Brian De Palma

Biography

Brian De Palma is the son of a surgeon. He studied physics but at the same time felt his dedication for the movies and made some short films. After seven independent productions he had his first success with _Sisters (1972)_ (qv) and his voyeuristic style. Restlessly he worked on big projects with the script writers 'Paul Schrader (I)' (qv), 'John Farris (I)' (qv) and 'Oliver Stone (I)' (qv). He also filmed a novel of 'Stephen King (I)' (qv): _Carrie (1976)_ (qv). Another important film was _The Untouchables (1987)_ (qv) with a script by 'David Mamet (I)' (qv) adapted from the TV series. Brian De Palma is one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the new movement in Hollywood during the 1970s. He is known for his many films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers. Born on the 11th of September in 1940, De Palma was born in New Jersey in an American-Italian family. Originally entering university as a physics student, de Palma became attracted to films after seeing such classics as _Citizen Kane (1941)_ (qv). Enrolling in Sarah Lawrence College, he found lasting influences from such varied teachers as 'Alfred Hitchcock (I)' (qv) and 'Andy Warhol' (qv). At first, his films comprised of such black-and-white films as _Bridge That Gap (1965)_ (qv). He then discovered a young actor whose fame would influence Hollywood forever. In 1968, de Palma made the comedic film Greetings (1968) starring Robert de Niro in his first ever credited film role. The two followed up immediately with the film The Wedding Party (1969) and _Hi, Mom! (1970)_ (qv). After making such small-budget thrillers such as _Sisters (1972)_ (qv) and _Obsession (1976)_ (qv), De Palma was offered the chance to direct a film based on the 'Stephen King (I)' (qv) novel "Carrie". The story deals with a tormented teenage girl who finds she has the power of telekinesis. The film starred 'Sissy Spacek' (qv), 'Piper Laurie' (qv) and 'John Travolta (I)' (qv), and was for De Palma, a chance to try out the split screen technique for which he would later become famous. _Carrie (1976)_ (qv) was a massive success, and earned the two lead females (Laurie and Spacek) Oscar nominations. The film was praised by most critics, and De Palma's reputation was now permanently secured. He followed up this success with the horror film _The Fury (1978)_ (qv), the comedic _Home Movies (1979)_ (qv) (both these films featured 'Kirk Douglas (I)' (qv), the crime film _Dressed to Kill (1980)_ (qv), and another crime thriller entitled _Blow Out (1981)_ (qv) starring 'John Travolta (I)' (qv). His next major success was the controversial, ultra-violent film _Scarface (1983)_ (qv). Written by 'Oliver Stone (I)' (qv) and starring 'Al Pacino (I)' (qv), the film concerned Cuban immigrant Tony Montana's rise to power in the United States through the drug trade. The film, while being a critical failure, was a major success commercially. Moving on from _Scarface (1983)_ (qv), De Palma made two more movies before landing another one of his now-classics: _The Untouchables (1987)_ (qv), starring old friend 'Robert de Niro' in the role of Chicago gangster Al Capone. Also starring in the film were 'Kevin Costner' (qv) as the man who commits himself to bring Capone down, and 'Sean Connery' (qv), an old policeman who helps Costner's character to form a group known as the Untouchables. The film was one of de Palma's most successful films, earning Connery an Oscar, and gave 'Ennio Morricone' (qv) a nomination for Best Score. After _The Untouchables (1987)_ (qv), De Palma made the Vietnam film _Casualties of War (1989)_ (qv) starring 'Michael J. Fox (I)' (qv) and 'Sean Penn (I)' (qv). The film focuses on a new soldier who is helpless to stop his dominating sergeant from kidnapping a Vietnamese girl with the help of the coerced members of the platoon. The film did reasonably well at the box office, but it was his next film that truly displayed the way he could make a hit and a disaster within a short time. _The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)_ (qv) starred a number of well-known actors such as 'Bruce Willis' (qv) and 'Morgan Freeman (I)' (qv), yet it was still a commercial flop and earned him two Razzie nominations. But the roller coaster success that De Palma had gotten so far did not let him down. He made the horror film _Raising Cain (1992)_ (qv), and the criminal drama _Carlito's Way (1993)_ (qv) starring 'Al Pacino (I)' (qv) and 'Sean Penn (I)' (qv). The latter film is about a former criminal just released from prison that is trying to avoid his past and move on. It was in the year 1996 that brought one of his most well-known movies. This was the suspense-filled _Mission: Impossible (1996)_ (qv) starring 'Tom Cruise' (qv) and 'Jon Voight' (qv). Following up this film was the interesting but unsuccessful film _Snake Eyes (1998)_ (qv) starring 'Nicolas Cage' (qv) as a detective who finds himself in the middle of a murder scene at a boxing ring. De Palma continued on with the visually astounding but equally unsuccessful film _Mission to Mars (2000)_ (qv) which earned him another Razzie nomination. He met failure again with the crime/thriller _Femme Fatale (2002)_ (qv) the murder conspiracy _The Black Dahlia (2006)_ (qv) and the controversial film _Redacted (2007)_ (qv) which deals with individual stories from the war in Iraq. Brian De Palma may be down for the moment, but if his box office history has taught us anything, it is that he always returns with a major success that is remembered for years and years afterwards.