DRESSED TO KILL: DePalma's version of PSYCHO, but with more swearing and nudity!

Produced by Samuel Z. Arkoff and his Filmways Pictures on a budget of $8 million (which is a large budget that Arkoff was never used to before), DRESSED TO KILL is one of those films that I have read about alot, but never got a good chance to see it. I saw it on television once, but it was cut and had a horrible transfer. So now, after hearing so much about it I finally broke down and bought the MGM Special Edition DVD. The plot: Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is a sexually frustrated housewife who ends up being murdered by a mysterious woman, wearing black sunglasses and a black trenchcoat. Miller's psychiatrist Dr. Robert Elliot (Michael Cane) believes that one of his crazed patients killed her, but refuses to say anything due to his doubts. Yet, Detective Marino (Dennis Franz), Kate Miller's son Peter (Keith Gordon), and prostitute/murder witness Liz Blake (Nancy Allen) are on the trail to solve the murder.

I must confess that I really don't get Brian DePalma's work that much. He has talent, I will admit that. He is a damn fine visual storyteller in the likes of Lucio Fulci and Dario Argento. However, DePalma usually has trouble trying to create a straightforward, well-structured storyline. And when he defends his work, it's usually hard to believe. Facts of the case: re-read the plot description. Does it sound familiar? If you have seen Alfred Hitchcock's masterpiece PSYCHO (1960), then DRESSED TO KILL sounds like it's stepping on Hitchcock's toes! Consider this: in PSYCHO, Norman Bates becomes his alter-ego mother whenever he is aroused by a woman that he admires. The same goes for DRESSED TO KILL: the male murderer, when aroused by a woman he admires, his alter-woman ego steps in! Talk about similar! Not only that, but even the ending scene in which the psychiatrist Dr. Levy (played by David Margulies, who I might add has more hair in this film than he does in GHOSTBUSTERS) explains to Allen and Franz how the male murderer's alter-woman ego comes into being, transexuals, and such. While not ripped off word-for-word, it definatley mirrors the conclusion expository scene in PSYCHO in which actor Simon Oakland (in the role of a psychiatrist, sound familiar?) explains how Bates becomes his mother alter-ego, transexuals, etc! Talk about a mimic sequence. And again, it's hard to believe that DePalma just came up with this story out of the blue. Even the scene in which Dickinson's character is murdered has Pino Donaggio doing a off-kilter Berrnard Herrmann score that, if you listen carefully, echo's the PSYCHO score.

But then, despite DePalma's film coming across as a second-rate Hitchcock rip-off the film manages to bring about it's own theme. In PSYCHO, the Norman Bates character dresses up like his mother in order to imitate her so as to keep her memory alive. In DRESSED TO KILL, the male murderer dresses up like a woman and dreams of becoming a woman. One would say that's a small difference, but it is quite different than what Hitchcock would have created. But that's not to say that DePalma's film is better than Hitchcock; if only DePalma would have taken the film in a different route rather than imitating Hitchcock, be it intentional or unintentional, DRESSED TO KILL would have been a much better film. As it stands, DRESSED TO KILL isn't mediocre. Yet, the storyline is quite predictable at times, that is if you pay attention to the PSYCHO similarities. Another upside to the film is the performers. Michael Cane is perfect as the psychiatrist involved with the investigation. I have always admired Cane's acting and I must say if I ever made a film, be it horror or thriller, I would cast this guy in a heartbeat. Angie Dickinson is also pretty good as well and her steamy shower scene in the beginning is fantastic (sorry, but the nudity was supplied by a body double), yet I wished that she was not killed off so quickly as she needed more development within the feature. Dennis Franz is great as the foul-mouthed police inspector and I must say that it's quite funny to see Franz in a decked out 70's attire and having a bit more hair than he does today. The only roles that came about as out-of-place was Nancy Allen and Keith Allen. Both are not bad, but if only they had more to do in the film! And kudo's to Pino Donaggio for supplying a fine score, yet I still have to take a few points off of that one PSYCHO-copy score he did in the murder scene. Other than that, the rest of the music is good.

MGM presents DRESSED TO KILL, transferred from 35mm negative materials, in it's original 2.35:1 Panavision Aspect Ratio, enhanced for widescreen televisions. The presentation is not bad, but overall I expected a better transfer. Some scenes are very grany, but the color is decent and seeing it in widescreen for the first time is a revelation. Also, MGM has went all out to present the 'Theatrical R Rated Version' and the 'International Unrated Version' on the DVD. Both the R and Unrated version is 105 minutes, but their is some differences. In the R rated cut, the Dickinson full-frontal nude shower scene has been abbreviated and some harsh dialouge was re-looped. The Unrated cut, which was released in Europe uncut, is the version that DePalma intended it to be and rightly so. The frontal nudity and the harsh dialouge is all intact. Overall, MGM deserves some extra points for this one.

The extras are worthwhile as we are treated to a 'The Making of Dressed To Kill' documentary, featuring DePalma, Gordon, Franz, Dickinson, Allen, and a few others discussing their involvements and such. It's interesting, but once again DePalma's statements of how he was not entirely copying Hitchcock is hard to address. Another featurette is called 'Slashing Dressed To Kill' and discusses the interesting part of the film: it's theatrical release, the MPAA's terrible attitude towards DePalma's original cut, etc. Another featurette is 'An Appreciation by Keith Gordon' which basically involves Gordon defending DePalma's work and I must say it's interesting, but it's also one of those extras that comes across as a 'throw-away'. A photogallery, advertising gallery, and theatrical trailer are what's left in the end.

DRESSED TO KILL is a film I would give two and a half stars, PSYCHO deserves five. As for DePalma, I can't say he is a rip-off artist. Yet, critics who claim Luigi Cozzi ripped off ALIEN for his film CONTAMINATION (1980) might want to take a step back and look closer at DRESSED TO KILL. Cozzi used the concept of the alien eggs, but the rest is all Cozzi's own idea. DePalma used a large amount of Hitchcock's PSYCHO, and yet very little of his own ideas and concepts are used.

I look forward to seeing DePalma's BLOW-OUT, yet I do hope DePalma doesn't resort to Hitchcock-imitation product and settles for his own.