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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 2.35:1
  • 16:9 Enhanced
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
  • French: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • German: Dolby Digital Stereo
  • Italian: Dolby Digital Stereo
  Subtitles
    French, Italian, Dutch, English - Hearing Impaired, German - Hearing Impaired
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer - Original Theatrical Trailer, runs for 2:04

Dressed to Kill

20th Century Fox/20th Century Fox . R4 . COLOR . 100 mins . R . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Whilst Brian De Palma has directed some great films in his career such as Scarface, Mission: Impossible and The Untouchables, his attempt on Dressed To Kill is somewhat less of a triumph. Still, the film does have its merits. The story is distinctly in the style of Hitchcock and a number of scenes seem to be taken right from his movies, particularly Psycho.

The plot goes something like this. Kate Miller (played by Angie Dickinson) is a frustrated and unfulfilled housewife. She discusses her feelings with her psychiatrist, and this is where we are introduced to Michael Caine’s character Doctor Robert Elliott. Later that day she engages in an affair with a dark stranger, but discovers a secret that could expose her actions to her husband. She flees from the man’s apartment, and is timely slain in the elevator by a mysterious blonde woman. However, a prostitute named Liz (Nancy Allen) witnesses the murder and becomes a victim of circumstance when she grabs the murder weapon, becoming the main suspect of the killing.

Due to an apparent disinterest from the police force, the rest of the film is devoted to Liz and Kate’s son Peter’s (Keith Gordon) own investigation into finding the identity of the murderer. There are a few twists and turns along the way, and some scenes actually do produce quite a bit of suspense, though I think the impact of the discovery of the killer is given away a little while before it is meant to be. Also the movie would, in my opinion, be a lot better if the last ten minutes was cut off, it just seems to detract from the final impact.

  Video
Contract

The video transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, and is 16x9 enhanced. The disc is single layered.

After viewing this film, the one word that comes to mind to describe the transfer is ‘soft’. At times it feels like watching a soap opera, and the haze sometimes gets extremely annoying. Another problem with the transfer is the shadow detail. Many items seem to become lost in the darkness, and faces can be hard to see at times. Bursts of grain are not uncommon throughout the transfer, and film artefacts are also present in some scenes. Pixelation is also somewhat of a problem in a few scenes.

Some colours seem to be a little washed out and at other times seem over-saturated. There are no instances of colour bleeding, while flesh tones for the most part seem reasonably consistent and natural.

The subtitles included on the disc are English, French, German, Italian and Dutch. The English subtitles seem quite accurate.

  Audio
Contract

There are five soundtracks included on the disc; an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, and German, French and Italian Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo.

Overall, the audio transfer is of slightly better quality than the video. The dialogue mixing is quite well done, and is crisp and easy to understand for the most part. All the channels are used to create quite a suspenseful feeling at times, with some nice use of ambient sound and a musical score by Pino Donaggio that suits the mood quite well. I could detect no audio synch problems, nor any use of the subwoofer.

  Extras
Contract

The only extra included is the original Theatrical Trailer, which runs for 2:04.

  Overall  
Contract

With a big helping of sex and violence, Dressed To Kill is not for the faint of heart moviegoer. When placed next to Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho, the similarities seem to abound. I once read a description of Brian De Palma as “a poor man’s Hitchcock,” which whilst perhaps a little harsh, does fit as far as this film is concerned. If you are a fan of the suspense/thriller genre, this may be worth a look, but don’t expect anything earth shattering.


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      And I quote...
    "A thriller that lets the sex and gore fly like it’s going out of fashion..."
    - Robert Mack
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Sony DVP-NS300
    • TV:
          Sony 68cm
    • Receiver:
          Sony STR-DE475
    • Speakers:
          Sony
    • Centre Speaker:
          Sony
    • Surrounds:
          Sony
    • Subwoofer:
          Sony Active Superwoofer
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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