Customer Reviews:

• 2 stars out of 4
  The Bottom Line:
  
  Dressed to Kill is often cheesy fun (DePalma is rarely unentertaining) but it's a really pretty terrible movie that rips off/homages Psycho at a dozen different points, thinks transsexualism and multiple personalities are the same thing, wastes a nice performance by Nancy Allen and ends stupidly: rent it if you have a bunch of friends and want something campy to mock, but not for its legitimate merits....more info
• Nice 2.35 version
  A true 2.35 format. I had an hideous VHS tape of this movie, but here is a very good copy....more info
• De Palma's best next to Carrie
  While the comparison to Psycho is inevitable, Dressed to Kill is a classic in its own right. De Palma may tip his hat to Hitchcock in some of his films, but I've never felt like they were copycats. The cast here is terrific. Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine and Nancy Allen (who at the time was married to De Palma) are the lead actors. Angie plays the troubled and frustrated Kate Miller and like Janet Leigh's Marion Crane in Psycho meets an unfortunate end in an elevator about 1/3 into the picture. Then we have the heroine played by Nancy Allen who is determined to find the killer in order to clear herself as a suspect along with the help of Kate Miller's son played by Keith Gordon. Michael Caine plays Kate's psychiatrist who thinks the killer is another one of his patients named Bobbie, a man who wants the doctor to approve a sex-change operation so he can be a woman. With a lot of suspense and character development, I consider Dressed to Kill one of my favorite De Palma films next to Carrie. The museum scene is really something to behold which uses music, facial expressions and body language to convey its meaning rather than using words. Another special touch was the little girl in the elevator who stares suspiciously at the guilty Angie Dickinson, bringing her to tears as if she knows what she has done. In the special features section, Angie herself commented on that scene and says this film is her best work and I agree. The twists and turns, mystery, suspense, music, poignant scenes and strong characters all make this thriller rank amongst the best of them. As Nancy Allen said, people are still talking about Dressed to Kill over twenty years later and enjoying it as much as they did back then. That alone makes it a classic. Also recommended by De Palma: Raising Cain...more info
• One of my faves from the 80s
  I remember watching this back in the 80s when it first came out. I am (naturally) changing to dvds and wanted to add to my collection. Of course, being from the 80s, it is a bit dated, but I like the "feel" of the film. I like to call this the pre-cursor to "Basic Instinct"....more info
• Dressed To Thrill!
  This 1980 terror flick by Bryan De Palma was magnificient, despite all the blood and gore that resulted in this movie, but this flick seems to show Nancy Allen, Angie Dickenson, and Mike Caine at their best, especially since DRESSED TO KILL starts off with a delciously nasty nude scene in full frontal nudity just like De Palma did with his movie CARRIE since DRESSED TO KILL starts off with a bizzare shower scene with Angie Dickenson(Kate Miller) showing her snatch, tatas, and fanny along with the fact that Angie Dickenson and Nancy Allen were both eyecandy in this movie on top of that.
  
  Angie Dickenson also did plenty of intimacy scenes in this movie before her Kate Miller character died off too, which made this movie kind of a suspenseful type horror flick, which is kind of rare in a horror movie.
  
  In addition; Nancy Allen's intriguing nude scene in the girls lockerroom with a bunch of naked girls in the movie CARRIE is probably what inspired DePalma for Nancy Allen's role in DRESSED TO KILL, especially since Bryan De Palma directed CARRIE and was married to Nancy Allen at the time.
  
  Additionally, DRESSED TO KILL has a shocking heart-pumping ending to the movie, just like De Palma did at the end of the movie CARRIE when Nancy Allen wakes up from a nightmare about Dr. Elliott(Mike Caine) stalking her at her home trying to kill her while she's taking a shower in her bathroom totally naked and defenseless showing Nancy Allen in full frontal nudity including her coochie, boobies, and booty, kind of like Nancy Allen was in the movie CARRIE in the girls lockerroom scene when she's freshening up being shown wet in full frontal nudity while getting out of the girls lockerroom showers after the volleyball scene at the beginning of the movie, which made Nancy Allen like eyecandy in this movie just like Nancy was in CARRIE too.
  
  Therefore, the conclusion of DRESSED TO KILL was a tad similar to what De Palma did at the end of the movie CARRIE when Amy Irving(Sue) wakes up from a nightmare about Carrie White(Sissy Spacek) reaching out of the ground from her grave trying to pull Sue(Amy Irving) down into the ground with her, except Nancy Allen plays a good guy in this movie, but plays a snotty annoying bitch in the movie CARRIE.
  
  Additionally, I also liked watching Nancy Allen, Angie Dickerson, and Mike Caine talking about their experiences in the movie DRESSED TO KILL while looking back on it before and during it's theatrical release in 1980 as well along with the fact that Nancy Allen is still looking pretty after all these years, just like she did in the movie CARRIE and DRESSED TO KILL, plus Nancy Allen and Bryan De Palma had explained that they were married at the time DRESSED TO KILL was made and released back then too.
  
  It was also interesting seeing Dennis Franz from NYPD BLUE & HILL STREET BLUES playing the shoddy hard-nosed homicide detective investigating the murder of Angie Dickenson, even though Dennis Franz didn't seem to be much help to the investigation, since Dennis Franz always seems to play the guy you love to hate in just about every role he plays in a movie or a TV show, even when Dennis Franz plays a good guy.
  
