A legendary American filmmaker with a career that's spanned more than half a century, Brian De Palma is one of those rare great directors who's able to tackle just about any genre while injecting all his films with a distinct style. He's not someone who's made nothing but critical/commercial darlings, but he hits far more than he misses, and has done so for decades now. Many of his movies have also aged surprisingly well, even to the point where they're better received years later than they were on release.
For anyone who loves movies, just about anything De Palma's made is worth seeking out, as even the occasional misfire he's put out still tends to have compelling or interesting elements. But for those who are a little pressed for time and can't watch everything, the following is a selection of the best of the best, when it comes to Brian De Palma. All these films demonstrate his versatility as a director, and are ranked below, from great to greatest.
10 'Casualties of War' (1989)
Starring: Michael J. Fox, Sean Penn, John C. Reilly
Brian De Palma has only made a couple of war movies, the most recent of which is a very unnerving and unusual mockumentary called Redacted. His better-known foray into the genre (and arguably better overall) came in 1989, though: Casualties of War. It’s an extremely effective and despairing look at the Vietnam War, following the dilemma one soldier in a squad faces when his fellow soldiers do something he deems morally unacceptable.
Casualties of War looks at the ever-divisive Vietnam War and portrays some very ugly actions in an uncompromising and emotionally intense way. It’s less flashy and intentionally less stylish/fun than the vast majority of Brian De Palma movies, but this naturally makes it impactful, and it also boasts two very strong performances from Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn (the former particularly demonstrating his range by playing the sort of role most people don’t tend to associate with him).
9 'Carlito's Way' (1993)
Starring: Al Pacino, Sean Penn, Penelope Ann Miller
While it’s not as well known as another crime movie Brian De Palma and Al Pacino made 10 years earlier, Carlito’s Way is still an engaging gangster drama that’s one of the filmmaker’s more underrated efforts. It takes a familiar premise and does undoubtedly interesting things with it, focusing on an ex-con who tries – and struggles – to stay away from the sorts of things that led to him being imprisoned in the first place.
Like Casualties of War, Sean Penn also shows up here as a thoroughly unlikable character, and Pacino – fresh off his sole Oscar win – is also as good as always. Carlito’s Way is long and a little slow at times, but it delivers a downbeat crime/drama narrative that’ll reward patient viewers, and also has value for the way it shows De Palma putting a twist on the kind of genre he (and Pacino) had explored before.
Carlito's Way
RRelease Date November 10, 1993 Director Brian De Palma Cast Al Pacino , Sean Penn , Penelope Ann Miller , John Leguizamo , Ingrid Rogers , Luis Guzman Runtime 144 Main Genre Crime8 'Dressed to Kill' (1980)
Starring: Michael Caine, Nancy Allen, Angie Dickinson
Speaking of crime movies and Brian De Palma, Dressed to Kill sees him putting another spin on that well-worn genre, though here, there’s also a focus on mystery and horror (definitely more so than telling a gangster-related story). It revolves around one person killing another, and then relentlessly pursuing a third who witnessed the initial crime: a young prostitute who then finds herself fighting for her life.
Dressed to Kill sees De Palma working with another legendary leading actor, here being Michael Caine in a rather unusual role by his standards. Not all of this stylish and unpredictable crime/mystery/thriller movie holds up especially well, but it was efficient and well-made for its time, and so long as viewers are able to appreciate that it is now more than 40 years old, it’s still possible to have a blast with this one.
7 'Mission: Impossible' (1996)
Starring: Tom Cruise, Jon Voight, Emmanuelle Béart
Perhaps standing as the most approachable and mass-appeal movie Brian De Palma’s ever directed, 1996’s Mission: Impossible kicked off an iconic film series that’s come to define much of Tom Cruise’s acting career. Though some of its sequels are arguably better, this first impossible mission still delivers solid suspense and action, focusing on Ethan Hunt’s efforts to locate a double agent and clear his name.
While later Mission: Impossible movies go all out when it comes to action, this original film in the series is a little more about thrills and tension. It still has a fast pace and plenty of interesting twists and turns in the story, but those after bombastic action set pieces might not find them here. At the same time, when it’s this good of a thriller, the fact it doesn’t have the feel or over-the-top quality of some of the later movies in the series can easily be forgiven.
Mission: Impossible
PG-13ActionAdventureThrillerRelease Date May 22, 1996 Director Brian De Palma Cast Tom Cruise , Jon Voight , Emmanuelle Béart , Henry Czerny , Jean Reno , Ving Rhames , Kristin Scott Thomas , Vanessa Redgrave Runtime 110 minutes6 'Body Double' (1984)
Starring: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry
Containing some of the same sorts of thrills found in Dressed to Kill, Body Double is another strong – and somewhat racy – thriller from De Palma. At times, it even feels like it comes close to being a parody of a Brian De Palma film in the best way possible, with so many ludicrous twists all piling up on top of each other that the movie really has to be seen to be believed.
Things kick off when a young man witnesses a murder while he’s house-sitting, and this leads him to get wrapped up in a complex and ever-changing series of events where very little – and almost no individual – can be trusted. Body Double is a dizzying movie to sit through, and some might feel like it gets a bit too ludicrous, but anyone who feels like they’re immune to being shocked by a mystery/thriller movie ought to check it out; they might be pleasantly surprised.
