]I’m about to watch CARRIE (1976) for the first time

I hate virgins.

Well, OP what did you think?

Hi everyone! I’m watching in Australia where it was on last night.

Dirty pillows origin story!

I think it was about how female rage and power manifests. Tommy (William Katt - what a 70s hunk) did whatever he was told by Sue (Amy Irving). He was super easy going and deceptively passive. I thought he and Sue were going in on the prank. Sue gently cajoled him, whereas the aggressive masculine-named Chris (Nancy Travers) used sex and verbal abuse on Billy (John Travolta).

I haven’t read any Stephen King but I did see the IT reboot and the Sophia Liggis character had and abject horror of her period as well and that’s a masculine perspective. From what I gather women aren’t terrified of menstruation because it’s mundane, unless it causes them severe pain they are more annoyed than frightened.

The mother character is so insane and Carrie such a potential drip that Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie did wonders.

Piper Laurie's husband was the film critic for the Village Voice. He told her De Palma makes black comedies so she came into the first rehearsal in full out Carol Burnett type mode. She then saw Sissy was taking the part very seriously. She realized it wasn't a comedy and pulled back a little but left a lot of the humor there.

That's how a brilliant performance came to be.

That makes a lot of sense. She’s just funny enough to be real and even more terrifying.

I imagine Julianne Moore played it more straight.

Julianne Moore played it almost comatose.

[quote]I thought he and Sue were going in on the prank.

It was obvious in the second half of the movie that Sue & Tommy were NOT in on the prank and Sue was really sincere in wanting Carrie to have a happy night.

Sue and the gym teacher are way more positively depicted than they were in the novel.

I didn't find Piper 'funny' at all. There are real people like Margaret White (Marguerite Perrin, Anita Bryant, Phyllis Schlaffly, etc.) and they are more dangerous than amusing. But it's a really good performance.

My favorite movie . Had just read the book as a kid and there was national sneak preview on Halloween night weeks before it was going to be released. It was amazing being first to see it and and the audience reaction didn't disappoint either. Being from New York and thru Broadway, book signings and conventions I have manged to meet Spacek, Travolta, Piper, William Katt, Betty Buckley, Amy Irving, Nancy Allen, P.J Soles and Edie McClurg and had lovely conversations about the movie and have many signatures on my DVD. They all were very proud of it.

R39 because of Katt’s performance and to a lesser extent Irving’s, I was 15% uncertain as to whether they knew what was going to happen - until it was clear at the end they didn’t and their motives were pure.

Tommy was an athlete downplaying his intelligence, with a habit of embarrassed grins. So there was always a chance he was laughing at Carrie, or making fun of her with PJ Soles. It turned out he was someone who laughs when he is uncomfortable. And when Sue runs out of dinner to go to them prom. Why would she leave just in time to see the crowning? From the audience’s perspective she *might* know about the blood. When she gets there it’s clear she is just checking on Carrie and is horrified to discover the rope.

I was slightly annoyed by Brian De Palma’s Psycho cues (and Bates High School? C’mon) but he directed the suspense just right.

R40 I found her funny! The brilliance of Laurie’s performance is that she is never unreal although her belief is BIG. I grew up attending Catholic schools most people were quite ordinary and secular and vast majority of 1 or 2 or 3 child families showed their parents were quite modern and practised birth control. However there was a small minority of religious fanatics (often among he teaching staff!) and they weren’t by and large severe and humourless officious schoolmarms. Some had Mrs White-esque weirdness, an off-with-the-fairies, vivacious, semi-mentally-disabled aspect to their personalities where you’re not sure if they are serious (they are).

Also John Travolta was a standout in an early horny Guido role. He had great comic timing.

This was fun. I watch Carrie every chance I get, and I always find something new. I've read the book too many times to count, and in that fabulous rarity, the film is as good as the book, sometimes better, even when they diverge.