  This movie also takes me all the way back to memory lane to when I was 7 years old and still living in the Imperial Valley since I was living in my hometown(El Centro, CA) at the time when DRESSED TO KILL was released in the theatres in the Summer of 1980 and when I saw this movie for the very first time on HBO in April of 1981 along with the fact that DRESSED TO KILL was quite a deliciously nasty movie as well as a gory one. ...more info
• DePalma at the Top of His Form
  Director Brian DePalma really hit it in some of his films that were a homage to the late Alfred Hitchcock. This is one of them. For those of us really missing Hitchcock, this film was a welcome breath of thriller fresh air. While employing a more flamboyant style than Hitchcock and at times straying "over the top," DePalma nevertheless solidly holds his own in delivering a screen thriller. I've seen it several times and always enjoyed it. Who is murdering women is the question? And who will he murder in this film? We start off with Angie Dickinson as the killer's target and that entire sequence is bravura film making of the most exuberant order. Then we segue into examining Dickinson's psychiatrist, played by Michael Caine, through the sleuthing of Nancy Allen and Dickinson's son. If you want to compare this film to a Hitchcock film, I think it most resembles "Frenzy" about the London necktie murderer of women. I also really like "Blow Out" which I see ... is selling in tandem with this one as a special. You would do well to get both. You will be hugely entertained....more info
• Brian De Palma's Macabre Masterpiece
  In 1980, Brian De Palma's DRESSED TO KILL was released to widespread controversy. The graphic nudity and violence set off a lot of feminists, who claimed that the film "encouraged violence against women." There are two funny things about the feminist attacks of this movie... 1) These women claimed that the movie was ANTI-FEMININE before they even seen it and 2) The feminists shut up after they did see the movie, realizing how embarrassingly wrong they were and now this movie is very rarely attacked as being the misogynistic film that some women believed it to be.

  The movie was also attacked for being a "Hitchcock rip-off!" The funny thing about that is that when one proclaims DRESSED to be a mere trashy take on PSYCHO, they go on to describe everything else in the movie and it becomes clear that they didn't bother to understand, let alone pay attention to the movie. Even funnier, is how one person claimed that the film copies VERTIGO!!!! PROPOSTEROUS, to say the very least. There is nothing similar to VERTIGO, in this movie. So Kate Miller (played full-heartedly by Angie Dickinson) was in a museum... WELL, I GUESS THAT D.T.K. IS TOTALLY ROBBING VERTIGO, I mean since VERTIGO was the first movie to have a museum in it. (sarcasm)

  So... It occurred to me that after reading poor review after review on this site and seeing all of the errors people made regarding this movie, that I should give my opinion and review and set the record straight on one of the most Brilliant movies ever made.

  I'm sure everyone knows the premise, so I'll just get to the acting... Angie Dickinson gave a performance that puts most actors to shame, all the more encouraging, considering that De Palma's pure-cinematic approach left her character with little dialogue. Michael Caine's performance wasn't the highlight for me as it was for most other people (who probably only praise him because he's a big celebrity). His performance was rather wooden and I wanted to shake him so many times. Nancy Allen and Keith Gordon play their parts perfectly and Dennis Franz was his usual DePalmian sleazy self.

  The real star of the movie was the brilliant visual directing handled by master auteur Brian De Palma. He really knows how to bring a touching story out of a combination of performances, camera-technique, set pieces, and cinematography. He so brilliantly makes us feel for Kate Miller, even though she did a very bad thing, that her murder in an elevator is horrifying, SUSPENSEFUL, beautiful, shocking, and gut-wrenching, all at the same time. He then builds another story where it is not expected, after the death of the main character, which is the one and only homage to Alfred Hitchcock, who is famous for using this technique most notably in PSYCHO. The story moves along beautifully as De Palma directs scenes and sequences similar to his future project, BLOW OUT. The suspense is dead on as the audience grows more and more terrified of the villain, Bobbie.

  Right before the ending, is a scene of the psychiatrist explaining the murderers motives that parodies a similar scene in PSYCHO so well that most people call this scene a rip-off without knowing what it was truly meant to be... a hysterical parody of Hitchcock's most notoriously BAD scene.

  The final scene is more pure cinema terror that involves great editing and very eerie camera-movements, all painstakingly climaxing into a shocking twist.

  Also, some mention must be made of Pino Donaggio's lush and provocative score that emphasizes and enhances the beauty, underlying dread, sexual freedom, guilt, and of course, SUSPENSE that run rapid in Brian De Palma's Macabre Masterpiece - DRESSED TO KILL...more info

• WOW!
  This one of my favorite psycho killer flicks ever thanks to DePalmas truly scary and griping vision of a carzy cross dressin killer's grizzly rampage and a hooker(played by Nancy Allen) who maby his next victum. This flim is brillenty dircected and played out.
  Horror fans will not be let down if they stick with it to the hairraising and fever pitched final in a bathroom.
  Aside from gory effects I think the films sharp and smart screenplay is what keeps it a flot.

  I can not however say that depalma is very creative, even though I liked it a lot. Dressed to Kill takes a bite to much away from Alferd Hitchcock's classic thillers Vertigo and Psycho....more info

• "Chilled, Thrilled and quite fulfilled!"
  It's THAT moment when you leave the 'one night stand' lover - a moment of 'unprotected' passion ...... THEN something just makes you check his night-stand .......and ....

  OR you're rushing to get that elevator, you make it just as the doors close, but you are NOT the only occupant ....

