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IMDbPro

Brian De Palma

  • Director
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000192
Brian De Palma at an event for The Black Dahlia (2006)
From 'Carrie' to 'The Untouchables,' here's a look at some of the standout moments from his films.
Play clip1:28
Brian De Palma | Director Supercut
11 Videos
97 Photos
Brian De Palma is one of the well-known directors who spear-headed the new movement in Hollywood during the 1970s. He is known for his many films that go from violent pictures, to Hitchcock-like thrillers. Born on September 11, 1940, De Palma was born in Newark, New Jersey in an Italian-American family. Originally entering university as a physics student, De Palma became attracted to films after seeing such classics as Citizen Kane (1941). Enrolling in Sarah Lawrence College, he found lasting influences from such varied teachers as Alfred Hitchcock and Andy Warhol.

At first, his films comprised of such black-and-white films as To Bridge This Gap (1969). He then discovered a young actor whose fame would influence Hollywood forever. In 1968, De Palma made the comedic film Greetings (1968) starring Robert De Niro in his first ever credited film role. The two followed up immediately with the films The Wedding Party (1969) and Hi, Mom! (1970).

After making such small-budget thrillers such as Sisters (1972) and Obsession (1976), De Palma was offered the chance to direct a film based on Stephen King's classic novel "Carrie". The story deals with a tormented teenage girl who finds she has the power of telekinesis. The film starred Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie and John Travolta, and was for De Palma, a chance to try out the split screen technique for which he would later become famous.

Carrie (1976) was a massive success, and earned the two lead females (Laurie and Spacek) Oscar nominations. The film was praised by most critics, and De Palma's reputation was now permanently secured. He followed up this success with the horror film The Fury (1978), the comedic film Home Movies (1979) (both these films featured Kirk Douglas), the crime thriller Dressed to Kill (1980) starring Michael Caine and Angie Dickinson, and another crime thriller entitled Blow Out (1981) starring John Travolta.

His next major success was the controversial, ultra-violent film Scarface (1983). Written by Oliver Stone and starring Al Pacino, the film concerned Cuban immigrant Tony Montana's rise to power in the United States through the drug trade. While being a critical failure, the film was a major success commercially.

Moving on from Scarface (1983), De Palma made two more movies before landing another one of his now-classics: The Untouchables (1987), starring old friend Robert De Niro in the role of Chicago gangster Al Capone. Also starring in the film were Kevin Costner as the man who commits himself to bring Capone down, and Sean Connery, an old policeman who helps Costner's character to form a group known as the Untouchables. The film was one of De Palma's most successful films, earning Connery an Oscar, and gave Ennio Morricone a nomination for Best Score.

After The Untouchables (1987), De Palma made the Vietnam film Casualties of War (1989) starring Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn. The film focuses on a new soldier who is helpless to stop his dominating sergeant from kidnapping a Vietnamese girl with the help of the coerced members of the platoon. The film did reasonably well at the box office, but it was his next film that truly displayed the way he could make a hit and a disaster within a short time. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) starred a number of well-known actors such as Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman, however it was still a commercial flop and earned him two Razzie nominations.

But the roller coaster success that De Palma had gotten so far did not let him down. He made the horror film Raising Cain (1992), and the criminal drama Carlito's Way (1993) starring Al Pacino and Sean Penn. The latter film is about a former criminal just released from prison that is trying to avoid his past and move on. It was in the year 1996 that brought one of his most well-known movies. This was the suspense-filled Mission: Impossible (1996) starring Tom Cruise and Jon Voight.

Following up this film was the interesting but unsuccessful film Snake Eyes (1998) starring Nicolas Cage as a detective who finds himself in the middle of a murder scene at a boxing ring. De Palma continued on with the visually astounding but equally unsuccessful film Mission to Mars (2000) which earned him another Razzie nomination. He met failure again with the crime thriller Femme Fatale (2002), the murder conspiracy The Black Dahlia (2006), and the controversial film Redacted (2007) which deals with individual stories from the war in Iraq.