5 'Blow Out' (1981)
Starring: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow
Functioning as another great paranoid thriller and a movie about how dangerous whistleblowing can be, Blow Out is the kind of film that’s perfectly suited to Brian De Palma’s sensibilities as a filmmaker. It stars John Travolta in one of his greatest-ever lead performances, and revolves around a sound technician who usually works on horror movies, and what happens when he believes he’s captured audio evidence of a high-profile figure getting assassinated.
Naturally, the whole situation leads to intrigue, then conspiracies, and then unending terror, but as a viewer, it’s all quite gripping and even entertaining (at least for those who don’t mind their entertainment being a little anxiety-provoking). Blow Out just delivers exactly what it has to, as a psychological thriller/mystery flick, and proves to be an endlessly satisfying watch as a result.
Blow Out
RCrimeDramaMysteryRelease Date July 24, 1981 Director Brian De Palma Cast John Travolta , Nancy Allen , John Lithgow , Dennis Franz , Peter Boyden Runtime 108 Minutes4 'Carrie' (1976)
Starring: Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Amy Irving
Carrie is Brian De Palma’s most famous horror movie, and proves to be just as emotionally riveting as many of his best thrillers, all the while delivering a different sort of feeling (obviously). It’s based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, and centers on a teenage girl who’s bullied at school and mistreated by her mother at home, which leads to her eventually snapping and getting revenge.
Her telekinetic powers help in this, of course, and are what make the climax of Carrie particularly memorable and iconic. It was one of the first significant box office hits of De Palma’s career, and still holds up extremely well to this date, helped immensely by the fact that it also contains career-best performances from the likes of Sissy Spacek in the title role and Piper Laurie as Carrie’s overbearing mother.
Carrie
RDirector Brian De Palma Cast Sissy Spacek , Piper Laurie Runtime 100 Main Genre Drama3 'Phantom of the Paradise' (1974)
Starring: William Finley, Paul Williams, Jessica Harper
Two years before Carrie, Brian De Palma made another iconic horror movie with Phantom of the Paradise, but it would be something of a disservice to simply call it a horror movie and leave it at that. Phantom of the Paradise is also a musical, a satire, a fantastical tragedy, and something of a romance movie about impossible love and the heartache that can cause.
It’s certainly bizarre, and might not be for everyone… it didn’t seem to do the job for audiences and critics at the time of its release, being a De Palma movie that picked up a cult audience in the years following it initially coming out. For being as unique as it is, though, and also feeling uncompromising and unabashedly weird in just about every way, Phantom of the Paradise is worthy of acclaim and attention.
2 'The Untouchables' (1987)
Starring: Kevin Costner, Sean Connery, Robert De Niro
It’s pretty easy to sell The Untouchables based on the strength of its cast, what with Kevin Costner playing a clean-cut hero, an Oscar-winning Sean Connery playing his reliable ally, and Robert De Niro portraying real-life gangster Al Capone. It takes place during the Prohibition era and plays fast and loose with certain historical facts, but thankfully, doing so does lead to a better – and likely more exciting – story.
While it’s perhaps sentimental and overly “good vs. evil” in telling a narrative about special agents taking down bootleggers, The Untouchables is just such a sleek, well-oiled, and entertaining movie that it feels hard to complain about much. It recreates a 1930s period setting with style, boasts great performances from just about everyone in the cast, has some memorably shot action, and is backed up by a grand score courtesy of Ennio Morricone. It’s just all-around great.
The Untouchables
RRelease Date June 3, 1987 Director Brian De Palma Cast Kevin Costner , Sean Connery , Charles Martin Smith , Andy Garcia , Robert De Niro , Richard Bradford Runtime 119 minutes Main Genre Crime1 'Scarface' (1983)
Starring: Al Pacino, Steven Bauer, Michelle Pfeiffer
Taking a classic 1930s gangster movie and updating it with style for the 1980s, Scarface is likely the movie most people will think of first when they hear the name “Brian De Palma” (that or Mission: Impossible, but the fact he directed that feels a little more surprising). It tells a fairly straightforward rise-and-fall gangster movie storyline, but does so in a way that feels more epic and bombastic than anything that came before or since.
Scarface is all about excess, and the downfall of one ambitious criminal who gains and then loses everything. The ridiculousness and the sheer 1980s-ness of it all feel more like a feature than a bug, and the aesthetics, music, and overall style of Scarface prove hard to resist. It’s also got one of the biggest performances Al Pacino’s ever given, and concludes with a dynamite ending that’s impossible to forget. All in all, it doesn’t feel like too much of a stretch to call it De Palma’s greatest movie.
Scarface
RRelease Date December 9, 1983 Director Brian De Palma Cast Al Pacino , Steven Bauer , Michelle Pfeiffer , Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio , Robert Loggia , Miriam Colon Runtime 170 minutes Main Genre CrimencG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kr7O1wKdknZ1dpa6tucBmpKiumZrAbr7Ap6KenF8%3D