  AH YES! Moments a-plenty, abound this perfect homage by De Palma to Master Hitchcock, and it works rather well.

  Take a bored housewife, a very elegant bored housewife, a husband who scores a loud "-" in 'that' department, a psychiatrist who seems to have another agenda going, or not? A somewhat nerdy son, then add that elevator, sharp objects, maybe a someone who looks just too familiar....?

  GREAT visuals, that scene in the museum ['Vertigo' anyone?], and of course the opening shower scene. Rumor has it that there was an "X" version floating around too.......doesn't matter - "X" or "R" - it is still one of the most erotic moments on film to date.

  Angie Dickinson is perfect as the bored "Mrs.", and Mr. Caine brings just the right degree of creepiness to his "Dr. Feelgood".

  A rare De Palma and good companion piece[s] to the earlier "Sisters" and "Obsession"....more info

• beautifully filmed thriller
  To watch Dressed to Kill is to watch art in motion. The photography is beautiful, as well as Pino Donaggio's soundtrack. The documentary about the making of the film is also well worth watching. The director talks about how the critics and the censors attacked the film, but it appears on the DVD in both edited and unedited formats. This is a film I watch just to admire the way it was put together. Noteworthy is the museum scene which is full of emotion but no dialogue, as well as the frantic subway chase scene. If you watch it once you'll probably want a second look....more info
• Writer/director De Palma pulls off Hitchcockian formula
  After an unsatisfied housewife (Angie Dickinson) is murdered with a straight razor after a liasion with a stranger, a kindhearted prostitute who witnessed the attack (Nancy Allen), the victim's son (Keith Gordon), and a sleazy police detective (Dennis Franz) all scramble to find her killer. Especially her therapist (Michael Caine), who knows who the culprit is - and whose straight razor is missing from his office. Very dark, tense, and violent - and Hitchcock fans will have a field day noting references to "Psycho" and "Vertigo" among others. Lots of DVD extras: cast and crew interviews, an unrated version option, photo galleries, and the theatrical trailer....more info
• Dressed to the nines
  This is the one that had all the country talking about Angie and her shower scene. Was it really her? Depends on which rumor is going around at the time. If dark,erotic and twisted is what your looking for, this is the one. Mr. Caine is great as usual and this movie helped Nancy Allen win the best new actress award for 1980. While Angie Dickenson was only involved in the first 36 minuetes, it is a half hour of intense emotion and mayhem. Ive never seen the VHS but the widescreen DVD version is wonderful....more info
• An Incredible Flick and DVD
  This is an absolutely outstanding film. Yes, it is very trashy, the acting is only so-so (except for Michael Caine's usual top-caliber performance)and the style takes precedence over content . . . but when you have a director who knows as much about style as De Palma . . . who cares? Both terrifying and very funny all at once.

  The DVD transfer is about as good as they come in a wonderful letterbox format. The sound is great as well, and compliments the brilliant musical score very well. Features are endless . . . sometimes a bit repetitive . . . and self-appreciative . . . but good fun nonetheless....more info

• How to lure others into watching
  It says on the box "thriller", so one Friday night me and my friends decide to watch it. The beginning is stupid-there is nothing but a opening with a bad-looking lady. Than this lady walks around for 25 minutes THEN gets killed. Then the movie is hard to follow after. I gave it two stars because of the surprise ending. The rest of the movie is compelety forgettable....more info
• Deluxe DVD treatment for one of De Palma's best
  Brian De Palma's superb "Dressed to Kill" (1980) borrows the plot structure of "Psycho" (1960) to tell a completely original story in a manner which Hitchcock would surely have admired. The 'Pure Cinema' approach deployed here also evokes the best work of Dario Argento, though De Palma clearly has his own agenda. His script attends the fall-out from a terrifying attack on a frustrated housewife (Angie Dickinson) by a razor-wielding maniac who then turns his/her attentions to the sole witness, a streetwise hooker (Nancy Allen) who teams up with Dickinson's teenage son (Keith Gordon) when she becomes a suspect in the case.

  A masterful example of visual storytelling, "Dressed to Kill" employs constantly roving camerawork to propel complex characters through a series of bravura set-pieces (the museum, the elevator, the subway, etc.), filmed in breathtaking Panavision by the late cinematographer Ralf Bode. At a time when most current scope movies are designed primarily for TV - which rather defeats the whole purpose of scope photography! - it's a revelation to see the entire width of the 2.35:1 frame being used to define characters and advance the plot through an accumulation of visual tricks and counterpoints. Pino Donaggio's memorable score provides an often thunderous accompaniment to the on-screen horrors, and it's refreshing to find a grown-up cast (including a restrained Michael Caine) making the most of a scenario which addresses mature themes in an intelligent manner. This intense thriller refuses to sacrifice integrity for the sake of cheap shocks, but it still manages to scale the dizzying heights of genuine horror.

  De Palma and the film's principal contributors chart the film's production in a number of documentary extras included on this 'special collector's edition' from MGM, and while some of their comments may seem a little too self-congratulatory, they also provide fascinating insights into De Palma's working methods and the motivation behind some of the devices employed by the director to tell his story. In a special section detailing his collision with the MPAA, De Palma wearily defends the film from charges of misogyny and explicit violence, and his views are supported by the likes of Angie Dickinson, amongst others. Besides, anyone who thinks THIS is misogynist obviously hasn't seen the likes of "The New York Ripper" (Lo Squartatore di New York, 1982), "Red to Kill" (Yeuk Saat, 1994), or some of the more squalid dregs from the Japanese sex-and-torture subgenre. Now THERE'S misogyny for you!!

