Product Details

• Actors: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry, Deborah Shelton, Guy Boyd
• Directors: Brian De Palma
• Writers: Brian De Palma, Robert J. Avrech
• Producers: Brian De Palma, Howard Gottfried
• Format: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Unknown)
• Subtitles: English, French
• Dubbed: French
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: October 3, 2006
• Run Time: 114 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (109 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000H5TH1Q
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #93,788 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Body Double (Special Edition)" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Even Brian De Palma's staunchest defenders had to swallow hard with this gaudily gory bauble of a thriller that is built around a gruesome (yet surprisingly wittily staged) stalking and murder involving a female victim and a killer with a giant power drill. This is De Palma at his most sensational, in a story about a B-movie actor with career problems (Craig Wasson) and a habit as a voyeur. He witnesses the aforementioned murder, then teams up with a porn actress (Melanie Griffith) to try and find the killer. De Palma has a blast going inside the porn film industry, and even films a pseudo rock video with one-hit wonders Frankie Goes to Hollywood. Wasson is an unlikely leading man, bland and pasty, but he's perfect in the role of a decidedly imperfect hero. --Marshall Fine

Product Description

Melanie Griffith, Craig Wasson. While house-sitting a friend's luxury apartment, Jake Scully gets a free telescopic look at his stripteasing neighbor. But after he notices he's not the only guy checking her out, the plot turns deadly and Jake dives headfirst into the world of X-rated movies! 1984/color/114 min/R/widescreen.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 70 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The nastiest movie I ever saw in the theater... September 6, 2006

By Dubyac99

Format:DVD

...with my parents.

I'll never forget seeing this movie in the theaters with my parents. We happen to see the quite young daughter of a really good couple friend of my parents, right before we went into the theater to watch this. My parents had no idea how bad this one was. My mother, just out of the blue, invited the young lady to join us. Brian DePalma has always been one of my favorite directors, and I only had a slight hint of how bad/good this would be. Well, I don't need to tell you the rest of the story, if you've seen this movie. My parents apologized profusely to her parents, later after we watched it. AND I WAS LOVING IT!!!

I bought this on laser disc right when it came out, and recently, about 1 year ago, bought the DVD. I really like the movie, one of my favorite Brian DePalma flicks. I'll tell you some of my favorite parts.

1) The music playing, when Scully, the Craig Wasson character, gets excused from his movie scene, and is driving home to spend some unexpected quality time with his live in girlfriend. That is probably the greatest sound track music I've ever heard, by Pino Donaggio.

2) The edit cuts, between the viewing of the murder, through the eyeglass, that Scully is looking through, and the real life view, in the living room of the murder victim. I still remember the sound effects and cries of pain by the actress.

3) The twirling effect of the cameras, when Scully and the female are kissing no the beach (no, it didn't make me dizzy, like other reviewers.)

4) The "B" Acting of Melanie Griffith. You' d think she really was a porn star, the way she's acting.

5) The police detective that interviews Scully. That guy was so creepy. Reminds me of the actor Fred Gwynne. Very entertaining....

Rent or buy this movie, and you shall not be disappointed.

Little known fact about this movie: Brian DePalma interviewed a real porn star (can't think of her name off hand, but she was extremely popular at the time this movie was being made) and rejected her based on her poor acting skills. Too bad they don't include her trial tapes in the DVD extras That would be bangin'!!! There is a book I own, called Double DePalma, which gives in great details the behind the scenes of this movie. I just checked, and it is also available for as little as $2.11. I highly recommend that item too.

Dubyac99 aka MC White said: Ch-ch-ch-check it out!!! EDIT: I'm the 69th reviewer of this version? Coincidence? I think not!

EDIT: 10/27/2006
Well, I have finally received my copy of this DVD from Columbia House, and let me tell you, it was really great! I would have liked some commentaries from Brian De Palma, but I notice he does not like to do commentaries, for the most part.

Still, this movie is one of my all time favorites by him.

Totally Excellent!!! Read more ›

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Voyeurism and Hitchcock a-go-go! October 13, 2006

By Cubist

Format:DVD

In the early 1980s, Brian De Palma made two movies about obsessed voyeurs with Blow Out and then Body Double. With its perceived misogynistic views of women exacerbated by the violence depicted towards them and the ample use of nudity, the film became a lightning rod for controversy when it was initially released. This new Special Edition is a double-dip for this title with brand new extras and new interviews conducted with cast and crew made specifically for this release.

Throughout his career, De Palma has been dogged with the criticism that he blatantly rips off the films of Alfred Hitchcock. And to be fair, there are several overt references in Body Double. Like Jimmy Stewart's character in Vertigo, Jake has a debilitating fear that affects him at the worst possible moments. He also ends up remaking a woman into an idealized version of one he was obsessed with previously, much as Stewart does with Kim Novak's character in Vertigo. And like Stewart's character in Rear Window, Jake witnesses a crime being committed from afar and is powerless to stop it.

