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Mark Llobrera

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Cover art forDressed to Kill

Dressed to Kill

Year
1980
Watched
Mar 20, 2025
Rewatch?
No

This review may contain spoilers.

I’ve seen so many bits of this movie in various montages, but despite De Palma being one of my guys I never sat down for the whole thing. I watched Arrow Video’s recent 4K release, a blind buy. I can see why this was a huge hit. I can also see plenty that’s aged poorly, including the terrible racial politics in the subway scene. Very interested to rewatch with the commentary by critic Drusilla Adeline, particularly for her perspective on the trans storyline.

If you’re on De Palma’s wavelength then this is another visual storytelling feast: the long, sensuous takes, the blurring of dream and reality, the obsession with what the camera reveals and obscures. A guy returning to film his fascinations again, and again, and again.