Auteurs,

Holy Mackerel! Baumbach & Paltrow's De Palma documentary is outstanding! A ★★★★★ revelation and one of the most engaging & insightful making of film documentaries I have ever seen as it offers a voyeuristic look into the head of Brian De Palma, the modern Master of the psychological drama - FILM REVIEW

Thursday, September 29, 2016 Craig Grobler 0 Comments

De Palma Documentary Review Blow OutI absolutely loved Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow's De Palma. A documentary that is ostensibly about a man sitting in front of a camera and talking, telling you his story - the story of his life and the story of his passion – making films. 

I say ostensibly as much like the visual tricks De Palma employs for sleight of hand or to heighten effect and suspense – mine is a deceptively simple deconstruction as - at the heart of making film - is story telling. And Brian De Palma can tell a story.

     Look! This isn't so much a review of Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow's De Palma - it's brilliant please go see it. This is more about my surprise at rediscovering Brian De Palma's works, style and one of my favourite films of all time - Brian De Palma's Blow Out.

     There is very little that is conventional about Brian De Palma, so his films are unlikely to ever fit in an easily categorised box. He has raised as much controversy as he has accolades over his 31 feature film, 60 year career. He has made crime films, comedy, political intrigue, satire, high action, science fiction all with some of the biggest names in Hollywood and carved a distinct path for himself with psycho sexual dramas. He has the unique ability to play with film technique and deliver an engaging tale that will keep you guessing and surprised throughout. He also made one of my favourite films of all time. Yet he has remained a fairly enigmatic and private person. I do not believe he has actually even contributed to a Director's commentary on any of his DVD/Blu Rays.

     So when the opportunity came to see a documentary made by two friends of his, based on a series of ongoing conversations they have being having with him about his career, which became a feature length documentary I jumped at the chance. And was rewarded with one of the best cinematic experiences of the year and fell in love with Brian De Palma's films all over again. This is a documentary for anyone who likes Brian De Palma's films, anyone with an interest in filmmaking and anyone who loves film.

One of the most talented, influential, and iconoclastic filmmakers of all time, Brian De Palma’s career started in the 60s and has included such acclaimed and diverse films as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way, and Mission: Impossible.

In this lively, illuminating and unexpectedly moving documentary, directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow engage in a personal and candid discussion with De Palma, exploring not only his life and work but also his singular approach to the craft of filmmaking and his remarkable experiences navigating the film business, from his early days as the bad boy of New Hollywood to his more recent years as a respected veteran of the field.

In the end, what emerges is a funny, honest, and incisive portrait of a truly one-of-a-kind artist, and an exhilarating behind-the-scenes look at the last 50 years of the film industry through the eyes of someone who has truly seen it all.ne of the most talented, influential, and iconoclastic filmmakers of all time, Brian De Palma’s career started in the 60s and has included such acclaimed and diverse films as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way, and Mission: Impossible.

De Palma Quad poster
De Palma Quad poster [enlarge]    
My feelings about the film may be a bit odd considering I am not the biggest fan of De Palma's films. 

Don't get me wrong I actively seek out his films and on a technical level they are always par excellence but with regards to the material I have had various degrees of satisfaction in return. 

I certainly rate a large portion of the body of his work very highly: Dressed to Kill, Scarface, The Untouchables, Casualties of War & Carlito's Way.
And have enjoyed with some interest his many intense dramas which have earned him the moniker “Master of the psychological drama”, even his much maligned adaptation of Bonfire of the Vanities (in all fairness I had not read Tom Wolfe's book until after seeing De Palma's version and even then still enjoyed it), his Mission: Impossible is still the best of the series in spite of that helicopter in the chunnel scene (which is actually discusses in the documentary) and I can fully, as anyone who loves films appreciate his uncanny ability to tell a story in an exciting and fresh way across his diverse body of work.

     Video: De Palma Movie CLIP - Mission Impossible (2016) - Brian De Palma Documentary 


     But his vastly different body of work pales in comparison to his 1981 masterpiece - Blow Out, which to this day is one of my favourite films of all time.

     Before we get there though a little preamble may be needed.

     De Palma's 4th feature Dionysus in '69, an experimental performance art, adaptation of Euripides' The Bacchae may be thought of as extraneous in the context of his other works at the time, but the strain of Greek Tragedy permeates throughout all his serious works and nowhere is it more poignant than in Blow Out. But it is far from a dreary affair as there is much playful in-humour that sadly will disarm you, much like Hitchcock toying with you before the grand Guignol is unveiled.