  Anyway, viewers of MGM's excellent anamorphic transfer of "Dressed to Kill" can judge for themselves, because the disc contains both the R-rated print (104m 23s) and the unrated director's cut (104m 50s). The former has suffered a number of subliminal edits which make very little difference to the overall effect, rendering them pointless, except for the elevator sequence which loses some of its visceral impact due to the alterations. As such, the unrated print is definitely the way to go! Amusingly, the disc's supplemental section also allows you to compare scenes from these two versions with the network TV edition, which is a travesty. Elsewhere, De Palma convincingly rejects the argument that he's a mere Hitchcock imitator - after all, Hitchcock rarely aimed for the kind of sustained visual flamboyance demonstrated here, though it's clear he would have employed a greater level of explicit detail if he hadn't been restricted by censorship throughout his career ("Frenzy" [1972] was a belated example of this).

  MGM's region 1 disc presents the film in 5.1 surround, but this unnecessary revision merely subdues the score and adds an unnatural 'reverb' to the sound effects. Thankfully, the original (two-channel) mono track is also included, and provides a much stronger audio presentation. Closed captions are provided, but there are no 'open' English captions available via the menu, which is unfortunate. Isn't it about time that DVD technology consigned the idea of 'closed' captions to the trashcan of history?! That small caveat aside, this disc represents the definitive version of "Dressed to Kill" on home video, and is therefore wholeheartedly recommended....more info

• Among De Palma's most visceral thrillers
  De Palma's scary, thriller is a study in extremes: practically every scene is either very scary, very violent, very erotic, or very clever in some way. The movie is obviously the work of a film maker brimming with ideas (most of them visual) who loves to make movies. MGM does the movie proud with an excellent DVD loaded with genuinely interesting features. I especially liked seeing all the various "Dressed to Kill" movie posters used around the world to promote the movie. To conclude on a slightly downer note, one could quibble that a better print of the film should have been used to produce this DVD, as minor flaws and scratches occasionally pop up, including one nasty slash across the image during the museum sequence. But as the print is not ridiculously bad, I don't think a letter-writing campaign or anything of that nature is in order. Just turn down the lights and enjoy the movie....more info
• dressed to kill
  Brian de palma's little classic marvel--an ingenious variation on themes from hitchcock that is in many ways more formally rigorous and consistent than the "master"--has here for the first time since laser disc given the viewer a chance to see it as it should be seen, it's full screen surprises, featuring clever dirty jokes, the lush fluidity of the museum ballet, one of the greatest cinematic slashings ever filmed, suspenseful slitherings at the edge of the screen, and a conclusion to the key split-image sequence. Liz, having seemingly escaped Bobbie the transexual killer, finds "her" once more shadowing her(Liz's) apartment. A head shot of the two women looking at some pointless street noise shows us Liz visually doubling the killer in a manner impossible to see in standard formats, which clearly evokes the underlying point to this giggly and jittery movie. The making of documentary, though entertaining, does not give us a forthright Mr Depalma discussing what he wished to convey in this work's strict structural symetries and various inter-echoes. Keith Gordon's appreciation doesn't do quite enough--enjoy him in the movie instead. Definitely a must see....more info
• Brian DePalma's Last Great Thriller
  I saw an edited version of Brian DePalma's "Dressed To Kill" on NBC-network television in 1984. A few weeks ago, I saw an uncut version of this film on videotape. "Dressed To Kill" may be DePalma's greatest thriller.

  A sexually frustrated housewife is seeing a psychiatrist and is murdered after a one-night stand with a stranger. Her prodigy son and a knowing prostitute join forces in order to find the murderer.

  With the possible exception of "Carrie," "Dressed To Kill" is Brian DePalma's greatest thriller. "Dressed To Kill" is a truly dazzling and fast-paced murder mystery. DePalma cleverly borrows from his own super-thriller "Sisters" and Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." He also makes excellent use of a great cast. Michael Caine gives an outstanding performance as a doctor with his own share of problems. Angie Dickinson perhaps gives the finest performance of her career. Dickinson is one of cinema's more underrated beauties and I am only sorry that she never became a superstar. DePalma also deserves praise for an excellent screenplay; the dialogue between the characters is utterly realistic and convincing. After "DTK," Brian DePalma hasn't made one fully satisfying film. DePalma used to have a unique talent for not only scaring but also morally troubling his viewers. In such films as "Carrie" and "DTK," he forces his audience to deeply empathize with the intense torment and anguish of the characters on the screen. In recent years, DePalma has sadly lost this special gift.

  "DTK" is a must-see for all Brian DePalma fans and anyone who loves murder mysteries....more info

• A Thrilling Classic
  Brian De Palma has never gotten the attention and recognition he so rightfully deserves. He definitley deserves it for this frightening thriller that stars Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Angie Dickinson, and Dennis Franz. A cross dressing murderer is stalking a hooker that saw him commit a crime. Michael Caine plays the psycho's psychiatrist. The movie has such a great twist at the end that your thinking 'huh? what?'. It's filmed in a great De Palma Hitchcokcian way. Michael Caine does a solid job as usual. The rest of the cast are nothing great, but they do their best. This is about as good and well made as a suspense thriller can get....more info
• DIE !
  Love it or hate it Brian DePalma's DRESSED TO KILL has proven to be one of the first classics of the modern suspense genre, the sexual thriller. Although it owes much to Hitchcock's PSYCHO, DRESSED TO KILL turns up the volume for the modern audience, taking an unflinching view of murder and perversion that many film goers simply were not prepared for at the time.