Below is a Carrie thread from a few years ago some of you might enjoy. I love it when we do our "deep dives" (that term is painfully overused, but it does work here) into films like this one and Ordinary People. Fuck, we have how many threads on Ordinary People? Ah, who is counting, it's a good time had by all. That reminds me, The Exorcist has quite a few as well, and we have a good one going currently on All About Eve.

I FUCKING LOVE YOU ALL! Except for that guy sitting in the aisle seat in the next to last row on the left What an asshole.

Here's an ad for the Halloween Sneak Preview. The feature it previewed with was Redd Foxx in "Norman, Is That You?" which would have been scary enough for Halloween.

Sissy Spacek

Both Patricia Clarkson and Julianne Moore, two excellent actresses, played the Margaret White character in remakes and they both managed to do the unthinkable and make the character boring and unthreatening. They practically whispered all their lines and had none of the religious fervor. Whatever Piper Laurie did, she created a memorable and fascinating character.

Did some of you miss this scene somehow? When Miss Collins finds out that Tommy asked Carrie to the prom, both Tommy and Sue report to her office so she can get the lowdown. She isn't quite buying their good intentions, or rather Sue's good intentions, because Tommy's contribution is "She hasn't said 'yes' yet" and he can't exactly back up Sue when she says "We don't care how we look. Do we?"

Then, who should stroll into this plot-heavy conversation but Norma (P.J. Soles), the Bates High School gossip girl. Norma says "Here are those papers you wanted, Miss Collins." just as Miss Collins looks at Sue and says "You know you can't go to the prom without a date." while Norma continues to hover in the background until Miss Collins kicks her out. "You can go now." From there it spread like wildfire.

I will never forget William Katt’s big beautiful cock with the glorious 70s bush.

R14 I had the very same experience.

Great film. There were some things I didn't care for, but overall it was very good. It made Sissy Spacek a star. Piper Laurie's performance was over the top and Oscar worthy. The scene were Carrie and Tommy are dancing at the prom was magical. A good adaptation of a Stephen King story or novel, which is relatively rare. Most versions of his work are crap.

Has OP weighed in yet? If I were to start a similar thread, I'd have to call it 'I'm about to watch CARRIE (1976) for the fourty-fourth time.'

Pauline Kael said it was the best scary-fun movie since JAWS and pointed out that with the exception of Sissy Spacek, all of the name actors sported a 'whopper crop of hair."

The film is so much better than the book, in my opinion. Usually it’s the other way around when it comes to King’s work. De Palma created a perfect movie.

William Katt with his WIGGED OUT MACARONI hair is not a hunk.

Why does it feel OP is posting from a late 90s AOL cities forum.

[quote] The film is so much better than the book, in my opinion.

I don't agree with that. De Palma made major changes in what happened at the prom. And the book really fleshed out the characters. The descriptions of Carrie's poor life are heartbreaking; a life of nothing but cruelty and abuse. She had no respite from any of it.

I hate the final scene. It turns Carrie into a monster, and she was not a monster. I know that it's a dream, but I still don't like it. Carrie was a victim, who emerged into the light for one brief moment before being beaten back down.

Brilliant movie. No one has mentioned Pino Donaggio’s sublime score. It really elevates everything.

Here’s a funny diversion. Go on youtube and look up “Carrie” “1976” “reaction.”

Gen Z LOVE this movie. Its shocking and heartbreaking to them. Kinda fun watching their initial impressions of it. Most think its genius, which is testament to its timeless themes.

[quote]The scene were Carrie and Tommy are dancing at the prom was magical.

The song played while they're dancing, written by Donaggio, is "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Want Someone Like Me," and it's sung by Katie Irving, Amy's sister.

R38 I can see Louise Lasser in that role.

R38 playing Carrie that is.

There were major differences in the film and movie. This contains SPOILERS: In the novel:

Sue was not at the prom. She was at home, alone. Her parents were out.

Carrie doesn't hallucinate her classmates laughing at her after she's covered in pig blood. They DO laugh at . One of the survivors of the prom says it was one of those situations where you either laugh or cry, and who could bring himself to cry over Carrie after all those years?