     On a related note The Bacchae seems to be a major influence on De Palma's works both stylistically and symbolically.

The Bacchae is concerned with two opposite sides of human nature: the rational and civilized side, which is represented by the character of Pentheus, the king of Thebes, and then there is the instinctive side, which is represented by Dionysus. This side is sensual without analysis, it feels a connection between man and beast, and it is a potential source of divinity and spiritual power.
     - Wiki

     To create a more immersive experience of Dionysus in '69, De Palma used a split screen effect for the whole film to capture both the performers and the audience reacting and interacting. This was the first time De Palma used this technique, which he has subsequently used to create effect throughout his body of work and has now become perhaps his most well known stylistic trait.

Brian De Palma - Split Screen Shots
Brian De Palma - Split Screen Shots [Enlarge]    

     And all the tropes of Greek tragedy are evident throughout his works; power, greed, family, sex, betrayal, revenge, star crossed lovers, both the tragic hero & tragic villain, hamartia, tragic and twist endings ... but that is another story.

     If you haven't seen Blow Out I recommend that you skip the spoilery next bit and just go watch it, please do let me know your thoughts if you do.

Brain De Palma Blow Out John Travolta great Deep Focus Shots
Brain De Palma Blow Out John Travolta great Deep Focus Shot    

     Blow Out is loosely based on Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 classic Blow-Up which starred David Hemmings as a photographer who becomes embroiled in dark events captured by his camera. Blow Out echoes this but is a brilliantly constructed and gripping modern tale filled with tropes and the techniques that De Palma is known for, but it is also the film that took my innocence from me, it's the film that introduced the concepts of loss, grimey reality - it's set in New York at it's worst period in recent history), conspiracy (which I didn't fully comprehend till much later) and sometimes the hero doesn't get the girl in the end. It is Greek tragedy in full effect.

Brian De Palma John Travolta Nancy Allen Despair Event Horizon Juxtoposition
Brian De Palma John Travolta Nancy Allen - Despair Event Horizon Juxtoposition    

     All of these were foreign concepts to me at the time but De Palma creates a disturbingly realistic world that allows these concepts to come home to roost in full effect. Additionally the action is brought to life by a core cast that De Palma has worked with and knows well, so he can play to their strengths.

     Video: BLOW OUT (1981) Trailer - The Criterion Collection 

The protagonist of Blow Out, Jack Terry played by John Travolta in his finest role to date, is just an average guy, a sound specialist by trade that may one day be a master of his craft, but he stumbles into a dark adventure and very quickly finds himself in way over his head.

Despite his efforts being thwarted at every turn -  he does what we are all supposed to do - the right thing. 

5 years early Travolta worked with De Palma on his adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie.
The antagonist of the piece - Burke is perhaps the Norman Bates of the age, a duplicitous corporate stylised psychopath.

He could be your neighbour, a guy you pass in the street or someone in the office next door.  He is played with both charm and chilling detachment by John Lithgow.


Lithgow also worked with De Palma 5 years earlier on Obsession and again in 1992 as the lead in Raising Cain.

Brian De Palma Blow Out Nancy Dead Fish Nancy Allen Split Screen
Brian De Palma Blow Out Nancy Dead Fish Nancy Allen Split Screen    
     Between Jack and Burke, Nancy Allen's Sally Bedina is drawn into an increasingly fraught situation. And again this might just be Nancy Allen's best performance - lifting the damsel in distress to complicated and engaging personality.

     By this point Allen had featured in 3 De Palma films: Carrie, Home Movies and Dressed to Kill. De Palma and Allen met on Carrie and were married a little later.

     An excellent cast directed by a man with vision and that magical period when ambition fuels technical craftsmanship to deliver spellbinding cinema.

     Additionally a precise melancholy and  haunting score by Italian maestro Pino Donaggio (Don't Look Now, Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Appointment with Death) makes Blow Out a rare film where not only is an incredible amount of attention put into the sound, but the audio plays as important part in the film as the visuals. Donaggio worked with De Palma 7 times his scores for De Palma's Carrie and Dressed to Kill are highly rated amongst fans of the genre. Tarantino Sally and Jack from Donaggio's Blow Out score for his 6th film Death Proof.

