Body Double

Body Double
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brian De Palma
Produced by Brian De Palma
Screenplay by Brian De Palma
Robert J. Avrech
Story by Brian De Palma
Starring
Music by Pino Donaggio
Cinematography Stephen H. Burum
Edited by Gerald B. Greenberg
Bill Pankow
Production
company
Delphi II Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • October 26, 1984 (1984-10-26)
Running time
 114 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $10 million
Box office $8.8 million

Body Double is a 1984 American erotic thriller film co-written and directed by Brian De Palma and starring Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith, and Deborah Shelton. The original musical score was composed by Pino Donaggio.

The film was a direct homage to the films of Alfred Hitchcock, specifically Rear Window (1954), Vertigo (1958), and Dial M for Murder (1954) taking plot lines and themes (such as voyeurism and obsession) from the first two films.[1][2]

The film received a lukewarm result at the box office, but has subsequently become a cult film. When Twilight Time released the film on Blu-ray in the United States in the 2013, it was quickly sold out.[3][4][5]

Plot

Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) is a struggling actor who has lost his role as a vampire in a low-budget horror movie after his claustrophobia thwarts shooting. After returning home to discover his girlfriend (Barbara Crampton) cheating on him, he splits and is left without a place to stay (the residence belongs to her). At a method acting class he meets Sam (Gregg Henry) who closely monitors Scully's revelation of his fears and the childhood cause of his claustrophobia. They go to a bar where Scully is offered a place to stay; Sam's rich friend has gone on a trip to Europe and needs a house-sitter for his ultra-modern home in the Hollywood Hills.

During the tour of the house with Scully, Sam is especially enthusiastic about showing Scully one feature: a telescope, and through it a female neighbor, Gloria Revelle (Deborah Shelton), who erotically dances at a specific time each night. Scully voyeuristically watches Gloria each night until he sees her being abused by a man she appears to know. The next day he follows her when she goes shopping. Gloria makes calls to an unknown person promising to meet them. Scully also notices a disfigured "Indian," a man he had noticed was watching Gloria a few days prior. Scully follows her to a seaside motel where apparently Gloria has been stood up by the person she was there to meet. On the beach the Indian suddenly snatches her purse. Scully pursues him into a nearby tunnel but is overcome by his claustrophobia. Gloria walks him out of it. They impulsively and passionately kiss before she retreats. That night Scully is again watching through the telescope when the Indian returns and breaks into Gloria's home. Scully races to save her but is attacked by Gloria's vicious dog. Gloria is brutally murdered by the Indian with a huge handheld drill.

Chemosphere, the ultramodern house used in Body Double

Scully alerts the police, who determine it was a botched robbery. Detective McLean (Guy Boyd), however, becomes suspicious after finding a pair of Gloria's panties in Scully's pocket. Although McLean does not arrest him, he tells Scully that his voyeuristic behavior, as well as not alerting the police sooner, helped cause Gloria's murder. Unable to sleep, Scully watches a pornography TV channel. He observes that the actress, Holly Body (Melanie Griffith), dances in exactly the same sensual manner that Gloria did. To meet Holly, he pretends to be a porn producer hiring for a new film.

Scully learns from Holly that Sam hired her to impersonate Gloria each night, dancing in the window, knowing Scully would be watching and later witness the real Gloria's murder. Holly, offended at the suggestion she was involved in a killing, storms out of the house. She is picked up by the Indian who knocks her unconscious and drives her away. Scully follows them to an aqueduct where the Indian is digging a grave. During their fight, Scully discovers the Indian is Sam in heavy make-up. Scully was a scapegoat providing Sam, who was Gloria's abusive boyfriend, with an alibi during the murder. Scully is overpowered and thrown into the grave and is incapacitated by his claustrophobia. However, he overcomes his fear and climbs out as Sam is knocked into the aqueduct and drowned.

During the end credits, Scully is shown having been recast in his previous vampire role as Holly watches from the sidelines.

