Just perfect...

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

A Masterpiece!

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow co-produced and co-directed this sit-down interview with filmmaker Brian De Palma, using clips of the movies he has been inspired by and key sequences of De Palma's own pictures to illustrate his colorful, amusing, often fascinating stories of film technique, on-set difficulties and, the always dicey, hindsight regrets: what-worked-and-what-didn't. Raised in Philadelphia, the youngest of three boys born to an absentee surgeon father, De Palma was a science nerd at Columbia University before enrolling in the Sarah Lawrence College drama department, where he honed his technique, began shooting short films, and eventually made his first full-length feature, "The Wedding Party" featuring a young Robert De Niro (with whom De Palma would work again with several times). Universal paid for De Palma's tuition and put him into their New Talent program, but never used any of his submissions, so De Palma went rogue and filmed "Greetings" in New York City, followed by "Hi, Mom!" which won him a modicum of success and a repertoire of actor friends. This is only the beginning for the De Palma that soon followed, the movie auteur who became close pals with Spielberg, Lucas, Coppola and Scorsese, the mastermind behind smooth, erotic thrillers such as "Dressed to Kill", violent crime epics such as "Scarface" and "The Untouchables" and the big-budget action-adventure "Mission: Impossible", De Palma's first blockbuster. Not especially a raconteur, De Palma nevertheless looks back at his cinematic output with bemusement, telling wonderful stories of working with De Niro, Sean Connery, John Cassavetes, Cliff Robertson, composer Bernard Herrmann, Sean Penn and Michael J. Fox. He doesn't go in for gossip (very little about his two marriages), nor does he linger on the criticisms he's received over his Hitchcock allusions. However, any young filmmaker or movie buff will be intrigued by the constant struggles he's had to see his vision through, about standing up to producers and studio heads and writers who all want his film to reflect their views. It's a tantalizing 110 minutes. ***1/2 from ****

De Palma (2015) **** (out of 4) Directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow got Brian De Palma to sit down and talk about all of the movies that he has made. This documentary has De Palma basically giving a history lesson about all of his movies. He talks about his influences, their failures or things that he wish he had done differently.If you're a fan of De Palma's work then you probably already know that he has contributed to countless interviews and special features for his movies. There's a lot of stuff out there where the director talks about his career but this documentary works because you can pretty much get everything in one sitting. I really liked the flow of the picture because it really does come across as being shot in real time and it's just like you're sitting down at a table with the director and listening to him talk about his career.DE PALMA is certainly a must-see for film buffs because the director is quite honest with his talk. At this point in his career he certainly doesn't have to worry about offending anyone and this leads to some very good stories about issue he had on films with actors including Robert DeNiro on THE UNTOUCHABLES. Each film is given a good amount of discussion and it's fascinating getting to hear the director pat himself on the back when he thought he did a great job or pointing out things that went wrong.None of them films are given great, full details but as I said there are countless bonus features out there that dive into each film in more detail. This film works remarkably well because of how simple it is. The camera is set up close to De Palma and he simply talks and tells stories.

Watching this documentary, one begins to realize how big of an influence De Palma himself in the world of movies. His output includes a little bit of every possible genre, and though he's not a young man anymore, he can still surprise us. He belongs to a group of directors that will probably never be matched in either their individual or collaborative work. He has definitely left a legacy worth enjoying and studying.De Palma started in the 60's, and the film gives some background on his earlier productions. It's the 70's where he started making movies that most of us are familiar with and will always associate his name with. He unleashed the world of horror with "Carrie", probably igniting a surge in popularity for King and himself. That film also introduced Sissy Spacek to us. The documentary continues to give us informational bits on most of his work, clarifying issues, telling us what he liked or he didn't like in some of the films, and how there were always unexpected developments in his productions depending on who his partners were.His work is for the most part quite remarkable. He combines beauty, obsession, and horror in films like "Body Double" and "Dressed to Kill". He works with some of the biggest stars in the world and directs hits or unexpected flops, but they are always memorable. Throughout the documentary, we admits his mistakes, and how his films could have been improved. He also tells us how other films which tried to imitate him fail because they might be going in a different direction. Overall, De Palma proves himself an artist, a man who loves movies, who understands them and knows how to make them. He values the association with a good writer, a good idea, and most importantly he is cognizant that there is no way one can work alone in a place like Hollywood, regardless of the risks and the benefits.

This is perhaps the most mundane film ever about a most colorful filmmaker.Watching "De Palma," one gets the sense of a home movie more than a professional retrospective of a director's career. The interviews are insightful, and he tells some good stories -- but he is filmed and edited so ineptly the stories lose much of their impact. The film clips are also choppy and badly cut -- that is, badly incorporated. De Palma's famous long takes are sliced and diced and jammed into the narrative without ever allowing one the pleasure of just enjoying the man's craft. His narration also seems rushed and jammed together. I read that this film was put together from 30 hours of interview footage. It shows. One can tell his many hours of speaking have been condensed and shortened and jammed into 100 or so minutes. And because only a single camera angle was used, the editors apparently re-sized the image occasionally just to create a bit of variety.It's also very much of an insider's film. De Palma speaks of friends and colleagues using nicknames the general public isn't aware of. And yet we're supposed to understand. For example, most audiences don't know who composer Bernard Herrmann is, and fewer still know his industry nickname, "Benny." When De Palma starts referring to "Benny," it's not clear who he's talking about. This could have been cleared up in the editing -- but apparently the film's two editors -- who have never edited a documentary before -- and the directors, who have never directed a documentary before -- felt clarity wasn't important.The film is at its worst near the end, when De Palma's final words, summing up his life as a director, are played off-camera. This clearly illustrates the inexperience and ineptitude of both directors and editors. It's a pity someone with a fraction of De Palma's talent and skill wasn't entrusted with telling the life story of one of our greatest filmmakers.