IMDb > Body Double (1984)
Body Double
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Body Double (1984) More at IMDbPro »

Videos (see all 4 NEW)
Body Double (1984) -- Open-ended Trailer from Columbia Tristar
Body Double (1984) -- Trailerfan.com - Trailer (Flash)
Body Double (1984) -- Moviesbox.us - Trailer (Flash)
Body Double (1984) -- AllTrailers.net - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
6.4/10   8,911 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Brian De Palma
Writers:
Brian De Palma (story)
Robert J. Avrech (screenplay) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Body Double on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
26 October 1984 (USA) more
Tagline:
A seduction. A mystery. A murder. more
Plot:
Jake comes home to find his girlfriend with another man and has to find a new place. In between his acting workshops and his job in a vampire B-movie... more | add synopsis
Awards:
Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(4 articles)
Halloween type movies you can see for free
 (From AOL - TVSquad. 23 October 2009, 3:01 PM, PDT)

Gay Of The Dead 10: November Son’s Brinke Stevens and Sacha Sacket.
 (From Fangoria. 12 April 2009, 10:10 PM, PDT)

User Comments:
Brilliant more (129 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)
Craig Wasson ... Jake Scully

Melanie Griffith ... Holly Body

Gregg Henry ... Sam Bouchard
Deborah Shelton ... Gloria Revelle

Guy Boyd ... Det. Jim McLean

Dennis Franz ... Rubin the Director
David Haskell ... Will the Drama Teacher
Rebecca Stanley ... Kimberly Hess
Al Israel ... Corso the Director
Douglas Warhit ... Video Salesman
B.J. Jones ... Douglas
Russ Marin ... Frank

Lane Davies ... Billy
Barbara Crampton ... Carol

Larry Flash Jenkins ... Assistant Director (as Larry 'Flash' Jenkins)
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Runtime:
114 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
New Zealand:R18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (original rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Australia:R | Italy:VM14 (re-rating) | Australia:MA (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (2000) (DVD) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1988) (VHS) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1985) (theatrical) | Singapore:R21 (re-rating) (cut) | Singapore:R(A) (cut) | Brazil:14 | Argentina:18 | France:-12 | Italy:VM18 | Norway:15 (cut) | Norway:16 (1985) | Portugal:M/18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | West Germany:18 | Iceland:16

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Bret Easton Ellis' book 'American Psycho' references this film many times, it is one of the main character, Patrick Bateman's, favorite movies. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: The first time "The Indian" attempts to use the drill, when the cord is too short to reach, the drill is running in reverse. That would make it pretty tough to use in the eventual manner. more
Quotes:
Sam Bouchard: Don't be so melodramatic. more
Movie Connections:
Referenced in The Untouchables: Production Stories (2004) (V) more
Soundtrack:
Relax more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
48 out of 70 people found the following comment useful.
Brilliant, 21 October 2004
10/10
Author: Jason Forestein (jay4stein79@yahoo.com) from somerville, ma

I was introduced to Brian De Palma at the rather tender age of 7, when I watched The Untouchables with my parents. My friend Nicky and I enjoyed it immensely and found the rousing tale of Elliot Ness et al. an absolutely brilliant cop v. robber/adventure movie. Until Tim Burton released Batman in 1989, Untouchables was our game of choice and we would re-enact the entire movie in my back yard after school.

But I'm supposed to be talking about Body Double... To make a long story short, since I was 7, I didn't know who Brian De Palma was, nor did I really care, so I went about my cinephillic youth without completely immersing myself in his oeuvre. I caught bits and pieces of it, encountering Scarface as a fourteen-year-old and finding it laughable, watching Sisters with (how apropos) my sister before I went off to college and finding it intriguing, and finally seeing Femme Fatale when it was released a couple years ago and thinking it amazing.

So, as you can see, I grew into De Palma and, since watching Femme Fatale, I've gone back and watched many of his films (even Phantom of the Paradise, which was an epiphany - go see it immediately). I re-watched Scarface, Carrie, Blow-out, Wise Guys, the Untouchables, etc. and then this week I saw Body Double at the video store. The cover art, which is horrible, drew me in. I said, Jason, that cover art is so tacky and the movie is called Body Double, it must be awful. Flipping the case over, what should I find? De Palma.

Oh my. I scooped it up then and there, went home, and popped it in the player. How had I not heard of this film? Probably because 2/3 of the natural world finds it a trashy piece of filth. I find it brilliant.

It is your typical De Palma suspense thriller. Riffs on Hitchcock, beautifully fluid camera movements, sexual 'dysfunction,' an exploration of voyeurism, Hollywood satire, a convoluted and endearingly unbelievable story...

So why watch it? Because unlike most movies Body Double cannot seem to take itself too seriously. Body Double moves forward with a straight face but, as evidenced by the Frankie Goes to Hollywood video somehow slipped into this film and an awful rubber mask, De Palma's tongue is so firmly in his cheek it's liable to break through the skin. Could a film that's credits hearken back to the EC Comics font really intend to be taken seriously? No. Oh, and for you scenesters out there, QT may have found inspiration for his first film's title in Body Double's final scene which, you guessed it, contains both a reservoir and dogs.

And yet, although the movie on some level parodies the preposterous suspense thrillers of yore, it also never condescends to them. De Palma directs this movie with such glee and exuberance, that you know he loves those types of movies (well, I mean if Phantom of the Paradise, Sisters, and Dressed to Kill hadn't let the cat out of the bag already).

Anyway, if you enjoy maverick directors unafraid of genre-pictures, fun, and enormous drills, this is a movie for you. However, if you like Lars Von Trier or other such beings who take themselves and their art far too seriously at times, go elsewhere.

Was the above comment useful to you?
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Message Boards

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Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Anyone think Deborah Shelton is hot charlesskywalk
anyone think it a great movie charlesskywalk
Does this movie have a lot of sex and nudity randallel81
Melanie Griffith newhavencoliseum
This movie reminds me of Hitchock's Vertigo rustynail925
Frankie Loves Hollywood quinzo60
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