You can't believe everything you see.
After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood Hills. While peering through the beautiful home's telescope one night, he spies a gorgeous woman dancing in her window. But when he witnesses the girl's murder, it leads Scully through the netherworld of the adult entertainment industry on a search for answers—with porn actress Holly Body as his guide.
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Character
Nostalgic, unpretentious, plot-driven and grave.
- contemporarynostalgic
- unpretentiousprestige
- character-ledplot-driven
- gravecomic
- rawmeticulous
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Is this Brian De Palma's best work?”
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“Are the characters only there to move the plot?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- The Movie Dioramaon TMDB · Jan 20207/10
Body Double infiltrates the vehemence of adult entertainment through inspired Hitchcockian thrills. De Palma was at the height of his success during the eighties. Implementing his technical flourishes within sub-genres that we’re not necessarily accessible for the average audience member. Erotic thrillers, whilst some may describe as distasteful and misogynistic, accentuated sexualisation to further enhance the lust of man. Body Double is no different. Much like the pornographic industry that is portrayed, it certainly has a sub-par screenplay that persuades you to fast-forward to the “act” in question, yet manages to lure you into the sleazy allurement of De Palma’s technically adept direction. After waltzing in on his partner cheating on him, a novice actor is recruited by a friend to house-sit a luxury abode, conveniently positioned adjacently to another property hosting a sumptuous succubus of temptation. Naturally, downbeat and fuelled by anger, he resorts to peeping and spying as she provocatively dances in front of the window before proceeding to creepily follow her the next day. As the main man himself stated, this is inspired by Hitchcock’s two greatest thrillers: ‘Rear Wi
Read the whole review on TMDB - John Chardon TMDB · Feb 20147.5/10
De Palma Double Bubble, Toil and Trouble. Body Double is directed by Brian De Palma, he also co-writes the screenplay with Robert J. Avrech. It stars Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton, Guy Boyd and Dennis Franz. Music is by Pino Donaggio and cinematography by Stephen H. Burum. Brian De Palma continued his crusade to push buttons of the sensitive whilst homaging his hero Alfred Hitchcock, with this cheeky, garish, sleazy thriller. Even when moving away from Hitch like movies, he created a storm with Scarface (1983), so the critics of 1984 wondered if a return to suspense thriller territory would put the director back on an even cinematic keel? Not a bit of it! The reaction to Body Double was ridiculously over the top, apparently a misogynistic homage to the porn industry, with exploitation gore thrown in for good (bad) measure, Body Double was the devil's spawn in the eyes of critics. The public? Not so much, film was a sure fire hit at the box office. Of course today it seems all very tame, where not even a simulated drilling killing can raise the temperature of the audience, or that frank sexual language and bare bodies no longer makes cinema goers blush
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Cast
- Craig WassonJake Scully
- Melanie GriffithHolly Body
- Gregg HenrySam Bouchard
- Deborah SheltonGloria Revelle
- Guy BoydDet. Jim McLean
- Dennis FranzRubin
- David HaskellDrama Teacher
- Rebecca StanleyKimberly Hess
- Al IsraelCorso
- Douglas WarhitVideo Salesman
Crew
- Brian De PalmaDirector
- Brian De PalmaScreenplay
- Robert J. AvrechScreenplay
- Stephen H. BurumDirector of Photography
- Pino DonaggioOriginal Music Composer
- Gerald B. GreenbergEditor
- Bill PankowEditor
- Brian De PalmaProducer
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Pairings
Companions we picked from the closest works, and how to take them.
Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Femme Fatale 200277% alikeBoth nostalgic, unpretentious, plot-driven.
Dead Again 199177% alikeBoth nostalgic, grave, plot-driven.
Dressed to Kill 198074% alikeBoth grave, plot-driven.
Trick 'r Treat 200774% alikeBoth nostalgic, unpretentious, plot-driven.
Scream 199673% alikeBoth nostalgic, plot-driven.
The Town that Dreaded Sundown 201473% alikeBoth nostalgic, unpretentious, plot-driven.
Don't Worry Darling 202271% alikeBoth grave.
Death Proof 200771% alikeBoth nostalgic, unpretentious, plot-driven.
Tales from the Crypt 198972% alikeTelevision · Both nostalgic, unpretentious, plot-driven.
Mothmen 1966 202268% alikeGame · Both nostalgic, unpretentious, grave.
Often watched with
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