The director (left) on the set of Scarface with Al Pacino.
The debate over the quality of Brian De Palma’s movies has raged for 40 years. Is he an ultraviolent schlockmeister, or is he right up there with old friends Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg? His detractors are willfully blind to his innovative talent, but his boosters do not see his excesses as flaws. His films are like boats tossing about on a swelling sea, leaving audiences awestruck or nauseous or both.
Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow’s documentary De Palma does not attempt to address the question of quality; their film is neither hero worship nor debate. They merely let the man and his movies speak for themselves as he guides us on a travelogue through his filmography, which includes Dressed to Kill, Scarface and The Untouchables.
As De Palma tells it, his career is one of overcoming challenges, both artistic and interpersonal. How do you make three men having a long talk visually compelling? What do you do when terrorists destroy your desired location? How do you extract an extra $200,000 from your studio? How do you rid yourself of a meddling Oliver Stone? The filmmaker is proud, but rarely boastful when relating his struggles. Some fights were lost: He was no match for the vanity of Cliff Robertson (star of Obsession) or the inhumanity of CGI.
Because De Palma’s is the only voice in the movie, he can easily bat away his detractors. He wraps the inspiration for his main themes (blood, voyeurism, forbidden sex) easily back to his philandering surgeon father, but doesn’t delve much deeper.
The only shots in the movie other than photos and movie clips are of the old director talking in a gray room. This is a safe bet on the documentarians’ part. If half of the movie includes clips from some of the most visually arresting movies of the last 50 years, the only way to compete is to do as little as possible.
De Palma will be showing at 4070 Vilas Hall on Sept. 2 on a double bill with Carrie as part of UW Cinematheque’s De Palma series showing Fridays through Sept. 23. This series should give the audience ample opportunity to consider the question of De Palma’s greatness — or to just enjoy the ride.
