Brian DePalma and Alfred Hitchcock

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 3:50pm

Have any of you noticed that a lot of DePalma's movies (OBSESSION, BODY DOUBLE, etc.) are suspiciously similar in plot and shooting methods to Hitchcock movies (REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, etc.).

In interviews, DePalma states he is not "borrowing" from Hitchcock, but instead paying homage to the GREAT DIRECTOR OF SUSPENSE.

So, what do you guys think? Is DePalma "ripping off" Hitchcock, or paying him a complient by using his unique suspense techniques?

Or, maybe a little of both? :)

[Plum]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 3:53pm

I can't really speak for this specific example, but directors "pay homage" to one another by taking certain angles and techniques all the time, don't they?

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 4:00pm

That is true, Plum.

But there is a distinct difference by 'paying homage' (referencing a certain character or scene from a favorite movie by another director) than RIPPING OFF another Director's body of work to make YOUR OWN Films!

Case in point: DePalma's OBSESSION is Hitchcock's VERTIGO from START to FINISH.

All DePalma did was replace Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak with Cliff Robertson and Genieveve Bujold!

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 4:28pm

I love dePalma! I think he's one of the best working today. Yes, he cribs liberally from the masters, but so does everyone to some degree (Virtually all of the new "hot" directors like P.T. Anderson should pay Scorcese royalties). This would normally offend me, but his movies, when they work--and he's made some BIG-time boo-boos--are so damned entertaining. CARRIE, DRESSED TO KILL, SISTERS, CARLITO'S WAY, CASUALTIES OF WAR, his masterpiece BLOW OUT, and the hugely underrated FEMME FATALE are all infused with a kind of infectious movie-making fever that I totally dig on. I'll take de Palma over the best of Speilberg and Lucas any day.

[popcultureboy]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 4:37pm

I'll take de Palma over the best of Speilberg and Lucas any day.

That REALLY isn't saying much though, is it?

[mominator]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 4:39pm

But would you opt for DePalma over Hitchcock?

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 4:47pm

Honestly, I dunno.
I think DePalma is better with actors than Hitchcock was...oh, cahn't I have both? Cahn't I?

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:11pm

In 1941, as a change of pace, Hitchcock directed a comedy, MR. & MRS. SMITH, about a married couple who find out suddenly they were never really married. The film got got good reviews.

You give a script like that to DePalma and see what HE can do with it! :)

[B.B. Wolf]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:15pm

Well, Doug Liman is directing the remake so we may never know.

[mominator]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:15pm

Since it is your b-day Borsta yes you may have BOTH!

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:16pm

I love Hitchcock (my faves are 'Rear Window', 'Psycho', and 'Vertigo'), and I kinda like DePalma. I have to admit, though, that 'Femme Fatale' was one of the best films of 2002. Pure filmmaking.

[Mary_Ethel]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:17pm

B.B.,

Doug WHO?

[B.B. Wolf]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:19pm

Known mostly as a producer, but he he directed the Bourne Identity and the pilot for the OC and stuff like that. Exec. produced lots of stuff. I really dug the Bourne Identity, but I'm a sucker for spy flicks.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:25pm

He also did a film called GO which, speaking of rip-offs, is indebted quite a bit to PULP FICTION, but still entertaining.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:26pm

Anybody here enjoy Dario Argento..."the Italian Hitchcock"?

Updated On: 10/20/04 at 05:26 PM

[B.B. Wolf]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:30pm

I think ALL post-Pulp Fiction auteurs owe a great deal to Pulp Fiction, yes?

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/20/04 at 5:41pm

'Anybody here enjoy Dario Argento..."the Italian Hitchcock"?'

The only film I saw of his was 'Suspiria', which was an awkward experience, to say the least. In fact, I'm still not sure what I thought of it. Beautifully directed, though.