     That combined with the darkly beautiful cinematography from Vilmos Zsigmond (Deliverance, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Deer Hunter, Heaven's Gate, The Two Jakes, The Crossing Guard) who worked with De Palma 4 times - making Blow Out compelling and powerful viewing.

     As dark as the set up of Blow Out is, the most chilling thing about it is, not that there is a stone cold serial killer on the loose, authority cover ups or that world De Palma presents is fraught with danger and systemic corruption but that sometimes for “evil”, for lack of better word, to succeed it does not come down to “evil” being stronger or cleverer or good being weaker or outsmarted -  but to man being more preoccupied with self interest, their daily lives ticking over without rocking the boat the safety of indifference or having to put in additional effort to make a difference. A sad and real indictment of times.

Brian De Palma's Blow Out Nancy Allen
Brian De Palma's Blow Out Nancy Allen    
     Much like other De Palma films there is more to the story than is seen on screen, he after all came from the same school of countercultural political liberation as George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. I knew De Palma was part of the New Hollywood movement that all those guys were part of but only through the De Palma documentary did I become aware of the close friendship that he shared with the others in the group, so much so that Spielberg and Scorsese partly financed his 1979 film about making films - Home Movies made.

     Video: De Palma Movie CLIP - Old Hollywood (2016) - Brian De Palma Documentary HD 

     The documentary also reveals how De Palma "discovered" Robert De Niro, cast him in his first roles and introduced him to Martin Scorsese who put him in Taxi Driver.  It is a goldmine that brings this film history to live .

In the 1970s, De Palma helped a close friend on a film project. He helped audition and interview actors. When the film was shot, DePalma did some uncredited writing on an opening "scrawl," a device the friend thought of at the last minute to help explain events in the film, so the audience would not be confused. The friend was George Lucas and the film was Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

     - IMDB

Brian De Palma John Travolta epiphany in Blow Out
Brian De Palma Blow Out John Travolta epiphany   
     And whilst this was not a new paradigm, post 60s and Watergate there was a deluge of conspiracy films that expressed similar themes but De Palma's Blow Out seemed to be outside the Hollywood fantasy engine and he seemed to be a distinctive lone maverick voice making personal or intimate films within a larger framework that touches like a punch to the gut on a personal or emotional level.

     I love Blow Out and feel it is a masterpiece of cinema but I was curious how others saw it in context to De Palma's body of work so after some research I created the infographic below comparing ratings from across IMDB and both Rotten Tomatoes Audience & Critics ratings to see how they match-up. I did not included De Palma's short films or the music video work with Bruce Springsteen, which was highly rated, but I want to focus on narrative.

Brian De Palma Films audience ratings
Brian De Palma Films audience ratings [Enlarge]    

De Palma

A documentary about writer and director, Brian De Palma.

Director:
Noah Baumbach & Jake Paltrow

Stars:
Brian De Palma

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    So Blow Out actually comes in at a tie as his 6th highest rated film and surprisingly The Phantom of the Paradise scored quite high at 3, but Scarface is his most popular film - unsurprising, given its place in our cultural lexicon - what with all the guns, violence, power and sex, followed by The Untouchables, then The Phantom of the Paradise, followed by Carrie at 4 with Carlito's Way and Blow Out tied at 6th. Possibly unsurprising as Carlito's Way as my second favourite De Palma.

     It would appear that Blow Out may still be a little too esoteric when compared his far more accessible/commercial crime thrillers.


     Part of the reason I went off De Palma's films a while back causing a lapse in seeing his films was his remake of Scarface or more accurately, the marketing and perception of Scarface. In that it seemed to glamorises violence, guns and greed. Much like Oliver Stone's Wall Street (coincidentally Stone also wrote De Palma's Scarface) and Mary Harron's adaptation of Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho - these films and lead characters have taken on a life of their own and somehow become inspirational templates rather than cautionary tragic tales of power and greed that they are. Perhaps unsurprising as their seems to be a growing void of intelligent literature and cinema for men that doesn't enforce some politicised agenda.