Carrie does not kill Miss Desjardin. She does give her a bloody nose.

Billy and Chris are asleep in a room in a "roadhouse" after a night of wild sex. One of Billy's friends bursts in and tells them that town is burning up and they're saying Carrie White did it. They get dressed and hightail it out of there, but when they're in the car they see Carrie coming at them. She has the idea that she HAS to destroy this roadhouse,. that Momma would have wanted it. She plows the car into the side of the roadhouse, where it bursts into flames, cooking both Billy and Chris.

Hearing all the commotion outside (police care, ambulances, fire trucks) Sue goes out to find out what's happening. She gets in a minor car accident; she goes out on foot after that. She senses Carrie's presence and goes to where it's coming from. She finds Carrie on the asphalt near the roadhouse, bleeding and dying from a butcher knife embedded in her shoulder (her dear Momma did that). She and Sue connect telepathically and Sue "feels" Carrie die, calling out for "Momma" at the end.

Carrie destroys the house she and Momma lived in. After the wreckage someone painted these words on the lawn of the house lot where the house once stood: CARRIE WHITE IS BURNING FOR HER SINS JESUS NEVER FAILS

Another key difference:

In the book Carrie doesn't kill her mother with the hail of knives and cutlery seen in the film. Instead she visualizes her mother's heart and telekinetically reaches in and stops it from beating. I'm not sure which is the more cruel ending but they needed something more visual than what's in the book so the crucifixion worked better

[quote] Miss Collins looks at Sue and says "You know you can't go to the prom without a date."

Damn. Even the kids in Grease could attend the Bandstand filming without a date. Remember Sonny and all the wallflowers?

I love the scene where Betty Buckley makes her stand in front of the mirror and tells her she's a pretty girl (right after Carrie tells her she's been asked to the prom.) It's such a sweet scene but then the camera zooms in and you see a flicker of worry flash across Buckley's face like she doesn't trust Sue either. (then comes the scene in the office with Sue and Tommy shortly thereafter.)

I met Buckley once and asked her about Miss Collins/Desjardin laughing in the book. She said she asked DePalma if she really had to laugh at Carrie and he assured her there will be a special effect that indicates her laughing is in Carrie's imagination.

She said she still gets that question though (why did you laugh at her) from people who didn't understand the kaleidoscope tunnel vision type effect.

R44 thanks for that link!

I was thinking about what Datalounge’s favourite movies are. Apart from Ordinary People, The Exorcist, Carrie, The Shining, All About Eve…

Obviously, as people upthread have discussed how childhood trauma informs gay men’s love of horror films.

R66 Great question for her!

De Palma showed prior to the kaleidoscope that only a few people were laughing, most looked saddened and shocked.

and Looking for Mr. Goodbar r67

R14, me too. So much so it’s almost scary how primal I get in my delight at seeing Carrie murder everyone in the school. Experiencing this kind of trauma when young has a way of recurring again and again, sadly.

[quote]Carrie does not kill Miss Desjardin. She does give her a bloody nose.

If I recall correctly, in the book Miss Desjardin was perhaps laughing at her too and when she runs towards Carrie offering sympathy, Carrie can see underneath her hypocritical face of concern and lashes out, bloodying her nose.

I think I prefer the way it happened in the movie. I get what King was saying about inappropriate laughter at awful things, but that would be so hard to show in a movie. DePalma made the right choice.

[quote]William Katt with his WIGGED OUT MACARONI hair is not a hunk.

Speak for yourself.

R12 fuck you, little homosexual boy!

The film that best illustrates what high school is really like.

R72 he's luscious!

Did she also electrocute her after bloodying her nose? I might be conflating the book with the film.

I really didn't like the book as the series of newspaper articles, extracts from journals etc interfered with the momentum. King should have rewrite it as a straight novel in his later years

King has said that he likes the film better than his book. He says DePalma deserves the credit for making Carrie special more than he does.

King is a stand-up guy.

