The Movie
Angie Dickinson stars as a desperate housewife whose life takes a couple of unfortunate turns after a wild fling with a total stranger. The first is a major "Oh my God" bombshell, but the second has far greater consequences than that. And Dressed to Kill has no shortage of such twists upon twists, even if more than one element here is an homage to Hitchcock's Psycho.
A murder pulls the story in a violent new direction, and the resulting investigation calls to action a few of writer/director Brian DePalma's familiar themes, particularly the tech whiz who turns amateur sleuth, the unsympathetic cop, and wife Nancy Allen as the bimbo in the middle of it all.
Cross-dressing and transsexuality are essential to the storyline, so be prepared for some frank dialogue and graphic imagery in this, the 105-minute Unrated version of Dressed to Kill.
The Picture
DePalma's deliberate use of focus, particularly split-focus shots are well-maintained if not brilliantly so in this slightly soft AVC presentation, despite a bitrate often in the high-30-megabits-per-second range. The 2.35:1 image also exhibits substantial noise and grain. Blacks, while not exceptionally detailed, are largely organic at least.
The Sound
The 5.1-channel remix, now in high-resolution DTS-HD Master Audio boasts both a discrete rechanneling of effects--someone showering in another room, the clicks and clacks and clunks of young Peter's invention, footsteps behind us, the sounds of the city or a busy police station or some nasty weather--and a pleasing multichannel spread to Pino Donaggio's music. Sometimes the mix is surprisingly aggressive, making me wonder all over again what an audio-intensive flick like DePalma's Blow Out would have sounded like if remixed for modern home theaters.
The Extras
The fine array of extras is ported over from the 2001 DVD, almost all in standard definition. The 33-minute "making of" pulls together quite a few candid creator interviews, and this in turn leads to a six-minute "Appreciation" by co-star Keith Gordon, now himself an accomplished filmmaker who still raves about his Dressed to Kill director's work.
A five-minute comparison of the Unrated, R-rated and TV versions of the film might be the most interesting bit of all, paired with a ten-minute featurette about the controversial re-editing of the film. Worth noting is that the original theatrical trailer has been remastered for 1080p/24 HD.
Final Thoughts
Despite its conspicuous cinematic style and abundance of familiar trappings, Dressed to Kill remains an effective thriller: bloody, sexy and full of surprises. Extras-wise it's wearing the same old things, but the modest step up to high-def audio and video might compel DePalma fans to give it a stab.
Product Details
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