     When I eventually got around to seeing Scarface I was surprised to see that it was quite the opposite of what I had expected and a startling film. Which brings me to - I feel I should add that, much like Tarantino after him, Brian De Palma to some extent is pigeon holed as the violence, misogyny, guns, sleaze, exploitation films guy. And its easy to get lost in all the violence and hinted blood but for me - that has always been less a part of his films than the meticulous planning and preparation that must go into rolling out a clever and surprising story, especially given the proliferation of of films in the genre, that planning extends to the visual ingenuity going into how he tells a story. I feel the violence sleaze, guns etc. are, in the parlance of Alfred Hitchcock - MacGuffins or devices to get the audience to an emotional state or hooks into a world for the story to take place in.

Brian De Palma Al Pacino Carlito's Way Pool Hall Visual Ingenuity
Brian De Palma Al Pacino Carlito's Way Pool Hall Visual Ingenuity    

     The kind of meticulous planning and preparation I am talking about is demonstrated in this, what must have been a painstakingly time consuming breakdown of the 215 shots making up the 10 minute Union Station shoot-out scene from The Untouchables done by film fan Antonios Papantoniou. Bear in mind this is the finished scene and does not include the shots and set ups there were inevitably not used and ended up on the cutting room floor.

     Video: BRIAN DE PALMA Shot by Shot 


     The influence of  Hitchcock on De Palma's work is overt and something De Palma has never tried to hide in, fact he relishes in this and in the De Palma documentary discusses how Hitchcock is cited as a giant influence on cinema and no where is this more apparent that De Palma's own works and I have to agree.

     He is very much is a successor to Hitchcock's techniques and narrative play, with the added poignancy of not having the confines of the period - as alluded to by both Tarantino (who is a huge fan of De Palma) and De Palma on occasion. Please don't think I am drawing parallels to the kind of films Tarantino and De Palma make – they are very much their own and different film-makers but do share certain commonalities in their approach and content as do De Palma and Alfred Hitchcock.

     Video: Quentin Tarantino on Hitchcock and Brian De Palma  

Quentin Tarantino Split Diopter Shots from Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino Split Diopter Shots from Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction    
     Similar narrative elements can be seen in Body Double which hommages Rear Window & VertigoObsession which references Vertigo and Dressed to Kill is influenced by Psycho. Other Similarities in De Palma's films that are influenced by Hitchcock's include; damsels in distress, alluding to violence, similar locations, camera techniques, frame composition and music and in fact De Palma worked with long time Hitchcock composer Bernard Herrmann on Obsession (1976) and Sisters (1972).

Master of the psychological thriller, De Palma has consistently demonstrated a fluent, inventive cinematic style. Sometimes criticized as a mere imitation of Alfred Hitchcock, De Palma's work, though it pays homage to Hitchcock, differs strikingly in subject matter and technique.

Similarly criticized for portraying graphic violence, De Palma responds that he is incorporating Eisenstein's theory of montage as conflict, that "film 'is' violence." Stylization acts to aesthetically distance De Palma's violence so that it becomes a visual effect rather than a naturalistic detail.

     - Alfred Hitchcock Fan Site Hitchcock.tv

     Also most noticeably their shared interest in voyeurism or surveillance. In the De Palma documentary De Palma discusses and reveals the astoundingly fascinating roots of this obsession from events within his personal life and its indelible mark it can be seen throughout his works.

Brian De Palma Carlito's Way Al Pacino Watches
Brian De Palma Carlito's Way Al Pacino Watches    
Being a Director is being a watcher.”
     - Brian De Palma, De Palma, 2015

Brian De Palma - Surveillance Voyeur Watching
Brian De Palma - Surveillance Voyeur Watching [Enlarge ]     

     Along with Split Screens other Brian De Palma stylistic traits often used to emphasise mood or personality include; split diopter or deep focus shots (an extension of the Split Shot effect giving equal attention and focus to both close and distant objects.),

Brian De Palma - Deep Focus Split Focus Diopter Shots
Brian De Palma - Deep Focus Split Focus Diopter Shots [Enlarge]    
- This is extrapolated to shots of characters walking both to and from the camera.

Brian De Palma Blow Out Nancy Allen Following Walking From Camera
Brian De Palma Blow Out Nancy Allen Following Walking From Camera    
- Stalking/Following, as well long following scenes, if I remember correctly from the documentary the longest I believe was in Body Double,
- Slow-motion,
- Dutch or canted angle shots,
- Events seen from different angles or perceptions,
- slow (and at least one fast reveal) sweeping camera pans & 360-degree shots

Brian De Palma Carlito's Way John Leguizamo Fast Pan Reveal
Brian De Palma Carlito's Way John Leguizamo Fast Pan Reveal    

- God's eye POV (from above).
- Enclosed or confined spaces.