Best use of split screen in cinema history. A potentially hokey device utilized extremely well in "Carrie."

No, seen it many times.

R78 - I think DePalma used split screen effectively in Sisters and Dressed to Kill too.

It's not iconic but I think 1408 is the best King movie.

R74 And Welcome To The Dollhouse.

Carrie White eats shit

I believe it's a better film than book as well. It definitely has a better ending, although, I like King's cautionary version where he implies other kids might have this special gift and we'd all better treat them with respect if we don't want a repeat of what happened with Carrie.

Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Exodus 22:18

I like it for the same reason I like "Pulp Fiction."

Travolta doesn't make it to the end credits.

If I have unruly house guests I go into the kitchen and start chopping vegetables like Margaret White. Always seems to have a calming effect.

R86 He actually does. He and Jules leaving the diner is the last thing before the credits.

MARGARET WHITE : These are godless times.

SUE SNELL'S MOTHER: I'll drink to that.

To R67's list I would add The Women, Grey Gardens, Female Trouble, and Valley of the Dolls.

No, I watched that and the 1998/99 version in the year 2000, I also remember watching the 2013 version about four years ago, not as interesting.

Despite all the bullies in the movie I feel that Carrie's worst enemy was definitely her own mother, what she went through in her own house was even worse than bullying.

It turned out to be Sissy Spacek's first Oscar nomination, I wonder if the character has any similarity to her at all.

I love listening to the soundtrack as background music.

{quote} The song played while they're dancing, written by Donaggio, is "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You Could Want Someone Like Me," and it's sung by Katie Irving, Amy's sister.

Here is a link to it. It's got a nice melody, but the vocals and production are pretty flimsy. Love when the strings come in at the end and almost overwhelm the singer!

"Why Did Someone Like You Try To Fuck Someone Like Me In The Ass”?

[Quote] If I have unruly house guests I go into the kitchen and start chopping vegetables like Margaret White

R87 when I have unruly houseguests, I just walk into the room with my butcher knife making air crosses. That usually shuts em up fast.

R94 is humor impaired.

R96

“why did a loser like you try to reference someone superior like me”?

Throw in a few tunes and...

[quote] If I recall correctly, in the book Miss Desjardin was perhaps laughing at her too and when she runs towards Carrie offering sympathy, Carrie can see underneath her hypocritical face of concern and lashes out, bloodying her nose.

She wasn't laughing at her. She goes toward her as if to help her and Carrie's telepathic power allows her to seen beneath the surface of Ms. Desjardin's emotions and underneath she's laughing like everyone else. Enraged, Carrie strikes out at her, punching her in the face telepathically.

Go to the 5:00 minute mark in R98 clip from the LA interactive production and watch what happens to Sue...so cool.

"They're more your group than mine."

She didn’t have a group

I'm always impressed by how weird, creepy, and frumpy they make Sissy Spacek look throughout most of the movie and then have her look so beautiful at the prom. It's one of the few ugly duckling movies where the transformation works and is more than just putting a girl in a ponytail with glasses. A lot of it is due to Spacek's demeanor and body language. She never really smiles for most of the movie and when she's finally happy at the prom and smiles, she's stunning.

I still think the movie holds up. DePalma did a great job directing this.

Thanks R99!

R102 That's the joke, kiddo.

Ballots, Ballots please!

Who rang that bell!??

They're not Dirty Pillows. "They're breasts Mama!"

The first time I saw Carrie was 1978, the same year I graduated from high school in Anaheim, CA. It's my all-time favorite movie, and in spite of having seen it somewhere around fourty times, it's not Sissy and Piper and John and Amy and Betty that i'm watching; it's Carrie, Mrs. White, Billy, Sue and Miss Collins, among others.

As the years went by, a peripheral goal for me was to identify less with Carrie White and more with Tommy Ross. And that did happen, thanks to years of therapy, getting older and wiser, and various life lessons I learned along the way to where I am now. I was a late bloomer, 46 to be exact.

