Some artists and creators become legends by producing legendary material, while some become legends by courting controversy and conversation with the works they produce, regardless of the quality. Brian De Palma has done a a bit of both. His best and best known works are signature, pocked masterpieces. Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables, Sisters, Dressed to Kill, Blowout. They are all distinctly De Palma movies, full of uncomfortable canted camera angles, deplorable behavior and queasy violence. Even his sole venture into Hollywood blockbuster territory produced the surprisingly intense and sporadically brutal Mission: Impossible, setting the stage for that series to invite other directors to partake in the “be yourself but with a bigger budget” fun.
With De Palma turning seventy-five last year, it seems like this is a good time for someone to release a documentary for De Palma devotees to delve into. Getting the man himself to share stories of his clashes with the MPAA, his approach and his influences is almost the only way to approach such a documentary, and the trailer below verifies that this is exactly what will be delivered.