Brian De Palma may be down for the moment, but if his box office history has taught us anything, it is that he always returns with a major success that is remembered for years and years afterwards.
BornSeptember 11, 1940
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornSeptember 11, 1940
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000192
  • Unlock contact info on IMDbPro
  • Awards
    • 16 wins & 29 nominations

Photos97

Brian De Palma, John A. Alonzo, and Michael Ferris in Scarface (1983)
Brian De Palma in Dressed to Kill (1980)
Brian De Palma, Noomi Rapace, and Rachel McAdams in Passion (2012)
Antonio Banderas, Brian De Palma, and Rebecca Romijn in Femme Fatale (2002)
Brian De Palma in Mission to Mars (2000)
Tom Cruise, Brian De Palma, and Paula Wagner in Mission: Impossible (1996)
Brian De Palma in Snake Eyes (1998)
Brian De Palma in Raising Cain (1992)
Brian De Palma in Carlito's Way (1993)
Al Pacino and Brian De Palma in Carlito's Way (1993)
Brian De Palma in Passion (2012)
Brian De Palma in The Black Dahlia (2006)

Known for

Body Double (1984)
Body Double
6.8
  • Director
  • 1984
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Phantom of the Paradise
7.3
  • Director
  • 1974
Nancy Allen, Michael Caine, and Angie Dickinson in Dressed to Kill (1980)
Dressed to Kill
7.1
  • Director
  • 1980
Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith in The Untouchables (1987)
The Untouchables
7.8
  • Director
  • 1987

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Director

  • Catch and Kill
    • Director
    • In Development
  • Sweet Vengeance
    • Director
    • Pre-production
  • Guy Pearce, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Eriq Ebouaney, Carice van Houten, Hamid Krim, and Bouzan Hadawi in Domino (2019)
    Domino
    • Director
    • 2019
  • Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams in Passion (2012)
    Passion
    • Director
    • 2012
  • Redacted (2007)
    Redacted
    • Director
    • 2007
  • Mia Kirshner in The Black Dahlia (2006)
    The Black Dahlia
    • Director
    • 2006
  • Antonio Banderas and Rebecca Romijn in Femme Fatale (2002)
    Femme Fatale
    • Director
    • 2002
  • Bruce Springsteen in Bruce Springsteen: Murder Incorporated (1995)
    Bruce Springsteen: The Complete Video Anthology 1978-2000
    • Director (video Dancing in the Dark)
    • Video
    • 2001
  • Mission to Mars (2000)
    Mission to Mars
    • Director
    • 2000
  • Nicolas Cage in Snake Eyes (1998)
    Snake Eyes
    • Director
    • 1998
  • Tom Cruise, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Béart, Jean Reno, Ving Rhames, and Ingeborga Dapkunaite in Mission: Impossible (1996)
    Mission: Impossible
    • Director
    • 1996
  • Al Pacino in Carlito's Way (1993)
    Carlito's Way
    • Director (directed by)
    • 1993
  • Raising Cain (1992)
    Raising Cain
    • Director
    • 1992
  • Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
    The Bonfire of the Vanities
    • Director
    • 1990
  • Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn in Casualties of War (1989)
    Casualties of War
    • Director
    • 1989
  • Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology 1978-1988 (1989)
    Bruce Springsteen: Video Anthology 1978-1988
    • Director (video Dancing in the Dark)
    • Video
    • 1989
  • Sean Connery, Kevin Costner, Robert De Niro, Andy Garcia, and Charles Martin Smith in The Untouchables (1987)
    The Untouchables
    • Director
    • 1987

