Sisters [DVD]

Danielle Breton meets Philip Woode on the set of a tv show called The Peeping Toms, as a prize he wins a dinner for two and decides to invite Danielle after they hit it off. During the romantic meal, they are rudely interrupted by her ex-husband Emil who insists she leaves with him. After a small altercation, Emil is escorted from the restaurant. Later on that night Danielle and Philip end up back at her apartment in Staten Island where Philip spots Emil outside, to get rid of Emil, Philip leaves the apartment and sneaks back later when Emil is gone. Philip arrives back at the apartment and the two make love on the sofa, where it's revealed that Danielle has a horriffic scar down her side. In the morning Philip wakes up to the sound of Danielle and her twin sister Dominique arguing in the corridor, so he slips into the bathroom to change where he accidentally knocks some pills down the sink. When Danielle comes back into the apartment, she tells Philip it's her birthday and asks if he can pick her up some more pills from a chemist to which he agrees. When Philip returns a few hours later with a birthday cake, he passes her a knife to cut it with. Suddenly she plunges the knife into Philip and stabs him several times, leaving Philip to crawl to the window in hope of help. As it turns out, budding reporter Grace Collier does see Philip and calls the police immediately. By the time the police arrive and get to Danielle's apartment, she and Emil have cleaned up Dominique's mess and left no evidence. Grace must now take it upon herself to bring the murderer to justice, with the help of a private detective.Sisters has some really good performances in it. Margot Kidder is excellent as Danielle/Dominique, Sisters was one of her first starring roles and certainly a role that established her as an actress to look out for. She quickly followed it up with a great performance as potty mouthed drunk Barb in Black Christmas, but it was her role as Lois Lane in Superman that really cemented her as a successful actress. The Amityville Horror followed the year later, and then arrived the inevitable Superman sequels. After Superman 3 in 1983, 10 years after Sisters, her career hasn't exactly been filled with great roles. To anyone that isn't a huge fan of Margot Kidder, it's doubtful you will be familiar with most of her work after Superman 3. Only the completely unnecessary but decent Superman 4 in 1987 offered brief hope of her once successful film career getting back on track, it wasn't to be. I can only imagine the roles dried up due to her becoming typecast as Lois Lane, a role that was a blessing and possibly a curse. Two time academy award nominee Charles Durning puts in a great performance as the private investigator, he's an excellent actor and along with his roles in The Sting, Dog Day Afternoon, and the hugely underrated horror's When A Stranger Calls and Dark Night Of The Scarecrow, this is my favourite. De Palma regular William Finley as Emil is extremely strange looking and creepy, Jennifer Salt plays Grace Collier with plenty of gusto, Lisle Wilson is really likeable as Philip and there's small roles from Barnard Hughes and Olympia Dukakis.Brian De Palma really set the bar for his future films in 1973 when he made Sisters, previously he had been directing comedies with a very young Robert De Niro. Coincidentally 1973 was the same year De Niro hit the big time with his first of many collaborations with Martin Scorsese, when he played Johnny Boy in Mean Streets. Sisters has a massive Alfred Hitchcock influence, at times it feels like you're watching a Hitchcock film, he even employed the semi-retired music composer Bernard Herrmann who provided a wonderful score. De Palma uses split screen brilliantly, so we can see exactly what's going on. My favourite use of this was when Philip is looking for help through the window, we see what he sees and we also see him from Grace's point of view. The cinematography and editing is excellent, there's a little nudity, the murder of Philip early on in the film is still shocking and brutal today despite the use of red paint, as was the norm back then. The tension and sense of unease is always there, except for the few moments of comedy that works in breaking up the mood. The film also has some moments shot in black and white, it's also beautifully done to look aged and atmospheric.Sadly the dvd is somewhat disappointing, the transfer is nice, but there are no extras to speak of. No commentary, no making of, not even a trailer or cast biographies. Even worse there aren't even subtitles on the disc, making the film useless to the hard of hearing. Sisters is a wonderful film that mixes horror, drama and a little comedy, and the start of De Palma's more grown up murder/mystery films. Apart from Carrie which is his masterpiece in my opinion, this is just about the best of his horror/murder/mystery films. Scarface, The Untouchables, Casualties Of War, Carlito's Way and Mission Impossible saw him drop horror in favour of drama. Sisters is not for the blood and guts crowd, it's more of a psychological horror that has a crazy last 15 minutes. The final shot is just a delight, and a perfect end to a creepy and strange film. Stephen Rea and Chloe Sevigny appeared in a completely pointless remake in 2006, it's a dreadful film and not worth checking out.