Or if anyone read By Myself by Lauren Bacall, where she constantly refers back to her insecurities and her 'trembling hands' while onstage. She never let it stop her. She pushed through. I related to that a lot.

They're all going to laugh at you

[quote] I am not the poster at whom you are shrieking, but I like Woody Allen, too. So you go fuck yourself.

Go suck Woody's shriveled dingus, Woody lover.

I got to go to the 40th anniversary prom screening in DTLA. It was a joint celebration for the movie, the new special edition Blu-ray and Nancy Allen's cancer charity. Most of the cast except Sissy and Katt were there.

R110 what kind of therapy helped you? Really glad you're doing well ❤️‍🩹

The remakes are terrible but I did like the idea of the idea of a showdown between Carrie and Chris that the last one had.

I always thought Chris should have had more of a confrontation in the original given how she was the biggest bitch. And Betty and PJ had their own more grisly scenes.

R115 I was saying to a friend recently that Chris' death is the only improvement in the Moretz one. She got to SUFFER.

The original is basically perfect, but I do wish de Palma had the tech and the budget at his disposal to destroy the town the way Book-Carrie did.

I believe Vivian Vance was originally cast as CARRIE but had to step out due to other commitments.

That part where Margaret White is pulling her hair and trying hurt herself still kind of freaks me out.

I love Carrie and it really is a perfect film. It's one of the best films about high school, and one of the best films about bullying in high school. You really sympathize with Carrie.

I've come to the realization that De Palma is my favourite director. I grew up on Scorsese and Spielberg but I always come back to De Palma's. They're just so damn entertaining.

De Palma understood how to entertain an audience. His run from Sisters to Mission: Impossible is pretty terrific with just a few lesser films or duds thrown in there and even those have moments of greatness.

R81 agreed and it’s iconic to me. 1408 and Misery are the best King adaptions in my book

Omg I forgot the Shining was a King adaption. What I’m thinking. That’s because it’s one of the greatest films ever made.

Tommy and Carrie's victory walk to the prom stage plays in slo-mo because it's the only time the audience gets to e see Carrie the winner, not creepy Carrie the loser. Carrie radiant, happy, beaming, and mouthing the words 'thank yeeeeeew' over and over. The slow-mo maxed out the moment to fantastic effect.

The entire prom sequence is brilliant. From directing to editing to acting to score, all top notch.

The build in the prom scene from the walk to the stage through Carrie's exit is amazing

The editing of the sequence from the time Carrie's name is announced, to the time the bucket falls, is a master class in editing.

The funniest scene in this whole movie is when Piper Laurie pulls her own hair.😂

We can see your dirty pillows R127

The blood looked like what it was: a red colored syrup.

I watched again after nine years, yesterday, the blood looked like chocolate R129.

Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie have such spectacular chemistry. They give spectacular performances and balance each other very, very well. Piper us so gloriously over the top yet fully believable (especially in the era of QAnon and Trumpanzees). Sissy is so grounded and heartbreakingly believable. They were both robbed on Oscar night.

Plus, it’s awesome to see Betty Buckley take such an incredible punch to the c*nt.

" especially in the era of QAnon and Trumpanzees "

😂 Funny thing is that Piper Laurie thought the character was funny and that the movie was basically a comedy, that's how she understood the script and wanted to play the part; but I used to think she was actually the scariest thing about the movie, a horrible crazed mother, not Carrie's powers.

I hope she's not a republican.

R131 what did you say, little homosexual boy?

Everyone dies at the end. You’re welcome.

R134 everyone?

William Katt was so fucking HOT in that movie. His character, Tommy, was so likable and sweet.

I agree R136 he was great casting. I think the whole cast was perfect

What I like about Katt’s role, and how he plays it, is that he starts out doing a favour for his girlfriend by taking Carrie to the prom. He doesn’t want to, but he does it for her. Over the course of the night, he starts to care for her and look beneath the outcast image her peers hold.