  Released in 1980, D2K, shocked just about everyone who saw it. The stylized direction and brilliant editing made it one of the most effective thrillers to come out of Hollywood ever. The first murder in the film was so horrific it earned the film an X-rating and gave director DePalma an undeserved reputation as a misogynistic exploitation film maker. There were actual protests in the streets over the film.

  Viewers of this new DVD version are treated not only to a beautifully mastered release of the film, but enough background information (in the form of behind the scenes documentaries, with interviews of all the key creators) that one can truly appreciate D2K as the ground braking classic it is. There's even a shot by shot comparison of the X-rated version vs the R-rated.

  If you've never seen the film, you must and judge for yourself. If it's an old favorite the DVD will really give you something to sink your teeth into. While many DVD extras turn out to be little more than filler the extras here fully compliment the movie and taken as a whole The Dressed To Kill Special Edition actually is special....more info

• This is a Joke, Right?
  I have waited at least a year to buy this DVD at an acceptable price; and now that I've finally got it and watched it, I'm in shock at how stupid this movie is. It is unbelievably amatuerish in plot, script, and acting. Perhaps, when this piece of junk first came out, it could be considered a decent film by the standards of the time. But, by today's standards, it is a complete mess. I've been had. The quality of the DVD video is a little "off" as well. It's not terrible, but it would help if it were remastered. ...more info
• Dressed to Kill DVD
  I thought it was great quality. The digital restoration was very good. It also has the option of choosing the "R" rated version or the unrated version....more info
• DePalma's Razor Sharp Erotic Psychological Thriller!
  1980 was a very good year for some groundbreaking films in different genres that completely reshaped and redefined the genre they represented. Ridley Scott's sci-fi noir thriller "Blade Runner", Stanley Kubrick's haunting psychological ghost story horror film "The Shining", and Brian DePalma's erotic psycological slasher thriller "Dressed To Kill".
  Written & directed by DePalma, this chiller did for elevators what Hitchcock's "Psycho" did for showers two generations before it, and still has people sqeamish of elevators; and for good reason.
  This is a film about voyuerism, paranoia, erotica, sexual perversion, sexual deviancy, sexual identity, psychology, fear, sexual escapades, and murder. Starring Angie Dickinson (tv's "Police Woman"), Nancy Allen (DePalma's "Carrie", "Home Movies", and "Blow Out, plus being DePalma's wife), Micheal Caine, Dennis Franz (DePalma's "The Fury", "Blow Out", and "Body Double", plus tv's "Hill Street Blues" & "NYPD Blue"), and Keith Gordon (DePalma's "Home Movies" and Carpenter's "Christine"), DePalma tells a story of a sexually frustrated housewife who is only trying to find sexual satisfaction and has a one night stand, then gets sliced the f**k up in an elevator by a transexual with a sexual identity crisis.
  The film starts with, not one, but two back-to-back erotic sex scenes, the first as the film opens and Kate Miller (Dickinson) is in the shower, soaping herself in a very erotic way as her husband is shaving right outside the shower curtain. Then a man starts raping her from behind and she starts screaming, only to come to reality where she is lying in bed with her husband doing his 'business' on top of her, and she is faking the entire time, then he's done, and rolls over and goes to sleep.
  She checks in on her son, Peter Miller (Gordon, playing a character that DePalma has said was based on himself at that age, a nerdy science geek with a computer, well, a machine that he built, called a differential analyzer), then she goes to see her therapist, Dr. Robert Elliott (Caine), and proceeds to tell him about her sexual frustration with her husband, flirting a bit with Dr. Elliott. She then visits a museum in one of the films many highlights of great visual storytelling, with over a twenty minute long take with hardly any dialogue at all. She meets a man, then a cool/frustrating game of cat-and-mouse begins, and the museum is like a maze, and DePalma uses this set piece to his best benefit, swirling the camera this way and that, and starting what will become a sucession of awesome flashbacks, shown in dual optor projection, so you see the present along with the flashback all in one scene.
  After losing one glove behind, Kate leaves the museum in frustration, only to see the man awaiting her in a nearby cab, his arm extended, waving the missing glove (this is right after she takes off her OTHER glove and tosses it down), and she heads for the cab. Look close and you'll see a very quick glimpse of 'Bobbi', the killer, in this scene, once as the camera is slowly turning to show the cab, then after Kate gets in the cab, a gloved hand reaches out and picks Kate's glove up.?.?.
  The cab scequence is VERY erotic, almost "Basic Instinct" erotic, but so much more tastefully done, as the guy proceeds to go down, if you get the idea. Kates screams her head off with pleasure!
  Later that night, she awakens in the hotel room and starts gathering her things, proceeding to get dressed and leave. She remembers her panties were left in the cab (in another split dioptor scene). Oh, no!! She then stops at a desk in the room to write a 'thank you & goodbye' message to the guy, and discovers papers inside the desk from the local health department disclaiming that "you have contracted a venereal disease", which of coarse means chances are that Kate now has contracted the same disease as well...Oh, the horrors!!
  She gets on the elevator (again, there is a quick shot of 'Bobbi' hiding behind an emergency door as Kate is awaiting the elevator). Kate remembers she left her wedding ring in the hotel room (in yet another brilliant split dioptor shot)...Oh, NO!! So, she has to go back up and retrieve it. When the doors open, there stands 'Bobbi' and 'her' straight razor (who we find out later she stole from Dr. Elliott), and is, yes, 'dressed to kill'! This slasher moment puts any and/or all other slasher films to shame (except "Halloween" and "Psycho") in just one scene! And, this is where DePalma splits the story from being Kate's to now being Liz Blake's (Allen), as he cuts to her and her 'john' (she's a professional call girl) waiting for the elevator a floor below. As the doors open, there is a moment where the two women's eyes meet in the elevator mirror, then the gleaming razor blade catches Liz's attention, and she see's the killer, all filmed in glorious slow motion, with an awesome score by Pino Donnagio. Liz grabs the razor blade after 'Bobbi' drops it, the elevator doors close, and now Liz is a murder suspect.
  This is where the film turns into an awesome cop procedural, with a very hard-a** detective Marino (Franz), whose questions to Liz are fast, rapid, rabid, vile, and hilarious all at the same time. Yes, this is also satire, for DePalma puts irony and satire in all of his films. And, at the police station, DePalma makes use of another great set piece to show one person listening to another, as another listens to yet another, making it a game of who's listening in on who.?.?. And, the way he filters all of these transactions through pane glass brilliantly mirrors his split dioptor effect already used, and an upcoming split screen that he will eventually use.