Brian De Palma Mission: Impossible Tom Cruise God's Eye View
Brian De Palma Mission: Impossible Tom Cruise God's Eye View     
- the famous De Palma long shots, often single takes.

     In the opening clip from his 1998 Snake Eyes we follow lead Nicolas Cage's Rick Santoro as he goes about his hustling, and this comes full circle back to the split screen technique of Dionysus in '69 which was used as an immersive device to draw the audience in to what is happening on screen as we become voyeurs, with this long take De Palma does the exactly the same thing drawing us into the world and action of Rick Santoro.

     VIDEO: BRIAN DE PALMA 12,5 MINUTES ONE SHOT  


     Few have the vision or talent to bring all these techniques and traits together in such a fluid and unique way to keep the narrative flowing, engaging and surprising like De Palma, a master of his craft.


Q: De Palma has a lovely confessional manner in the film – it almost echoes the sharp, funny tone of a written memoir – and there’s a purity to it. Did that evolve out of your already established friendships with him?

Noah Baumbach : We always saw the film as a conversation with our friend … who also happens to be Brian De Palma. A lot of what works in the movie comes from a real intimacy amongst friends. It
started because we’d had so many conversations like this at dinner that were so fascinating and so
funny. We cover new territory in the film, stuff we never talked about at dinner, and the film is
much more comprehensive than any single conversation. Anyone who does a lot of media
interviews, as Brian has, develops a public persona where you’re always performing to some
degree – but this was different, because it was really just the three of us having an open, honest
conversation about making movies-only we filmed it. Jake and I had no agenda other than to let
Brian tell his stories the way he wanted to tell them. We didn’t use notes; we just let it be a
natural flow of conversation, though there were a few great stories we knew we wanted to hear
again.

Jake Paltrow: We were always gratified by how unguarded Brian is when he talks with us. The stories he shares, the advice he gives, the experience and the clarity he brings were so valuable to us, that
led us to realize anyone might get that same enjoyment from these conversations. And even
selfishly, we really just wanted to document Brian’s stories for our own pleasure. As soon as he
agreed to do the film, we put it together in a week or two. But only when we started shooting did
we realize the film it was going to be. He’s so articulate and electric, and what he’s saying is so
fascinating, and all those things instantly came together.


One of the most talented, influential, and iconoclastic filmmakers of all time, Brian De Palma’s career started in the 60s and has included such acclaimed and diverse films as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way, and Mission: Impossible.

In this lively, illuminating and unexpectedly moving documentary, directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow engage in a personal and candid discussion with De Palma, exploring not only his life and work but also his singular approach to the craft of filmmaking and his remarkable experiences navigating the film business, from his early days as the bad boy of New Hollywood to his more recent years as a respected veteran of the field.

In the end, what emerges is a funny, honest, and incisive portrait of a truly one-of-a-kind artist, and an exhilarating behind-the-scenes look at the last 50 years of the film industry through the eyes of someone who has truly seen it all.

     The Establishing Shot: DE PALMA DOCUMENTARY ★★★★★ TRAILER - 23 SEPTEMBER 2016  


DE PALMA is released in UK cinemas 23 September 2016 and I recommend you see it as soon as possible.

The Establishing Shot: HOLY MACKEREL! BAUMBACH & PALTROW'S DE PALMA DOCUMENTARY IS OUTSTANDING! A ★★★★★ REVELATION AND ONE OF THE MOST ENGAGING & INSIGHTFUL MAKING OF FILM DOCUMENTARIES I HAVE EVER SEEN AS IT OFFERS A VOYEURISTIC LOOK INTO THE HEAD OF BRIAN DE PALMA, THE MODERN MASTER OF THE PSYCHOLOGICAL DRAMA - FILM REVIEW

Craig Grobler will flip ya, flip ya, flip ya for real
Craig is a retired superhero, an obsessive hobbyist, comics fan, gadget lover & flâneur who knows an unhealthy amount about Ian Fleming's James Bond.

When not watching or making films he takes pictures, eats, drinks, dives, tries to connect to nature whilst mentally storyboarding the greatest film ever made. He also  & sometimes utilises owl-themed gadgets to fight crime. 

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