Writer

  • Catch and Kill
    • written by
    • In Development
  • Sweet Vengeance
    • screenplay
    • Pre-production
  • Noomi Rapace and Rachel McAdams in Passion (2012)
    Passion
    • written by
    • 2012
  • Redacted (2007)
    Redacted
    • written by
    • 2007
  • Sisters (2006)
    Sisters
    • based on an original story
    • screenplay
    • 2006
  • Antonio Banderas and Rebecca Romijn in Femme Fatale (2002)
    Femme Fatale
    • written by
    • 2002
  • Nicolas Cage in Snake Eyes (1998)
    Snake Eyes
    • story
    • 1998
  • Raising Cain (1992)
    Raising Cain
    • written by
    • 1992
  • Body Double (1984)
    Body Double
    • screenplay by
    • story by
    • 1984
  • John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Dennis Franz, John Lithgow, and Barbara Sigel in Blow Out (1981)
    Blow Out
    • written by
    • 1981
  • Nancy Allen, Michael Caine, and Angie Dickinson in Dressed to Kill (1980)
    Dressed to Kill
    • written by
    • 1980
  • Kirk Douglas, Nancy Allen, Vincent Gardenia, Keith Gordon, and Gerrit Graham in Home Movies (1979)
    Home Movies
    • story
    • 1979
  • Obsession (1976)
    Obsession
    • story by
    • 1976
  • Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
    Phantom of the Paradise
    • written by
    • 1974
  • William Finley, Margot Kidder, and Jennifer Salt in Sisters (1972)
    Sisters
    • original story
    • screenplay
    • 1972
  • Hi, Mom! (1970)
    Hi, Mom!
    • screenplay
    • story
    • 1970
  • Robert De Niro and Jill Clayburgh in The Wedding Party (1969)
    The Wedding Party
    • a film by
    • 1969

Producer

  • Nicolas Cage in Snake Eyes (1998)
    Snake Eyes
    • producer
    • 1998
  • Tom Hanks, Bruce Willis, and Melanie Griffith in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990)
    The Bonfire of the Vanities
    • producer
    • 1990
  • Body Double (1984)
    Body Double
    • producer (produced by)
    • 1984
  • Kirk Douglas, Nancy Allen, Vincent Gardenia, Keith Gordon, and Gerrit Graham in Home Movies (1979)
    Home Movies
    • producer
    • 1979
  • Sissy Spacek in Carrie (1976)
    Carrie
    • producer (uncredited)
    • 1976
  • Robert De Niro and Jill Clayburgh in The Wedding Party (1969)
    The Wedding Party
    • a film by
    • 1969
  • In-development projects at IMDbPro

Videos11

Brian De Palma | Director Supercut
Clip 1:28
Brian De Palma | Director Supercut
De Palma
Clip 0:40
De Palma
De Palma
Clip 1:17
De Palma
Lights Out
Clip 1:15
Lights Out
Lights Out
Clip 1:09
Lights Out
De Palma
Trailer 1:53
De Palma
De Palma
Trailer 1:52
De Palma
De Palma
Trailer 1:58
De Palma
Lights Out
Trailer 2:18
Lights Out
Lights Out
Trailer 2:25
Lights Out
De Palma | Official Trailer HD | A24
Trailer 1:57
De Palma | Official Trailer HD | A24

Personal details

Edit
  • Height
    • 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
  • Born
    • September 11, 1940
    • Newark, New Jersey, USA
  • Spouses
      Darnell Gregorio-De PalmaOctober 11, 1995 - April 18, 1997 (divorced, 1 child)
  • Children
      Lolita De Palma
  • Parents
      Vivienne DePalma
  • Relatives
      Cameron De Palma(Niece or Nephew)
  • Other works
    Directed Bruce Springsteen's music video "Dancing in the Dark" (with Courteney Cox)
  • Publicity listings
    • 4 Biographical Movies
    • 5 Print Biographies
    • 16 Interviews
    • 11 Articles
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Received a special thanks credit in Mean Streets (1973) for introducing Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro to one another.
  • Quotes
    The camera lies all the time; lies 24 times/second.
  • Trademarks
      [Split screen] Often uses split screens (created optically or using a split diopter while shooting) to build suspense and/or convey story information. This allows the audience to choose what to look at and engages them further in the story (Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Carrie (1976), Dressed to Kill (1980), Blow Out (1981), The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), Mission: Impossible (1996), Snake Eyes (1998), Femme Fatale (2002) and The Black Dahlia (2006)).
  • Nickname
    • Bri

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