Cast

Director Brian De Palma originally considered Annette Haven to play the lead female role that eventually went to Griffith. Before filming he commented, "I'm already thinking of casting. I don't know if there're any good young porno stars out here, but the older ones - Annette Haven, Seka - some of them can really act. And Annette Haven has a terrific body."[6]

Slavitza Jovan, who appeared as Gozer the Gozerian in Ghostbusters the same year, 1984,[7] briefly appears as a saleslady.[8]

Prolific voice actor Rob Paulsen appears in the film as a cameraman for a pornographic movie.[9]

Body Double contains a film within a film sequence in which pop band Frankie Goes to Hollywood performs their song "Relax"[10] on the set of a porn film, and in which scream queen Brinke Stevens,[8] and adult actresses Cara Lott and Annette Haven appear.

Locations

The film was shot in the Los Angeles area and includes such locations as Tail o' the Pup, the Beverly Center, Barney's Beanery, the Farmer's Market, the Rodeo Collection mall on Rodeo Drive, the Spruce Goose dome in Long Beach, the Hollywood Tower and adjacent Hollywood Freeway, Tower Records, and the Chemosphere.[11]

Reception

The movie was largely dismissed by some critics upon release and even denounced outright by others.

However, Roger Ebert praised the movie giving it three and a half out of four stars.[12] The film developed a cult following, perhaps due to its directorial and aesthetic indulgences, its early 1980s new wave soundtrack, and the use of iconic Los Angeles locations.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 78% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10.[13]

The movie's trailer won a Clio Award in 1984.[14]

Accolades

Award Category Subject Result
Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Melanie Griffith Nominated
National Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress Won
New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress 2nd place
Golden Raspberry Award Worst Director Brian De Palma Nominated

Cultural impact

Body Double is referenced repeatedly throughout the Bret Easton Ellis novel American Psycho as the favorite film of the protagonist serial killer Patrick Bateman. He mentions that he has seen the film 37 times and rents the tape of it from a video store several times in the story. He also repeats scenes from the film to the reader or to other characters.

Remake

Body Double was remade in 1993 in India as Pehla Nasha. The film was directed by Ashutosh Gowariker in his directorial debut. Deepak Tijori plays the lead role alongside Pooja Bhatt, Raveena Tandon and Paresh Rawal.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Williams, Linda (2005). The Erotic Thriller in Contemporary Cinema. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 86.
  2. ↑ Cvetkovich, Ann (1991). "Postmodern Vertigo: The Sexual Politics of Allusion in De Palma's Body Double". In Raubicheck, Walter; Srebnick, Walter. Hitchcock's Rereleased Films: From Rope to Vertigo. Detroit: Wayne State University Press. Archived from the original on February 11, 2013.
  3. ↑ http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/61564/body-double-blu-ray/
  4. ↑ http://www.hometheaterforum.com/community/threads/body-double-blu-ray-review.325785/
  5. ↑ http://www.rupertpupkinspeaks.com/2013/08/twilight-timey-body-double-on-blu-ray.html
  6. ↑ De Palma, Brian; Knapp, Laurence F. (2003). Brian De Palma: Interviews. University Press of Mississippi. p. 91. ISBN 1-57806-516-X.
  7. ↑ "Ghostbusters (1984): Acting Credits". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on March 25, 2016. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  8. 1 2 "Body Double (1984): Acting Credits". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Rob Paulsen: Filmography". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  10. ↑ Gibron, Bill (September 9, 2006). "Body Double: Special Edition". DVD Talk. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  11. ↑ Timberg, Scott (July 23, 2011). "Landmark House: John Lautner's Chemosphere". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  12. ↑ Ebert, Roger (January 1, 1984). "Body Double". RogerEbert.com. Ebert Digital LLC. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Body Double Movie (1984)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
  14. ↑ Hallam, Scott (July 25, 2012). "Saturday Nightmares: Body Double (1984)". Dread Central. Dread Central Media. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
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