Body Double shows the ugly, moral tawdriness of the bottom rungs of the Los Angeles acting scene. When we first meet Jake he's in danger of being fired from Z-grade horror film. De Palma has crafted a beautifully structured thriller with a mystery that we piece together along with Jake.

"The Seduction" examines the origins of the film. De Palma got the idea for it while working on Dressed to Kill and originally set it in New York City but he spent a lot of time in L.A. while making Scarface.

In "The Setup" De Palma explains that the premise of Body Double is a postmodern spin on Hitchcock, specifically Vertigo. He also talks about the notion of voyeurism and how he called attention to it repeatedly....

"The Mystery." The porn music video was inspired by De Palma watching countless hours of MTV. A colleague recommended using the song "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood who, as it turned out, were big fans of the director.

Finally, there is "The Controversy" which examines the critical savaging Body Double received when it came out, claiming that it portrayed women negatively and that it was too violent. Read more ›

25 of 32 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Good Clean Fun--OK, Maybe Not So Clean September 18, 2006

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

I have a love/hate relationship with Brian De Palma. His name is a brand, and a couple of his films are among my favorite--"Carrie" and "The Untouchables", for example. But he certainly has just as many misses--"Bonfire of the Vanities", anyone?

He has done a number of films with direct links to Hitchcock--"Sisters", "Dressed to Kill", and this "Body Double". These films all borrow heavily from Hitch in terms of imagery and plot. It has alternately been called, during his career, paying homage or being a rip-off. There are critics in both camps. My sentiment is that if you're going to borrow elements from another director, you could do a lot worse than THE MASTER.

That being said--"Body Double" is a loopy combination of "Vertigo" and "Rear Window". It's an entertaining, if not particularly, artistic film.

A young Melanie Griffith stole the show, for me, as porn star Holly Body. And what could be better than using Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax" to score the porno film within the film that she stars in? Not much, in my opinion.

So put your brain on hold, and you'll likely enjoy this lurid little film. Ultimately, it's just a pulpy B-movie--and as long as you don't expect ART--you do get entertainment. KGHarris, 9/06.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars If you're going to rip-off an artiste... may as well be a master October 26, 2009

By Mark J. Fowler VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Brian DePalma knows a good film when he sees one. He has made several excellent films (The Untouchables) and some films that are cultural landmarks (Carrie, Scarface). His work borrows heavily from other masterworks. Body Double has plot points and several specific shots that trace their roots directly to two of Alfred Hitchcock's best: Rear Window and Vertigo. Body Double mixes these scenes with a leading man who exists in a world far removed from the world of Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly.

Craig Wasson stars as Jake Scully, an insecure actor who has the lead in a D-List Vampire movie and a serious phobia of enclosed places, which is established in the opening as poor Jake is paralyzed in his on-set coffin. Like Jimmy Stewart in "Rear Window", Wasson is placed into a position where he views his neighbors through the windows of his apartment. Like Stewart in "Vertigo" he is also positioned to become emotionally attached to a woman who is not who he thinks she is, set up as a witness to a false crime that is meant to disguise a murder. Where Stewart's vertigo paralyzes his character with a fear of heights at key moments in that story, Wasson's claustrophobia does the same here. Body Double shares with Vertigo extended sequences where our hero trails the woman he is becoming entangled with in lengthy scenes with almost no dialogue, as well as a swirling 360 degree camera shot when the hero kisses the woman of mystery.

But De Palma falls somewhat short of the master. Let's just say Wasson is not Jimmy Stewart, Melanie Griffith is not Grace Kelly, etc.... While most stories require some degree of suspension of disbelief, DePalma puts in a few unbelievable story elements - some add a cheating "gotcha" and some seem to add no purpose other than to linger in a lurid setting.

Here are a few questions if you choose to see this film:
1. One character spends a significant length of time in disguise. Consider how long it would take to put on that disguise. Then consider the shot of the character without the disguise and the next time you see that character IN disguise. Without an accomplice this character apparently applies a makeup job in a minute that would have taken Rick Baker hours.
2. One of the key plot points involves the hiring of Melanie Griffith's character, one of the top porno actresses, "Holly Body". Holly tells Jake at one point that she gets $2,000 a day. Holly is hired to perform an arousing dance for a private audience for two nights. Why not just hire some stripper? Why hire "the top porno actress in the business"?

Plot holes and sub-par acting keep me from giving a full recommendation, but if you're a film director and you're going to steal from someone, you could do a lot worse than Hitchcock and "Vertigo" and "Rear Window". On the other hand - if you have NOT seen Vertigo or Rear Window, you'd be an idiot to even consider watching this movie first instead. Read more ›