How much one enjoys DE PALMA depends almost entirely on one's opinion on the work of Brian De Palma or De Palma himself. For those who like De Palma's films, this new documentary will be a real treat. For those who dislike or are relatively indifferent to De Palma will most likely be completely bored throughout the entire running time. This is a documentary made for a very small audience: De Palma fans and general film fanatics.
The whole movie consists of De Palma going through his complete filmography, talking about each one of his films with clips spliced into the mix. There are no additional interviews, which would be a problem if De Palma wasn't such an engaging speaker. In terms of modern day filmmakers, De Palma, even after a career that spans several decades, is still of the most fascinating personalities in the film industry, something that is clear throughout almost every minute here. While I won't say there's never a dull moment, a good 85% of De Palma's stories are entertaining and insightful. Even the stories he tells about his biggest flops like The Bonfire of the Vanities adaptation and Wise Guys starring Danny Devito are fun to hear. De Palma doesn't disown any of these productions, but he is quite candid about why certain ones weren't well received critically or commercially.
The only real flaw is that a few of De Palma's films here get too much commentary, while a few gets too little commentary. Some of De Palma's most recent movies like The Black Dahlia and Passion are barely mentioned at all. Even if they are among his least popular films, it's disappointing that they aren't discussed enough here given the treatment all the other films seem to receive. Even with this imbalance,this is something that's worth watching more than once, just like the De Palma's films themselves. 8/10
The whole movie consists of De Palma going through his complete filmography, talking about each one of his films with clips spliced into the mix. There are no additional interviews, which would be a problem if De Palma wasn't such an engaging speaker. In terms of modern day filmmakers, De Palma, even after a career that spans several decades, is still of the most fascinating personalities in the film industry, something that is clear throughout almost every minute here. While I won't say there's never a dull moment, a good 85% of De Palma's stories are entertaining and insightful. Even the stories he tells about his biggest flops like The Bonfire of the Vanities adaptation and Wise Guys starring Danny Devito are fun to hear. De Palma doesn't disown any of these productions, but he is quite candid about why certain ones weren't well received critically or commercially.
The only real flaw is that a few of De Palma's films here get too much commentary, while a few gets too little commentary. Some of De Palma's most recent movies like The Black Dahlia and Passion are barely mentioned at all. Even if they are among his least popular films, it's disappointing that they aren't discussed enough here given the treatment all the other films seem to receive. Even with this imbalance,this is something that's worth watching more than once, just like the De Palma's films themselves. 8/10