Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.PCS 1/10/84; site hocsj.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxj!houxm!hogpc!pegasus!hocsj!ecl From: ecl@hocsj.UUCP Newsgroups: net.movies Subject: Re: Body Double (*spoiler*) Message-ID: <218@hocsj.UUCP> Date: Fri, 2-Nov-84 11:21:57 EST Article-I.D.: hocsj.218 Posted: Fri Nov 2 11:21:57 1984 Date-Received: Sat, 3-Nov-84 06:47:33 EST Organization: AT&T Information Systems Labs, Holmdel NJ Lines: 33 Reference: <329@mhuxt.UUCP> > Aside from the familiar Hitchcock plot from Rear Window > and a gross scene with a power-drill, it was nothing > to rave about. No, it was VERTIGO, not REAR WINDOW. Yes, in both BODY DOUBLE and REAR WINDOW the main character "witnesses" a murder by spying on his neighbors through a window (though he doesn't see the murder in REAR WINDOW, and he only sees the beginning through the window in BODY DOUBLE before he runs over there to try to stop it). But the entire premise of BODY DOUBLE--that of a man set up as a "witness" to a fake crime--is stolen from VERTIGO. Also, the parallels of vertigo (in VERTIGO, naturally) and claustrophobia (in BODY DOUBLE) as the reason for choosing that particular witness is obvious. (Sorry if I've spoiled VERTIGO for anyone, but I *did* say "spoiler," and it's a good film even if you know the gimmick. In fact, after you see it the first time without knowing the gimmick, you'll want to watch it again to see how Hitchcock did it.) The scene with the drill is interesting--you never see the drill enter her body, just as in PSYCHO, you never see the knife enter Janet Leigh's body. If it's a gross-out scene, it's only by implication. By the way, De Palma's first Hitchcock "tribute," OBSESSION, is probably his best, and a lot better than many of Hitchcock's lesser films. How about VERTIGO, HIGH ANXIETY, and BODY DOUBLE for a triple feature? (Read <199@hocsj.UUCP> for a full review.) Evelyn C. Leeper ...ihnp4!hocsj!ecl