7.0 is quite a measly score on IMDb, for such a good Brian de Palma film and as for a debut, well, it's intelligent, suspenseful and different, though its nods to the Master, Hitchcock are both critically recognised and acclaimed.Also known as 'Blood Sisters', the movie also encroaches (to my mind) on David Cronenberg's territory, especially during the superbly executed and creepy fantasy sequence. It'll have you guessing right to the end - and beyond, it has red herrings and both clarity and obliqueness in spades.Yes, it does look typically 1970's US crime drama, the fashion and the gas guzzling cars but it remains extremely watchable, now, almost 40 years on. What is also quite remarkable is that De Palma co-wrote the screenplay and the story is an involved one and rather unsettlingly, an almost believable one. That cannot be said for the vast majority of crime horror-thrillers.Quebec actress/model Danielle (or should that be Dominique? her conjoined sister, who was surgically separated at the hip from her Siamese Twin), has a one-night stand with a black man she meets. In true 'Rear Window' fashion, an ambitious journalist, (played by Jennifer Salt) who's had reason to write unfavourable pieces about the police, dials 911, after the victim staggers to a window opposite hers and scrawls 'help' in blood on the glass.There's always a shadowy and creepy character hanging about. Dominique (Danielle?) always states that he's her ex husband but we soon find out that Emil Breton (Bill Finley) is actually the very surgeon who carried out the separation. Nothing much more needs to be said on this, or any other part of the story, to not spoil or give too much away. However, smarmy, thick spectacled Mr Breton has an uncanny resemblance to Donald Sutherland, or at least the type of individual he might portray.There's De Palma's splashes of flashy, but interesting direction, such as a very effective split screens. There's the right amount of suspense and whilst it doesn't reach the heights of the classic Carrie, nor the sheer directorial aplomb of his The Untouchables, 'Sisters' is a pretty fine film and at the now bargain price the DVD is, there are no excuses for De Palma fans, or even Hitch's, indeed anyone who enjoys a decent and clever horror-thriller to not indulge.This was my second viewing; the first having been on TV a long time ago.

This PATHE 2006 release is a must for De Palma fans, and those who may not be too familiar with his work. He does attract differing opinions, but I think he is a great filmaker, even tho he suffers from comparison to Hitchcock - but then - he does ask for that - just a bit. "Sisters" is so full of twists and turns that to even try and describe the basic plot can give away too much. Suffice to say it's about "Sisters", Murder Most Foul, and lots of mystery. A weird "out there" performence from Margot Kidder carries it along, and she is well supported by Jennifer Salt, Dolph Sweet as a detective, and Charles Durning. After a slow build up it never really lets up right up to it's effective climax. An excellent print and price all help. Recomended, and I so very nearly gave it 5 stars. Perhaps I should!?

This isn't De Palma's finest work but it is Margot Kidders'. The story is, in retrospect, rather predictable until the final reel, which is superb - echoes of Cronenberg's 'The Brood' here. Flatmates Kidder and Jennifer Salt are hugely underrated, but perhaps they didn't have great material or dialogue to work with in those days.De Palma is still working out his directing chops, which were to flourish so well in Carrie, Dressed to Kill and Carlito's Way (All five stars). Here. he's still homaging his mentor, Hitchcock, but he seems to be taking ideas from Frenzy or the Birds, rather than Psycho. A curio pice, work a look, but not much more - except for Kidders coy and sexy French Canadian Accent.