Customer Reviews

Sisters [VHS]

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A terrifyingly twisted cult classic that wholly deserves Criterion's exceptional red-carpet treatment. Some people believe "Carrie" brought Brian DePalma his first critical and commercial notice -- but it was actually this sinister concoction (starring the lovely Margot Kidder) that paved his way to the big-leagues.

I saw this for the first time in high school on one of those late-night, local independent stations in Baltimore. Being a huge "Superman" fan, once I saw Margot's name top billed, I was hooked. I had no idea what I was in for.

By today's horror-movie standards, "Sisters" begins rather slowly. Be patient. You'll soon be drawn into a world of mad doctors, inquisitive neighbors, overbearing mothers, slayings, slashings, malevolent institutions and one seriously unbalanced set of Siamese twins. Top this off with Bernard Herrmann's weird, wonderful score plus the best split-screen editing I've ever seen and you've got a flick even Hitchcock would've been proud of.

Many thanks to Criterion Collection for resurrecting "Sisters" -- it's been out-of-print for at least a decade. Great cast... clever story... it's perfect for late-night viewing. I strongly urge fans of the genre to give this diabolical baby a whirl.

First of all, "Sisters" is a great movie and one of the best of the Hitchcock influenced movies. Also, it is De Palma's best movie, mainly because he shows an incredible enthusiasm and energy for filmmaking, and the limited budget probably made him more aware of all the elements of the movie, as well as more liberated to express his film ideas more visually exciting than ever before or since. Also, the performances are very good especially Margot Kidder looking very alluring as well as psychotic. Not to mention the incredible musical score by one of the greates master composers Bernard Hermann, which definitely adds tremendously to the movie. The Criterion Collection DVDs are always great even if some of their DVDs don't have many extras, the picture and sound quality is always excellent. The "Sisters" DVD is great, it looks and sounds better than ever, although their are no behind the scenes featurettes or audio commentary, the overall presentation is again excellent, especially since this movie had disappeared from video. Also, I would be great if Criterion would put out more great movies on great DVDs as they are able to do and more often, I can't get enough of them and buy them as soon as they are made available.

A very cerebral bloodbath by a young mad scientist of a director with sex and murder on the brain. They don't make 'em like this anymore!

The folks at Criterion have rescued another lost classic from the wear and tear of time. Previously available only in inferior prints, this lovingly remastered SISTERS marks the beginning of De Palma's smart series of Hitchcock hommages, and for sheer terror really can't be touched by any of its successors (Carrie, Obsession, Dressed to Kill, etc.) The plot unfolds with a terrifying calculation that avoids the arrogance of De Palma's later work; coming off of his string of low budget independent releases (GREETINGS, HI MOM!) the young writer/director seems like a kid in a candy store. (For deeper commentary on the Hollywood milieu in which this picture was created, read Peter Biskind's exceptional history EASY RIDERS, RAGING BULLS.)

I was pleasantly shocked to find that Criterion had reissued SISTERS and immediately picked it up; once again--this company chooses the lesser known work of established artists. The colors and tracking shots alone are worth the price of admission. Criterion has done a masterful job with De Palma's considerably complex palette, balancing the bright, deceptively safe daylight tones (Danielle's apartment), with the muted deep focus hues of night (the mental institution). Deserves a whole new cult of aspiring filmmakers to analyze every frame, a job this DVD simplifies.

