Brian De Palma’s original voice came through pastiche, and that’s okay!
Once you see a Brian De Palma movie, you’re never going to think about original filmmaking the same way again. He is the master of the macabre. His movies delight in violence, sex, and at times, bad taste. He’s not afraid to tackle subjects head-on, and he’s fearless when it comes to pastiche as inspiration. When people talk about the greatest directors of all time, he’s often a name left off the list.
Late film critic Pauline Kael never forgot De Palma, though, lauding his works and challenging viewers to see his uniqueness and fervor. When writing about the ending to his 1978 movie, The Fury, she said, “Imagine, Welles, Peckinpah, Scorsese, and Spielberg still stunned, bowing to the ground, choking with laughter.”
But at the heart of De Palma’s career is an overt love of movies and moviemaking. Its shown through his homages and story beat stealing and accentuated through his use of originality and intrigue to put his personal spin on tropes, via pastiche.
So why aren’t we talking more about De Palma?
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
