{"id":29625,"date":"2018-11-19T06:31:49","date_gmt":"2018-11-19T11:31:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=29625"},"modified":"2020-05-26T22:52:25","modified_gmt":"2020-05-27T02:52:25","slug":"sisters-1972-criterion-collection-blu-ray","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2018\/11\/19\/sisters-1972-criterion-collection-blu-ray\/","title":{"rendered":"Sisters (1972): Criterion Collection [Blu-Ray]"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What we see in \u201cSisters\u201d is the template for what would become the basic mold for most Brian De Palma films. So enamored is he with Hitchcock that he essentially pays tribute to the man\u2019s filmmaking techniques and films consciously and sometimes sub-consciously. \u201cSisters\u201d is rough around the edges, but an otherwise fascinating thriller about the perversion of voyeurism, and the suppression of sexuality and female independence in an often matriarchal society. De Palma unfolds an interesting murder mystery filled with psycho sexual overtones that almost feel like nods to the Giallos of the decade.<\/p>\n

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Margot Kidder is great as young Danielle, a woman who meets a young man on a weird candid camera game show called \u201cPeeping Tom.\u201d Although their initial introduction to one another involves him fighting the urge to watch her undress, they hit it off, and spend the night socializing at a bar. Despite a weird confrontation with her ex-husband, Danielle welcomes him to her home, and the two spend the night together. The next morning we meet Grace Colier, a reporter struggling to be taken seriously, who watches from across the street as he\u2019s murdered in Danielle\u2019s apartment. Much of \u201cSisters\u201d involves Grace trying to desperately convince the authorities of what she\u2019d witnessed, all the while Danielle is more or less the center of a massive plot.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to not give away what De Palma offers in the realm of the thriller, even if a lot of the big twists are pretty much telegraphed way before the movie can catch up with the audience. De Palma sucks the audience in well, nevertheless, with a lot of unique camera tricks and engaging camera play. There\u2019s even the arresting split screen he specializes in, as we view not only the murder, but the murder through Grace\u2019s eyes. Every character seems designed in the mold of a Hitchcock antagonist and or protagonist, including Grace who plays the Lila Crane role, working to uncover what happened and why Danielle is being shielded. Along the way De Palma pays visual tribute to \u201cPsycho,\u201d \u201cRear Window,\u201d and \u201cRebecca,\u201d while unfolding a lot of the mystery almost like a lost Hitchcock crime thriller.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s even a Bernard Hermann score which, you can tell, had De Palma behind the scenes aching to present a composition very much in the vein of the filmmaker\u2019s own films. \u201cSisters\u201d delves in to schlocky territory in the final half as De Palma drops a humongous exposition focus on the audience. For the most part it\u2019s a twisted and perverse series of circumstances and sexual attraction, while it at least wraps up in a clever manner. As well there\u2019s the ambiguous final scene which indicates that perhaps the mystery has yet to be resolved, and that our characters in store for another turn of events. Jennifer Salt and Margot Kidder are top notch, and while \u201cSisters\u201d isn\u2019t flawless, it\u2019s definitely worth visiting for the way De Palma attempts to re-invent the murder mystery, while also tipping the hat to his number one cinematic influence.<\/p>\n

The Criterion Edition comes packed with interesting new features. There\u2019s a twenty five minute video interview with Jennifer Salt, who recalls her work with Brian De Palma, her friendship with Margot Kidder, the beginning of \u201cSisters,\u201d the dark sense of humor consistent through De Palma\u2019s work, and more. There\u2019s \u201cThe Autopsy\u201d a 2004 archival program focusing on the history of \u201cSisters.\u201d There are vintage interviews included in the program with Brian De Palma, actors Charles Durning and Bill Finley, editor Paul Hirsch, and producer Edward R. Pressman.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s the vintage ninety minute Q&A with Brian De Palma at the AFI in 1973, recorded after a screening of \u201cSisters.\u201d Finally, there\u2019s a nine minute interview with Margot Kidder on the Dick Cavett Show from 1970, as well as a twelve minute International Poster Gallery for \u201cSisters,\u201d and a collection of US Radio Spots. The Blu-Ray comes with a collector\u2019s booklet filled with illustrations, and features an essay by critic Carrie Rickey, along with excerpts from an interview with Brian De Palma, and a reprinted article about the director\u2019s professional relationship with composer Bernard Hermann.<\/p>\n