[quote] I watched again after nine years, yesterday, the blood looked like chocolate

If so, it must have been a dark print of the movie, because the blood DID look red. It was indeed red syrup. The substance was actually Karo syrup and food coloring, which would get stuck on her skin because of the hot lights, according to IMDb.

I watched the blood pouring scene in one of the remakes and THAT looked fake. The original’s looked authentic I thought.

What makes Carrie so compelling every time I watch it is that I want her to have a fun night at the prom, fall in love with Tommy and be accepted by her peers. I dread the humiliation. The film resonates with those of us who were awkward in high school, felt unpopular, unloved, disrespected, and like an outsider.

We are Carrie.

MARY!!!!!!

The fate of Miss Desjardin in the novel is this. She gets a bloody nose when Carrie strikes out at her, but that's all. She is not cut in two by heavy machinery (Isn't that what happened to her in the movie?). She is not electrocuted. Near the end of the novel an excerpt from a resignation letter she she went to the principal stated:

{quote] ...am returning my contract to you at this time. I feel that I would kill myself before ever teaching again. Late at night I keep thinking: If only I had reached out to that girl, if only, if only...

[quote] She is not cut in two by heavy machinery (Isn't that what happened to her in the movie?).

The basketball hoop comes down and pins her against the wall.

Why did someone like you try to rape someone like me

R140 Sissy wore that corn syrup for over a week.

It's a real testament to this film that the sheer 70s-ness of it all doesn't detract at all for modern viewings, it just adds to the enjoyment. It's really a brilliant film. I remember one review couple on a podcast I was listening to once saying that the thing about this movie is that no matter how many times you watch it, everytime you can almost make yourself believe/hope that there will be a different outcome. I find myself that I fully experience the intended emotions up front every time that cause the whole prom scene to feel cathartic. It has that same effect on you as first time viewing, which is pretty amazing.

When Carrie first came out, there was a magazine called Cinefantastique that did a very long, in-depth article filled with tid-bits about the production of Carrie that was like catnip to anyone who loved DePalma's masterpiece. Among them:

When Carrie crucifies her mom, the knives land in the exact same pattern as the little Jesus statue that Carrie prays to in the closet under the stairs. With her last breath, when her head slumps down and then turns back up, she is mirroring that little statue. Beautiful end shot of Piper Laurie as the camera pulls back btw.

The potato peeler is the last kitchen gadget to go, and not only does it fly through the air as per Carrie, it also rotates. That was done for comic effect. Same goes for that last appendage Carrie struggles with when she undoes the Mrs. White from the kitchen doorway so they can die in one another's arms. That little popping sound you hear, that was intentional and played for laughs.

When Carrie exits the gym after offing the entire student body basically, that shot was filmed backwards (or she was actually walking backwards, I get confused) to give that shot a little extra dose of creepiness. that's why the fake smoke isn't billowing out of the building, it's billowing towards it.

The very last scene also got the backwards treatment, when Amy Irving is walking with flowers to the mother-daughter grave site. Also that scene, when S Spacek learned that they were bringing a stunt double in to play her hand, she was furious! She went directly to B DePalma and insisted that the stunt double be sent packing. Her argument? "My hand is my hand, and my arm is my arm. I can do this."

Three different LA area high schools were used for Carrie. The scene that introduces us to Tommy ('Coach said I made the nationals.") was shot at Pacific Palisades High School on PCH and . "The Palisades" is the township/hamlet above Santa Monica and below Malibu. The youngest of my four nieces graduated from Pali High June 2020. I attended it via Zoom, but there have been a few occasions whereI have had the honor of actually setting foot on the Pali High campus. I don't fan-out with Ashton about Carrie though. She's a good kid, sweet and considerate, but her frame of reference would be the more recent remake.

[quote]When Carrie first came out, there was a magazine called Cinefantastique that did a very long, in-depth article filled with tid-bits about the production of Carrie that was like catnip to anyone who loved DePalma's masterpiece. Among them:

Here's the cover. I still have this magazine.