In 1973, after spending the last few years making great independant films like "Murder a La Mod", "The Wedding Party", "Greetings", and "Hi, Mom!", Brian Depalma was put on the map as the new Master Of Suspense with his first 'mainstream' film, "Sisters", a very demented, deranged, twisted, psychological horror film that rivals even the best of todays top thrillers. He uses themes that would continue throughout his career in this film: The doppleganger, split personalities, multiple personality disorder(s), mistaken identity, voyuerism, and horrorfying psychological madness and muder and mayhem. And sinister satire!
The film starts as a game show "Peeping Toms" is being played out before a live audience. The contestant on the show, a young black man named Philip Woode (Lisle Wilson), and the guest 'prankster', a model named Danillele Breton (Margot Kidder in her BEST performance ever). After the show is over, Philip recieves a gift card which is a ticket for two to have a free dinner at an African themed restaraunt, and for Danielle's participation on the show, she recieves a very nice set of steak knives (establishing sterotypes and irony in one set piece).
They attend dinner together, where they are followed by Danielle's ex-husband, Emil Breton (William Finley), but he is removed from the restaraunt; so they have a very nice dinner together, then go to Danielle's to spend the night together. As they are making out, we are shown a very large, ugly scar on Danielle's thigh.?.?.
The next morning, there is loud yelling from the next room, someone calling out "Danielle! Danielle!" in a very impatient voice that awakens Danielle, who goes to respond, having a conversation, one person speaking French, and Danielle in French-English (the accent she has throughout the entire film); then coming back and telling Philip that it was her sister, well, her twin sister, Dominique, and she is upset because today is their birthday, and she wanted to spend the day together, and is upset that Danielle has a man in the apartment. Philip gets dressed, and goes to the local pharmacy for Danielle to pick up a prescription for her, and in the meantime he drops by a local bakery and buys a birthday cake for the twin sisters, Dominique and Danielle. When he returns to the apatment, he is murdered in a very shocking scene that I will not detail for I don't wanna spoil it for people who haven't seen the film.
From a window in a buiding next to Danielle's apartment building, a young female reporter, Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt) witnesses the entire muder in an awesome split screen scene that DePalma first employed in this film; and, in which he uses effectively in a few more scenes. She calls the cops, there is an investigation, but no body is found, but this is when Grace starts noticing signs and/or clues that Danielle may have a sister, a TWIN sister, and all is not what it appears to be; so, she hires a private detective, Joseph Larch (Charles Durning). He finds a folder that has files on the Blanchion twins, an infamous story about two Siamese twins who got seperated about a year before, so Grace investigates the story further by seeking out the top reporter that was there during the operation, Mr. McClennon (Bernard Hughes), who tells Grace that Dominique died on the operating table.?.?.?.
And, this leads Grace, who in her (God bless her heart) naivete, and stubborness, and her drive to someday be a 'respected' journalist, on a search that ends in a psychological/sinister/demented/deranged/almost psychodelic/hypnotic/kaleidoscopic/bloody climax that will leave you utterly stunned, breathless, and scared witless!
And, the final twist at the end, where a particular character is watching a particular item through binoculars until the cows (literally) come home is awesome and utterly hilarious, but also very bone chilling all the same.
Of special mention: DePalma cast Jennifer Salt's real-life mother, Mary Davenport as Grace's mother. One of the cops was played by Dolph Sweet, who is remembered for his role on the tv sitcom "Gimme A Break". And, the awesome score was done by the great Bernard Herrmann, who DePalma got to come out of retirement to do, and who went on to score DePalma's "Obsession". And, DePalma originally wanted to get bigger name stars for the roles of Grace and Philip: He wanted to get Marlo Thomas to play Grace, and Sydney Poitner to play Philip, but due to budget constraints, and/or other reasons, that never came to fuition, which in my opinion is a good thing, because what may have appeared as a good idea on paper, I don't think would have worked as well on screen. Jennifer Salt (who had been in DePalma's "The Wedding Party" and "Hi, Mom!") was born for this role, and Lisle Wilson gave a very topnotch performance as the 'male Janet Leigh'.
This is a very great mixture of genres, mainly horror and satire, and something that will stick in the recesses of your mind and stay there for days and days to come, and haunt you on a very deep scale.
As one reviewer on here put it, this isn't DePalma's first film, but in many ways, it is the first 'Brian DePalma film'. Easily in the same league as "Psycho", "Halloween", "Suspiria", "Rosemary's Baby", "Repulsion", and referencing such greats as "Rope", "Rear Window", "Psycho", and "The Cabinet Of Dr. Caligari", this is a very timeless classic masterpiece that will rival anything in its genre that you've ever seen! And, why Margot Kidder didn't have every award there is thrown at her for her performance is a crime, for she is show stopping in this.
Currently, there is a remake of this trying to get thatrical disribution...AVOID it!!!
This is the ONLY version of "Sisters" you'll ever want and/or need to see!
Thank you & happy Halloween! ;-)

DePalma was much faulted in the mid-Seveneties for being too slavish a devotee of Hitchcock, but in retrospect his most Hitchcockian films (of which is the first) allowed him to find his own voice at a filmmaker. Prior to this film, he had most directed very funny and anarchic black comedies; SISTERS, however, is a full-bore horror film, owing much to Hitchock's REAR WINDOW and PSYCHO and also Polanski's REPULSION. Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt) witnesses a vicious knife murder in the apartment of the model who lives across from her; when she gets the police to investigate, there is no trace of blood or indication of a murder, and the model, Danielle (the amazing Margot Kidder), is completely nonplussed. As Grace does a little research into the matter, she begins to discover that Danielle was a former conjoined twin... and that's only the start of it.

For years this film existed only in weak transfers onto video, so Criterion has done film buffs a great service in restoring this film to its incrediblly vivid fidelity of color and stock. (Despite the low budget, DePalma's use of lighting and color in the film are remarkably exact, and worthy of his model Alfred Hitchcock.) The film is not without its weaknesses, particularly in the dull performance of Jennifer Salt as the annoying heroine and in the series of jokes he uses to end the film in sequences in Grace's parents's house and in Quebec. At the same time, the film is unforgettable, especially in the greast use of split screen during the first murder, the long and complexly shot sequence where the police and Grace search Danielle's apartment and in the famous dream sequence near the end, which is clearly influenced by Fellini and the photographs of Diane Arbus. DePalma not only manages to comment on voyeurism in this work but also on the merging of identity, the corruption of the police in the early Seventies in NYC, race relations (the first murder victim is a handsome African-American man who has picked up Danielle), the process of making film and video... it's almost too much. But it's all here, wrapped up in an equally unforgettable Bernard Herrmann score heavy on the horns.

