Body Double
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Body Double is a 1984 film by directed Brian De Palma. Starring Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, and Dennis Franz. The film is an homage to Alfred Hitchcock's films Vertigo, Rear Window, and Dial M for Murder.
Tagline: You can't believe everything you see.
Plot Summary
The film begins and ends with the protagonist Jake (Craig Wasson) playing the character of a vampire on the set of a low-budget horror film. He is unable to rise from a coffin due to claustrophobia, causing him to lose the part. He also attends an acting workshop to improve his skills. He has recently found himself without a home, after witnessing his girlfriend having an affair in her home, where he had been living. At the workshop class, he makes a new friend, who gives him a house-sitting offer he cannot refuse. He also introduces Jake to his "favorite neighbor" via telescope; a beautiful young woman who dances seductively, half-naked, in the window of a nearby apartment. Jake's nightly voyeuristic viewings of this woman quickly evolve into a murder mystery. At one point in the film, we see a "movie within a movie" with Frankie Goes to Hollywood performing the song "Relax" on the set of a porno shoot.
Critical reaction
The movie was largely dismissed by critics upon release and even denounced outright by others. Some claimed that the movie was an out-and-out rip-off of Alfred Hitchcock, rather than an homage, as in the case of Dressed to Kill, while other critics condemned the film's perceived misogyny and graphic violence.
However, Roger Ebert praised the movie, giving it four stars. The film developed a dedicated cult following which remains strong today, due to its directorial and aesthetic indulgences, early 1980s New Wave music soundtrack, and the use of iconic Los Angeles locations.
Brian De Palma has stated in the DVD commentary that the film was his response to critics who had denounced him before as ripping off Hitchcock, for his use of graphic violence (especially in the case of Scarface), and what they interpreted as misogyny (in the case of Dressed to Kill).
Trivia
- Body Double is heavily referenced in Bret Easton Ellis' novel, American Psycho.
- The title is supposedly a reference to the use of a body double for Angie Dickinson's nude scenes in De Palma's 1980 film,
- The saucer-shaped house in the movie is the Chemosphere, located on the San Fernando Valley side of the Hollywood Hills Since 2000, it has been owned by Benedikt Taschen of Taschen Publishing
- The Tower Records store that Jake enters to purchase a copy of "Holly Does Hollywood" is the Tower Video branch at the corner of Larabee and Sunset Boulevard. The current interior of the store differs from the movie in that there is no carpeting. The advertisement for the video in the movie which states "... or pick it up right now at Tower Records all-night video sale ..." is referring to the fact that this Tower location (and its record store counterpart across the street) remained open until midnight.
- The bar which is featured twice early in the film is Barney's Beanery, located right off of Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood.
- The market where Jake is seen carrying a grocery bag to his car is the Farmer's Market by 3rd Street and Fairfax Avenue.
- The hot dog stand featured at the beginning of the movie, Tail O' the Pup, was located near the corner of 3rd Street and La Cienega Boulevard, right by the Beverly Center which is also visible in the movie. Of note is that this particular area was rather sparse in comparison to the level of density that is featured today.
- The upscale mall where Jake stalks Gloria is the 'Rodeo Collection' on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
- The motel with the steps leading down to the beach and the passageway with the graffiti-lined entrance are located in Long Beach, California.
- The Hollywood Tower apartment building featured early in the film is located on Franklin Avenue in Hollywood, two blocks away from Gower Street in Hollywood)
External links
- Review Body Double at the Internet Movie Database
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