A Brian De Palma Ranking
- Passion
- Carlito’s Way
- Femme Fatale
- Body Double
- Blow Out
- Casualties of War
- Carrie
- Phantom of the Paradise
- Dressed to Kill
- Scarface
- Snake Eyes
- Raising Cain
- Sisters
- Mission: Impossible
- The Black Dahlia
- Greetings
- The Fury
- Obsession
- Home Movies
- The Untouchables
- Mission to Mars
- Dionysus in ’69
- Hi, Mom!
- Murder à la Mod
- The Bonfire of the Vanities
- Redacted
- Get to Know Your Rabbit
- The Wedding Party
- Wise Guys
Top Ten De Palma Performances
1. Al Pacino, Carlito’s Way
2. Michael J. Fox, Casualties of War
3. Sissy Spacek, Carrie
4. Noomi Rapace, Passion
5. Nicolas Cage, Snake Eyes
6. John Travolta, Blow Out
7. William Finley, Phantom of the Paradise
8. Gerrit Graham, Home Movies
9. Antonio Banderas, Femme Fatale
10. Tom Hanks, The Bonfire of the Vanities
A Few Scattered Thoughts on the “Master of the Macabre”
To the average cinephile, De Palma is most known for his cynicism and, in his most famous film Blow Out, a perversely nihilistic sensibility. Yet this is probably not an accurate viewpoint: of his 29 films (to date), only 4 have unambiguously tragic and saddening endings, though it is perhaps not a surprise that most of them are among his greatest works (an argument could also be made for Scarface):
- Carlito’s Way
- Blow Out
- Phantom of the Paradise
- Redacted
By comparison, no less than 15 De Palma films have more or less happy endings:
- Femme Fatale
- Body Double
- Casualties of War (despite tinged with sadness)
- Snake Eyes
- Mission: Impossible
- The Black Dahlia (shockingly, given the absolute sordidness that had immediately preceded it)
- The Fury (again, debateable)
- Obsession
- Home Movies
- The Untouchables
- Mission to Mars
- Dionysus in ’69 (cheating, but it counts)
- The Bonfire of the Vanities
- Get to Know Your Rabbit
- Wise Guys
and the rest of the films fall into either ambiguity or a gleeful twist. It is perhaps most accurate to classify De Palma as a filmmaker who is perfectly willing to give his characters a happy ending, even if it comes abruptly, so long as he puts them through absolute hell first.
De Palma is also known for his meditations on the image, and so here is the list of his films that I believe contain something of this sort, whether it be in celluloid, flesh, or some other medium.
- Passion
- Carlito’s Way
- Femme Fatale
- Body Double
- Blow Out
- Casualties of War (if you count the girl on the subway)
- Phantom of the Paradise
- Snake Eyes
- The Black Dahlia
- Greetings
- Home Movies
- Murder à la Mod
- Redacted
Taipei Mansions 