[quote]The potato peeler is the last kitchen gadget to go, and not only does it fly through the air as per Carrie, it also rotates. That was done for comic effect. Same goes for that last appendage Carrie struggles with when she undoes the Mrs. White from the kitchen doorway so they can die in one another's arms. That little popping sound you hear, that was intentional and played for laughs.

But the audience didn't laugh. I saw it four times in the theater and the audience always groaned because it made it real that she was attached to the wall. When the laser disc was released before DVD was developed the print was so clear you could see every wire used to propel the cutlery. When it was time for the DVD they erased the wires.

Love details like ths, thanks so much R147 R148!

[Quote] The potato peeler is the last kitchen gadget to go, and not only does it fly through the air as per Carrie, it also rotates. That was done for comic effect

I didn’t find that in the least bit comical. It was terrifying.

R146 and yet it does not have a 70's era rock/pop soundtrack, which I think helps the film greatly. Maybe acquiring the rights to the music wasn't in the budget, or DePalma chose from the start to go with songs that were made for the movie (The Education Blues," "I Never Dreamed Someone Like You etc.). The lack of 70s pop music makes it less dated and more timeless. The only song I can think of that doesn't fit that mold is 'Heat Wave' in the scene with Billy and Chris that's rights out of American Grafitti

I wish Pino Donaggio had gone back to Italy and created an Italian opera version of Carrie. I don't know what words best describe it, but it would not be a modern opera. It would be dense, layered, tragic, overwrought and without english supertitles.

Donaggio's score is one of the big elements that's missing in the other adaptations, although, there are moments in Michael Gore's score for the musical that are lovely such as "Evening Prayers". There's such a delicacy to Donaggio's score throughout most of the film until you get to the revenge scene and it becomes cold and very drone heavy. I always liked that contrast a lot. It's so emotional and you don't get big emotional scores like that these days for horror films. Maybe modern audiences find them silly and overwrought, but they can bring a lot to a horror film.

Wow r148 thank you for posting that, such a good follow up to R147. The article shares something with when I read Pauline Kael's review of The Shining in the New Yorker. Evdey time I turned the age to continue reading, it just kept going, and going and going. It's a long-ass review!

Here's another Carrie tid-bit:

There are two shots in the movie that were filmed in two pieces and spliced together later to create one shot. I think it's called 'rack focus,' and these days it's probably not an issue, but at the time you couldn't get one shot with an actor in focus in the foreground, and a second actor in the background with the same focus. In the English class scene, with Tommy in front and Carrie sevefal desks behind him ("It's beautiful"), and in Miss Collins' detention, where the girls are bobbing in place and Miss Collins is in front ("C'mon you hotshots!":), then Chris stops and walks towards her, look closely and you will see a fuzzy line running down the middle of the screen. That's where the two shots were merged together.

And wasn't coupling the gay, effeminate english teach hanging with tough, butch Miss Collins (and note that it's MISS Collins) at the prom so ... accurate?

R148 I never expect the audience to laugh at the potato peeler shot. There's enough going on in that scene as it is. To me it's more of an odd little touch.

That's split diopter, R153, and De Palma loves it. It usually pops up at least once in most of his movies. It's a cool trick.

In the book the entire town is almost destroyed.

Sissy Spacek was a convincing teen

[quote] In the book the entire town is almost destroyed.

De Palma didn't have the budget to have her destroy most of the town. But if he had I think he would have loved to have done it.

In the novel, after Carrie leaves the school (the school eventually explodes) she starts heading for home and on the way she sets fires, disables fire hydrants and pulls down electrical cables.

No, we all saw it 40 years ago dear.

Just watched the 2002 version yesterday, shitty version! Worse than the 2013 one, BUT it did have a very beautiful cast!

As for the remakes, many people said Chloe Moretz was too good looking to play Carrie, but my issue was with her acting.

She was a perfectly reasonable, albeit shy young lady. She project the oddness or neediness or pathos that single kids out as likely targets of bullying.