Blood Sisters | Cinema Parrot Disco

Happy Birthday to Brian De Palma, who turns 78 today.

I really love some of De Palma’s films. And feel “meh” about some. And kind of hate a couple. And still haven’t seen some of his big ones (I’ve listed those at the end). His movies really are all over the place on quality & on genre! I do really like when he’s gone more “horror” but his crime films are great.

So here are my top ten De Palma films that I’ve seen, although I didn’t really like number 10 and barely remember number 9. And 11 was…. Ugh! I’m sure some of those I haven’t seen or need to re-watch would make this list (certainly Blow Out or Body Double). I’ll update this list when I see or re-watch any.

My Top Ten Brian De Palma Movies (I’ve seen 11…):

11. Mission To Mars (UGH)

Top Ten:

10. Snake Eyes (ugh)

9. Casualties Of War

8. The Fury

7. Mission: Impossible

6. Sisters (aka Blood Sisters)

5. Carlito’s Way (I could do with re-watching this…)

4. Phantom Of The Paradise

3. Scarface

2. The Untouchables

1. Carrie

Saw But Need To Re-Watch As Don’t Really Remember Them:
Blow Out & Body Double

Some I’ve Not Seen:
Hi, Mom!, Obsession, Dressed To Kill, The Bonfire Of The Vanities, Raising Cain, The Black Dahlia, Redacted, Passion

**Oh, and De Palma made that Bruce Springsteen video for Dancing In The Dark where he pulls that “random” pretty girl (Courteney Cox) out of the audience to dance with him (this is probably the only time you’ll see a Springsteen video on this blog. I’m not a fan…):

Sisters (aka Blood Sisters) (1973)

Directed by Brian De Palma

Starring:
Margot Kidder
Jennifer Salt
Charles Durning
William Finley

Running time: 92 minutes

Plot Synopsis: (via Wikipedia)
Sisters (also known as Blood Sisters in the United Kingdom) is a 1973 American horror film directed by Brian De Palma and starring Margot Kidder, Jennifer Salt and Charles Durning. The plot focuses on a French Canadian model whose separated Siamese twin is suspected of a brutal murder witnessed by a newspaper reporter in Staten Island.

My Opinion:

This is another horror film I watched a few months ago but never reviewed so I’ve decided to write a little something about it now for my Halloween Horror Fest.

Hmm. This is an odd one. I enjoyed it and I think it was quite good but it’s also not aged well. It’s one of those films that was probably quite shocking in 1973 but by now we’ve seen this same sort of story in a lot of films. So, even though now you can see “what’s really going on” from a mile off, I’m sure audiences found it a surprise at the time.

So, anyway – Margot Kidder is a French Canadian model who has a (possibly insane) separated Siamese twin. You know from the start of the movie that she has a twin but I thought the “Siamese” part was meant to be a surprise until later in the film but, oh well – it’s all over the posters for the film. They weren’t subtle in the 70s! And… I won’t go into the story any more as all you need to know is in the plot synopsis above and knowing any more would spoil the film.

De Palma has made some great (and diverse) films. Obviously, the film of his that this most resembles is Carrie. Sisters doesn’t seem to be very well known these days so I think it got overshadowed by Carrie, which came along just three years later. Which is a shame, really. Although I love Carrie and definitely prefer it, I still think Sisters is a decent film and worthy of more recognition.

That’s it. I’m keeping this short as I still have plenty of reviews to get through before Halloween. Do I recommend this? Well, it’s not for everyone. It’s very “70s” (which I personally love!). There’s a pretty brutal stabbing if you like that sort of thing. I think it’s nice and suspenseful with a good story (even though you’ll guess what’s going on within the first 30 minutes of the film). According to Wikipedia, the script was “largely influenced by the films of Alfred Hitchcock” so any sort of comparison to Hitchcock is going to get me interested in a movie (it made me watch Stoker). Basically, if you’re a big De Palma fan and especially if you like Carrie, you should give Sisters a try.