Caliking

OK...I have been watching a few De Palma movies recently (he rips a lot off from other directors but some of his stuff is still good to watch...and who doesnt "borrow" from other directors anyway?). He is one of those love em or hate em directors that people can never seem to agree on. i was wondering what the rest of you thought. so here it goes...De Palmas best and worst:

Worst
Body Double--my wife and i just finished this one with a friend...stupid! i couldnt stand this movie and it was heavily suggested to me. although it was fun to griffith with nothing on.

Wise Guys-- i saw this long ago and i must not have liked it because i can barely remember it.

Mission Impossible--i just couldnt take this movie. not sure why but it did not enjoy it

Snake Eyes--i almost walked out on this one. one of the most dissapointing movies ever for me! i was so excited to see this and it blew!



Best
Carrie--love spacek! good horror

Dressed to Kill--hitch...um i mean, de palma puts out a good one using hitchcock's formula...psychotic thriller. i enjoyed it no matter rip off or not

Scarface--ultimate gangster flick

The Untouchables--capone era ganster flick...and a good one

Raising Cain--another psychotic thriller...i think this one is one of those cheesey movies that i ended up liking for some stupid reason...i have not seen it in a long while but i remember liking it although it wasn't that great

Carlito's Way: another gangster film...he seems to do pretty good in the genre

Femme Fatale: his latest and my favorite of all his movies. i really enjoyed this movie. good twists...camera work...acting not too bad. story solid. a bit of a rip off from hitchcock and perhaps lynch but like i said, who doesnt borrow (i know...some try harder to be more original)

Kashmir

Best
Scarface
The Untouchables
Carlito' s Way

Worst
Raising Cain

mookyman

Best:

Carrie - My favorite of De Palma's.
Scarface
Phantom of the Paradise
Sisters
Casualties of War

Worst:

Body Double
The Bonfire of the Vanities
Snake Eyes

Matthew Chmiel

Best:
- Anything pre-Scarface (with the exception of The Untouchables).

Worst:
- Everything after Scarface.

ianholm

Best: Scarface

Worst: Snake Eyes

caiman

Best: Scarface

Worst: Mission to Mars

shanester

Snake Eyes

Scarface
The Untouchables
Carrie

DRG

Best: Untouchables (although I haven't seen Scarface)
Worst by far: Mission to Mars

joeydaninja

Untouchables rules!

Supreme Sean

Best- Blow Out ( Classic ), Carlito's Way, The Untouchables, Mission: Impossible

Mediocre - Scarface, Snake Eyes

Worst- Mission To Mars, Bonfire Of The Vanities

Mountain Biker

Best:

Carrie
Casualties of War
Scarface
Sisters
The Untouchables

William Fuld

Best: Sisters
Worst: Mission to Mars

TheMadMonk

I enjoyed Femme Fatale, Scarface is a classic, and Carrie was ok (haven't seen that one in a looooong time). Haven't seen any of the others.

marty888

With the exception of Bonfire and Snake Eyes I've enjoyed all his films to one degree or another. I've especially liked Carrie, Casualties of War, Scarface, Untouchables and am pleased to see that some people are now catching up with Femme Fatale which is a stunner!

Groucho

Best:

Body Double (I can't believe somebody put this on the WORST list!)
Blow-Out
The Untouchables

Worst:

The Bonfire of the Vanities

wendersfan

Best would be Body Double, Dressed to Kill, and Femme Fatale. Casualties of War was very good, too. His worst would include Scarface and Bonfire of the Vanities, both of which are completely unwatchable. How anyone can enjoy his "remake" of Scarface is beyond me.

movielib

Best (not in order):

Phantom of the Paradise
Dressed to Kill
Obsession
Blow-Out
Scarface
Carrie
Casualties of War
Sisters
Carlito's Way
Body Double (I agree with you, Groucho, I love this one - hope you're not kidding )

Obviously, I like a lot of his movies, but when he's bad, he's horrid - worst (not in order):

Raising Cain
Wise Guys
The Bonfire of the Vanities

Ginwen

Best: Phantom of the Paradise (a movie I love)

Worst: Mission to Mars

inri222

Best: Sisters / Blow Out / Carlito's Way / Dressed to Kill / Carrie

Worst: Mission to Mars / The Bonfire of the Vanities / Mission Impossible

Sunday Morning

I'm not sure I should participate in a thread where someone named body double de palma's worst film... but...

I will!


Best:

1. Carrie
2. Blow out
3. Dressed to kill
4. Sisters
5. Body double


Worst: The bonfire of the vanities, but it's an interesting failure.

I love all of his movies, who am I kidding!

zekeburger1979

Best:

Mission: Impossible
Untouchables
Scarface
Untouchables
Carrie
Casualties of War

Worst:

Bonfire of the Vanities (Worst movie of all time IMO)
Snake Eyes
Mission to Mars

Charlie Goose

In order of preference, from best to worst.

Carrie (1976)
Casualties of War (1989)
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Wise Guys (1986)
Carlito's Way (1993)
Blow Out (1981)
Untouchables, The (1987)
(here's where it starts to get BAD)
Body Double (1984)
Scarface (1983)
Raising Cain (1992)
Mission to Mars (2000)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Snake Eyes (1998)
Sisters (1973)
Fury, The (1978)
Bonfire of the Vanities, The (1990)

Honk!

mookyman

That's a good idea above, so I decided to elaborate on my earlier post. From best to worst of what I've seen:

Carrie (1976)
Scarface (1983)
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Sisters (1973)
Casualties of War (1989)
Blow Out (1981)
The Fury (1978)
The Untouchables (1987)
Femme Fatale (2002)
Dressed to Kill (1980)
Raising Cain (1992)

Brian De Palma is actually one of my favorite directors, and as The Devil's Candy points out, only the greatest directors can make spectacular failures. Thus, here are some of his, em, signs of greatness.

The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) - Though not as bad as its reputation suggests.
Mission: Impossible (1996)
Mission to Mars (2000)
Snake Eyes (1998)
Body Double (1984) - I noticed a lot of defense for this title and am interested to hear why people loved it. I thought it was wildly inconsistent and kinda cheesy, but I'd be willing to reevaluate it.

Geofferson

Best (in no particular order):

Carrie
Phantom of the Paradise
Dressed to Kill
Blow Out
Femme Fatale
The Untouchables
Carlito's Way
The Fury
Sisters

Worst:

Snake Eyes
Wise Guys
Bonfire of the Vanities
Obsession

Mediocre:

Scarface
Mission: Impossible
Casualties of War
Mission to Mars
Body Double
Raising Cain

Spiderbite

Good: Blow Out, Body Double, Carlito's Way, Carrie, Casualties of War, Scarface, The Untouchables

Bad: Dressed To Kill, Mission: Impossible, Mission To Mars, Raising Cain, Snake Eyes

I have never seen: Bonfire of the Vanities, Femme Fatale, The Fury, Get To Know Your Rabbit, Greetings, Hi Mom, Home Movies, Obsession, Phantom Of Paradise, Sisters, The Wedding Party, Wise Guys