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Sep 08, 2015 Web Exclusive By Austin Trunick

Brian De Palma’s 1980 film Dressed to Kill is C-grade exploitation executed in A-plus form. An unhappy housewife (Angie Dickinson) becomes the victim of a homicidal maniac, and it’s up to her teenage son (Keith Gordon) and a high-end prostitute (Nancy Allen) who witnessed the crime to solve her murder. Michael Caine appears as the victim’s psychiatrist, and Dennis Franz plays an unhelpful police detective.

There are problems with how Dressed to Kill’s final villain is portrayed, but they can’t be discussed without spoiling the film’s (somewhat predictable) ending. Storywise, De Palma’s sleazy Hitchcock homage is little more than your run-of-the-mill erotic thriller, with heavily foreshadowed twists and a train of logic that requires more than a few sizable leaps. Those flaws are semi-obscured by the film’s constant, heavy stylization, from intriguingly-framed shots to split screens. (There’s a famous, lengthy seduction sequence set at the Metropolitan Museum of Art that is near-silent and inarguably impressive.) Despite the prowess behind the camera, Dressed to Kill still feels more like a knockoff than an homage. There are several Dario Argento giallos which come to mind as similar-type films, but are more unique and just as well-shot.

Criterion’s Blu-ray release of Dressed to Kill includes De Palma’s preferred, unrated cut of the film in a restored 4K transfer. Extras are packed onto the disc, including a new conversation between De Palma and filmmaker Noah Baumbach, as well as fresh interviews with star Nancy Allen, the producer, and composer for the film, and an older one with actor Keith Gordon. There’s a featurette detailing the cuts that were made to the film to avoid an X-rating, a profile of cinematographer Ralf Bode, a storyboard gallery, and a 2001 documentary on the making of the movie. It’s a lot to take in, and adds value to an otherwise middle-of-the-road De Palma movie.

www.criterion.com/films/28686-dressed-to-kill

Author rating: 5/10