  Peter and Liz meet, and Peter and Dr. Elliott meet, and Peter takes it upon himself to investigate the doctor, believing his mother may have been killed by one of his patients; as does Detective Marino. But, he also suspects Liz, maybe not of murder, but of something. Meanwhile, Liz is spied upon by 'Bobbi', and Dr. Elliott is getting wierd messages on his answering machine from 'Bobbi' hinting at the crime 'she' just committed, even admitting to stealing the doctor's straight razor. In a split screen shot that lasts for a very good time, Liz is on the phone with her 'boss' trying to get the phone number of the man who was with her when the elevator doors opened, for he was a witness as well, but he took off running, and Liz has no success finding him. On the other side of the screen, 'Bobbi' is seen standing outside Liz's apartment building with binoculars, spying on her, as Liz, on the other side of the split screen is shown making more phone calls, talking to her 'boss' again, trying to line up a 'dinner and date' for the next evening. Then it shows Dr. Elliot on the other side of the screen listening to his answering machine, and checking and noticing his straight razor IS missing. Meanwhile, both sides have an episoed of tv's "Phil Donahue" playing in the background, and it is dealing with Phil talking to a transexual who has had the final operation; and, as both characters, Liz and Dr. Elliott continue going about their business, oblivious to the tv screen, still shown in brilliant split screen, the tv show starts getting larger and larger on both sides of the film as the subject of transexuality is being discussed. And, then the film goes back to 'normal', cutting to Liz going out for the evening, being followed by a blonde woman, maybe the very same blonde woman she saw in the elevator, and that killed Kate Miller. She sweet talks the young cabbie into running a red light, leaving the blonde woman behind, but when she arrives at the subway station, there is 'Bobbi' awaiting her, thus leading on an extremely breathless/breathtaking subway ride, with her running from 'Bobbi' the whole ride. I won't spoil the outcome of this scene for anything.
  Peter has developed the film he has filmed of patients coming and going outside Dr. Elliots office, and he shows it to Liz, and she goes to Detective Marino, who acts as if he still doesn't believe her, but hints that maybe she could break into Dr. Elliot's office and steal his patient list, so she does.
  And, this is one of the most memorable erotic scenes in film history!
  Decked out in a raincoat with black under garments underneath, Liz proceeds to talk to Dr. Elliot about fictional (though she tells him they are real) erotic dreams she's been having, meanwhile flirting with the good doctor the entire time, and undressing as she talks about the dream. Matter of fact, the whole set up of telling him the dream s**t is supposed to get him aroused so she can seduce him then try and either get him to tell her about the patient that may have killed Kate, and/or sneak and steal his patient list like Dectective Marino advised. Meanwhile, it is dark, raining, and storming outside the office, making it even more erotic than imaginable. And, even more terrorfying!
  Peter is outside the office, wiping rain from his face as he tries to watch from afar through a window that Liz has opened the blinds on for him to be able to see in. Again, it's a matter of who's watching who, like the police station when it was a matter of who's listening to/spying on who. The pacing is dynamic in this scene, tension building up so great, it could make a person have a stroke wanting for it to climax already; but, DePalma, the ultimate Master Of Suspense, isn't about to let up until it's time to let up!
  Again, I'm not gonna go any further, for I don't wanna give away anything to anyone who's maybe never seen this classic masterpiece, except to say 'Bobbi' is caught, a great exposition scene is done, explaining who 'Bobbi' REALLY is and why the murder happened, and what will become of 'Bobbi'.
  But, I will add that the film then proceeds into a dream sequence of 'Bobbi' killing a nurse and escaping the mental institution, and going straight for Liz. The way DePalma films a mental institution (like he did in "Sisters") is out of this world, for he makes you feel as if you are right there inside a very REAL madhouse, with inmates that look just like anything you could ever imagine ever seeing in an insane asylum.
  Many people rag on the dream sequence, saying that it is too much like the ending of "Carrie", but they are wrong...It is the final scene in which the character(s) having the dream awaken(s) that is a bit too close to "Carrie". The dream sequence is possibly the best part of the film, and that's saying a LOT, because this film is loaded with awesome scenes every which way you look at it. Plus, I think it is extremely brilliant the way DePalma book-ends this film with dream sequences, the first one with Kate in the shower, and the last one with Liz in the shower, and they're both very suspenseful scenes in one sense or another.
  Produced by DePalma's friend, George Litto, who had produced "Obsession", and "Blow Out" after this one, this is an excursion into psychological erotic madness that is as grotesque, gory, twisted, perverted, demented, deranged, horrorfying, spellbinding, sensual, elegant, thrilling, bloody, and scary as anything anyone that likes this genre of film would ever want in a film.
  This is the film that got women's groups calling DePalma 'mysoginistic', saying he was too violent towards women in his films all because he filmed one woman (maybe two???) getting murdered in a very classy manner, yet there were all of these cheesy slasher flicks having women running around as naked as the day they were born, making them act like airhead bimbo's, getting cut all up like spaghetti, but that seemed to be OK; but they wanted to pick on DePalma for this classic masterpiece??? HUH??? REALLY???
  This was also the first film that Depalma had to duke it out with the MPAA over ratings (they wanted to give it an X), so he cut it into an R-rated version (which I, personally prefer), but the DVD features both, the R and the Unrated (X) versions of the film, and they're on the same side of the disc, so you don't have to flip it over. And, this is loaded with a lot of great special bonus features!
  HIGHLY recommended! Two Thumbs And A Big Toe!!
  Thank you & happy Halloween! ;-)
  PS: A bit of film trivia: DePalma used a 'body double' for Angie Dickinson's nude shower scene, which in turn inspired his 1984 classic "Body Double", which was his cinematic 'answer' to critics who wanted to bash him, reproaching his decision for using a body double in this film....more info
• A very good but unexploited final twist
  A great classic in the genre of the compulsive killer. It is well done though definitely easy. In many ways it is a remake of Hitchcock's Psycho, yet it is pure New York and it has some kind of a flavor, that of the modern cop-film. The cop is both arrogant and negligent and he runs risks via other people. He goes to a football game or some sports event with his children while someone is running the risk of being killed, and he knows it. So we have the inventiveness of a teenager and the tenacity of a hooker and they both manage to find the killer and even more or less trap him, though they could have been killed in doing so. The final touch though, the punch line of the film is a real twist in the fabric of logical thrilling. And what about having had it wrong all along? Entertaining indeed.
  
  Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines
  ...more info
• Big letdown of a movie
  The first 30 minutes to Dressed to Kill are dreadful, Brian De Palma's worst ever as a director. I stuck with the movie simply because I enjoyed some of De Palma's other movies such as The Untouchables, Carlito's Way, and The Phantom of Paradise. Dressed to Kill picks up a little bit after Angie Dickinson goes away, but it never shakes off its sleaziness. This movie is overrated like its director. ...more info
• Suspenseful
  Brian De Palma, Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, Dennis Franz, pretty much says it all. Kind of easy to figure out, so don't and you'll have more fun....more info
• I knew that was a body double!
  Dressed to Kill starring Angie Dickinson, Michael Caine and Nancy Allen is a kinky, sediuctive, and oh so cool thriller from Brian De Palma. Of course his movies have really sucked over the past decade, Dressed to Kill and Carrie are his two best and accessible films. Make sure kids aren't in the room when you pop it in the dvd player, full frontal nudity and a naughty cab scene is what you'll get in the first 30 minutes. Kinda surprised Michael Caine is in this movie but hey he pulls off a great performance as Dr. Elliot who is not as he seems, hint hint. The scene in the museum is the best and the ride on the subway near the end is quite thrilling. If you like an erotic thrill ride then Dressed to Kill is for you. Enjoy!...more info
• Dressed to Kill
  Brian de Palma's best film is a reverent, worthy homage to Hitchcock, with some added kinkiness thrown in, to excellent effect. Extremely creepy and achingly suspenseful, this film may bring some sleepless nights, but it's so effective and well-executed, it's worth the insomnia. Cab scene with Angie is justly famous, and Caine is superb as the mysterious shrink who may know more than he's telling. Don't miss this one....more info
• Classic dePalma thriller!
  I'll never forget my first viewing of this, many years ago. The notorious 'elevator scene' with Angie Dickinson in her stunning winter white suit...let's just the suit doesn't stay 'white' for long. There are some terrific DVD extras here, featurettes, trailers, marketing images for fans of the film and dePalma. As far as the film, it's a great piece of work, classic dePalma. The camera work in the extended museum scene in the front part of the film is outstanding. The weak link: Nancy Allen's one note performance, made all the more ridiculous by the idea that she was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role! ...more info
• Genius, a masterwork
  Chilling, mysterious Eroticthriller as it should be. Subtly built up to the climax, it is suspenseful every minute. In this DVD, you can also change to the Uncut, uncensored version. The scene in the museum is art: without any dialogue, you see so much about what is going on in the mind of the main character. Making of is gorgeous with comments of the whole main cast, director, etc. In the comparisons of the scenes in several versions you see how important and visually artistic the original version is. ...more info
• Michael is Bitchin'
  After the titilation of the very steamy sex scene in the cab, expertly plyed by a no longer young Angie Dickinson, who did however stil have great legs, the pathos of a mind in the throes of gender alienation becomes the centerpiece of the film. The Caine madness drives this film with a whip and transforms the other actors into extras....more info
• A Masterful & Truly Luscious Homage !
  Brian De Palma's "Dressed To Kill" is a stunningly beautiful homage to his most obviouse influence in meastro Alfred Hitchcock. True film junkies will find themselves picking there jaws up off the floor after witnessing the mezmorising Hitchcockian cinematogrophy that runs rampid throughout this masterful thriller. I will never fault a Director for displaying his biggest influences especially when they're of the likes of one of the four fathers of great cinema/film making. I can't say enough about this film so I'm just going to end this review now by saying that I truly am inlove with it. ...more info
• Learning At The Feet Of Hitchcock
  Alfred Hitchcock's style of filmmaking is the one that has probably been the most copied of any filmmaker ever in Hollywood, for the simple reason that he perfected the art of cinematic suspense. And perhaps no director has been more accused of allegedly blatantly imitating the Master than Brian DePalma. Such accusations are not completely accurate, however, and they don't tell the whole story. The film in DePalma's canon that is so often cited by critics as his being so blatantly imitative of the portly Englishman is the 1980 thriller DRESSED TO KILL.
  
