Sisters
Margot Kidder is Danielle, a beautiful model separated from her Siamese twin, Dominique. When a hotshot reporter (Jennifer Salt) suspects Dominique of a brutal murder, she becomes dangerously ensnared in the sisters' insidious sibling bond. A scary and stylish paean to female destructiveness, De Palma's first foray into horror voyeurism is a stunning amalgam of split-screen effects, bloody birthday cakes, and a chilling score by frequent Hitchcock collaborator Bernard Herrmann. Criterion is proud to present Sisters in a new Special Edition.
Member Reviews
Entertaining early DePalma - Coconut_Willy
Anyone who intends on watching this should be aware that this is from Brian DePalma very early in his career and is very much a low budget affair (with all that it implies). The storyline is interesting enough with sufficient development and quite a few unexpected twists. It is, as others have stated, obviously Hitchcock-like but if you read the extras, this was DePalma's intention from the start. Many will say that trying to imitate the master might be a dangerous endeavour but I think that for a young director, Hitchcock can only be a pretty good role model. All in all, this is a good enough movie. The cast is just OK though doing a pretty ordinary acting jog with a not so exciting dialogue, as might be expected in a so-called B-movie. The sets and locations are appropriate, the soundtrack is, in my opinion, on the annoying side and the camera is quite good. Personnally, I liked the split-screen scenes as it allowed to see different point of views at the same time. I would recommend this to fans of DePalma mostly as even though it's enjoyable, many other movies of the genre are far superior.
The transfer to DVD is good; as usual, I am a bit disappointed as I would expect something spectacular from a Criterion release but it is true that it's an old movie.Super fun! - Port_Moresby
Margot Kidder plays identical twins who were once conjoined but, a year before this film takes place, were separated. One of them, Danielle, is a model who left native Quebec for New York to pursue her modelling career. Her sister Dominique isn’t quite as fortunate, still shut up in the hospital where they were raised thanks to a tendency to be something of a psychotic murderer. You could just imagine how unfortunate it is when Danielle’s one-night stand sleeps with the right one and wakes up with the other. Thankfully, an ambitious reporter (Jennifer Salt) living across the street witnesses everything from her apartment and decides she will stop at nothing before proving that she actually saw a murder take place. This terrific psychological horror film liberally references Hitchcock, Franju and about a million other films, but as with all early De Palma, does it with great style and vigor. Kidder is terrific, and Bernard Herrmann’s score is gorgeous."Sisters" precursor to "Dead Ringers" & "Dressed To Kill" - BERT2
The first time I saw this B movie, I was shocked at an early sequence in the film. It's one of those flicks which try so hard to be like a Hitchcock one. It doesn't even hide it's intentions. This is early DePalma. When you see this suspense thriller you will understand where some of his scenes came from in some of his solid films......Body Double, Dressed To Kill, Femme Fatale. Even the thrill master David Cronenberg took notice of this film using the split person idea in his Dead Ringers film. This is not a great film and it looks like a typical low cost 70's one but if you like DePalma this is where you start to see the forming of some of his ideas for future films. Enjoy and Happy Birthday to you too!
Member Reviews
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Entertaining early DePalma - Coconut_Willy
Anyone who intends on watching this should be aware that this is from Brian DePalma very early in his career and is very much a low budget affair (with all that it implies). The storyline is interesting enough with sufficient development and quite a few unexpected ...Super fun! - Port_Moresby
Margot Kidder plays identical twins who were once conjoined but, a year before this film takes place, were separated. One of them, Danielle, is a model who left native Quebec for New York to pursue her modelling career. Her sister Dominique isn’t quite as ..."Sisters" precursor to "Dead Ringers" & "Dressed To Kill" - BERT2
The first time I saw this B movie, I was shocked at an early sequence in the film. It's one of those flicks which try so hard to be like a Hitchcock one. It doesn't even hide it's intentions. This is early DePalma. When you see this suspense thriller you ...