evanston_dad SPOILER: A movie that doesn't really make a lick of sense when you think about it but that is so stylishly entertaining that you can't look away....yep, you guessed it, another Brian De Palma movie.In this one Margot Kidder plays a woman whose Siamese twin died when they were separated and who now has a good twin/bad twin split personality. The good twin is a mousy thing with a French accent; the bad twin hacks people up with butcher knives. A busy body reporter (Jennifer Salt) who lives across the way witnesses one of the murders and tries to convince the police to investigate. When they don't take her claims seriously, she enlists the help of a private detective (Charles Durning). I'm not sure why she does so, because he does barely anything and she goes off on her own to investigate the crime herself. This leads her to a mental institution where.....oh, just see the wackadoodle thing yourself.De Palma again tips his not so subtle hat to Hitchcock, and even hires frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann to compose the film's terrific score. Themes of voyeurism (again, see Hitchcock) abound, but I'm not sure what De Palma is really using them to say, or indeed if he's trying to say anything at all. I just enjoyed watching his groovy use of split screens.Grade: B+

Wizard-8 With "Sisters", director Brian De Palma really showed how influenced he was by Alfred Hitchcock. In the movie, I saw elements of such Hitchcock movies as "Rope", "Rear Window", "North By Northwest", and "Psycho". In some ways, these homages kind of spoil the movie; even if you just have a casual knowledge of Hitchcock, more likely than not you will be able to guess one of the movie's "surprise" revelations. To De Palma's credit, he does throw in some original touches along the way (like one segment done in a split screen process), as well as some effective low key humor that the Master probably would have approved of. However, things do start to fall apart in the last fifteen minutes or so, leading to an ending that I was not sure that I understood completely. But before that last segment, the movie does deliver seventy five minutes or so of a fairly compelling story, so it does earn a marginal recommendation whether you are into Hitchcock-like thrillers or not.

NORDIC-2 Inspired by a 1966 'Time' magazine article on Siamese twins who had divergent personalities, Brian De Palma wrote a script that combined elements from several Alfred Hitchcock films, particularly 'Rear Window' and 'Psycho'. De Palma even hired Hitchcock's music composer, Bernard Hermann, to write the score. Though certainly an unabashed homage to the Master of Suspense, 'Sisters' is not a Hitchcock rip-off. Margot Kidder plays Danielle, a French-Canadian beauty separated from her Siamese twin, Dominique (also played by Kidder) by surgeon Emil Breton (William Finley). Some time after the surgery Danielle becomes Madame Breton but the marriage soon founders. Moving from Quebec to New York City to pursue an acting/modeling career—and pursued by a jealous, stalking Dr. Breton—Danielle appears on a weirdly voyeuristic game show called 'Peeping Toms' (no doubt in homage to Michael Powell's 1960 classic horror-thriller). Also on the show is Phillip Woode (Lisle Wilson), an attractive young black man who wins dinner-for-two at the Africa Room, a Manhattan theme restaurant. He asks Danielle to join him and, after an agreeable evening, the two repair to Danielle's apartment, despite the fact that Emil is lurking nearby. To his surprise Phillip discovers that Danielle has a twin sister and that it is their birthday. When he initiates foreplay, Dominique (or is it Danielle?) reacts in sex-phobic horror and stabs him to death à la 'Psycho' (or, better yet, Roman Polanski's 'Repulsion'). Emil arrives on the scene and helps Danielle clean up and dispose of the body in her convertible sofa! Now the 'Rear Window' plot presaged by Peeping Toms, kicks in. Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt), a reporter, witnesses the murder from her window in the adjacent building and calls the police. The cops search Danielle's apartment but find no evidence of a killing. Vowing to solve the crime, Grace hires Joseph Larch (Charles Durning), a private investigator, to help her. Suffice to say that the proceedings get weirder from then on and that the ending is both surprising and brilliant. Despite the dubious efficacy of Margot Kidder's French accent, 'Sisters' boasts an intriguing script, tight direction, fine performances, and Bernard Hermann's suitably chilling score. It is not only Brian De Palma's first distinctive effort it is probably his best film, certainly the most underrated. VHS (2000); Criterion Collection DVD (2000).

Princiss Scariest movie ever!! This movie scares the S*** out of me!!! So sad to see the towers.. just another reminder of how they still haunt us New Yorkers. Still a great movie and one of Brian DePalma's best!! I highly recommend it. Scariest movie ever!! This movie scares the S*** out of me!!! So sad to see the towers.. just another reminder of how they still haunt us New Yorkers. Still a great movie and one of Brian DePalma's best!! I highly recommend it. Scariest movie ever!! This movie scares the S*** out of me!!! So sad to see the towers.. just another reminder of how they still haunt us New Yorkers. Still a great movie and one of Brian DePalma's best!! I highly recommend it.