  The film places the great Angie Dickinson in the role of a frustrated single mother with sexual desires that she confides in to her psychiatrist (Michael Caine), desires that include one nightmarish sequence of her being strangled in her shower. She follows a mysterious man through a Manhattan art gallery; but when she returns home, a blonde psychopath brutally slashes her to death in her apartment complex's elevator.
  
  In the interim, the police, including a very profane detective (Dennis Franz, of "NYPD Blue" fame), are looking into the crime and have somehow managed to finger a blonde hooker (Nancy Allen) who had been seen around Dickinson's residence. The problem is, however, that she isn't the real perpetrator (a very tried-and-true Hitchcock conceit, an innocent person accused of a crime they didn't commit); and she teams up with Dickinson's whiz-kid son (Keith Gordon) to find who really did it. All the evidence seems to point to another patient of Caine's with some sexual issues. The end results are positively spine-chilling.
  
  By any stretch of the imagination, DRESSED TO KILL is quite obviously inspired by Hitchcock's PSYCHO, although there are also significant references to the Master's earlier classics VERTIGO and REAR WINDOW as well. The big difference, of course, is that, whereas Hitchcock was largely limited in what he could show onscreen because of the censorship restrictions in place prior to 1968 (which worked wonders in PSYCHO), DePalma didn't have those limitations, and was allowed to show more direct sex and violence, though it never really came all that close to ography or the overblown blood-and-guts horrors of FRIDAY THE 13TH, which was also released in 1980. Dickinson is quite good in what was an atypical kind of film for her; and Caine, one of the great actors of our time, is equally fine. Pino Donnagio's score, not surprisingly, is very close in feel to what Bernard Herrmann provided for Hitchcock's masterworks.
  
  Despite a somewhat cliched trick ending (repeating in some ways what DePalma did at the end of CARRIE, and John Boorman at the end of DELIVERANCE) and a very hammy acting job by Franz, DRESSED TO KILL is a very strong psychological horror/suspense film at a time when blood and guts were starting to flood the horror genre (though the year 1980 also gave us Kubrick's masterpiece THE SHINING, too). Films like this are even rarer nowadays in Hollywood than they were back then, and they need to be treasured....more info
• A Masterpiece in Cinema
  Review disclaimer: this review is based on viewing of the VHS tape. No viewing of the DVD was made before this review, by this reviewer.
  
  This movie is from one of my favorite directors, Brian De Palma, and I have done many other reviews of his movies. But this movie stands out as my favorite by this director.
  
  His use of the camera, though criticized in other attempts at art in his other movies, rings true, in this attempt. He really is a genius, with the movie camera.
  
  I would recommend watching this, snuggled up, with a significant other, and be prepared for shockwaves. It will blow your mind with its outrageous cinematography.
  
  I give this one, two hard thumbs WAY UP!!!
  
  MC White said: Check it out!!!...more info
• De Palma at his best
  Dressed to Kill is one of the quintessential thrillers of the 1980s. De Palma's ode to Hitchcock becomes completely successful and believable totally independent of whatever source material it was derived from.
  
  Kate Miller (Angie Dickinson) is in a troubled marriage. She has no spark with her husband anymore, but she does have a genius son that she truly loves. To try to keep the marriage together, Kate goes to see a psychiatrist (Michael Caine) who, as most doctors do, suggests that she just talk out her problems with her husband. We, the viewers, know it won't be that simple, though. From the doctor's office, Kate goes to an art gallery, and engages in a flirty game of cat-and-mouse with a fellow observer. This sequence is classic De Palma, and it ends with the two strangers making love in the back of a taxi cab, and later at the man's apartment. Everything appears to be going swimmingly until Kate gets in the elevator to leave in the middle of the night. From this point the movie turns exquisitely violent, with a murder scene that will stay with you for quite a while (at least it did with me). After the murder has taken place, the viewer is left to decipher who the murderer is and what the motive was.
  
  Just like all De Palma films, Dressed to Kill features some absolutely brilliant sequences (elevator, train station) dispersed throughout a rather clumsy plot. But hey, who cares right? You definitely enjoy the ride. Also, Dressed to Kill's ending is right up there with De Palma's best....more info