A fairly obscure but masterfully directed and edited "B" horror flick from the early 70`s(1972 or 1973 I belive)that holds up surprisingly well when viewed today. I won`t rehash the plot here but this Brian DePalma directed psychological thriller is top notch! The special effects,of course, appear dated and somewhat primative by our standards but still work in the whole 70`s context of the film. The musical score for "Sisters" was written and conducted by the legendary Bernard Hermann (Psycho,North by Northwest,Marnie,etc.) and is the main reason this film is so eerie and foreboding. Watching this movie gives the viewer an uneasy or "weird" feeling that is hard to explain. A must have for any film buff,horror fan,or fan of either Brian dePalma`s and/or Bernard Hermann`s work. Well worth buying. Watch it alone,late at night,with the lights off.
Thanks for reading my review!

A hard-nosed lady reporter witnesses a brutal murder, then learns that the girl she holds responsible for the crime has a seperated siamese twin sister. One of De Palma's best films, "Sisters" is definitely a tribute to the great Alfred Hitchcock with obvious references to PSYCHO and REAR WINDOW, as well as the bone-chilling score by Bernard Herrmann(Hitchcock's favorite composer), but De Palma proves to be a revolutionary filmmaker in his own right: His use of split screen to show two actions taking place at once is superb and quite unlike anything Hitchcock ever did. Also, I would note that the ending of this film is far more bizarre and unsettling than anything the master could concoct. In addition to putting De Palma on the map, "SISTERS" boosted Margot Kidder's career, and played a firm hand in revolutionizing the splatter movie genre(there are two great gory murders that you won't easily forget). If you love to be scared, SISTERS is one film you won't want to miss!

This is a great film! Although the acting is a bit rough for a few characters I found myself drawn into the story line. We have Danielle Breton (Margot Kidder) has a one-night stand with a black TV-game show player. The morning after, he is killed by Danielle's psycho twin sister, Dominique Blanchion. But Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt), an aspiring journalist, sees everything from her flat across the street. Things get even uglier when the journalist starts following Danielle and his strange ex-husband, Dr. Emil Breton (De Palma perennial weirdo Bill Finley). What dark secret lies behind this murder? Uh? Of course, nobody really seems to care about the plot - De Palma plays the genre rules, twisting every second with his split screen techniques and neat suspense touches. There is a "dream" sequence, some blood, a hideous scar, drugs and a birthday cake.

Sure, the movie owes more than a passing nod to Psycho (Collector's Edition) and Rear Window (Collector's Edition)specifically, but De Palma's exhilarating use of that split-screen technique as well as Margot Kidder's creepy performance add up to a genuinely frightening experience. The "peeping tom" opening is brilliant. The humor doesn't lessen the shock, but rather enhances it by keeping the audience continually caught off guard. He takes the most vulnerable and receptive of human reactions--laughter, fear, and anticipation--and pushes them to their extremes until the audience is caught up in giddy bewilderment. You don't know what the director is going to pull next, so you can't prepare yourself.

De Palma is nothing if not a visceral filmmaker, and in his comfort with the comic and the horrific, he resembles Roman Polanski more than he does Hitchcock. Taking into consideration their mutually varied filmographies and how they've been received, it seems a more apt comparison. The one major difference is that Polanski has a deep sense of the tragic, and almost always ends on that note. Not so much De Palma. In the final scene in Sisters, we find Charles Durning's private dick, who had all but disappeared from the movie, high up on a telephone pole dressed as an electrician, dutifully watching a couch through a pair of binoculars. The movie is over in every way--the blood has been shed, the mystery has been solved, and the suspense is gone--except that it apparently isn't. De Palma wants to leave us with something else. So we have Durning waiting to see who comes to get the couch. This could well be that Shock Recovery Period that the movie posters promoted. This was another great film that was highly recommended by Chris and the one only #1 Depalma fan R.A. Bean which I greatly enjoyed.

The pun is so obvious; this twisted movie hails many old horror films, but is not so derivative that the allusions get in the way. Brian De Palma is less imitative of Hitchcock than in many of his other movies, although the referential scene that cuts between the birthday cake and Danielle writhing on the floor in pain, is excruciating, and would probably make Hitchcock proud. De Palma also alludes to some lesser known cult films, such as The Dark Mirror, but more importantly the hard-to-find Chained for Life, starring Daisy and Violet Hilton, real-life conjoined twins billed as "united" twins during their lifetime. As such, it's a feast for people who just plain like movies.

However, for people who want everything spelled out for them, the movie might seem obfuscated. It's not, in my opinion, but as I said, some people like everything laid out in neat rows. This is not a tidy film. I admire De Palma's courage in not squaring all his corners; for me, it adds to the strangeness that sets this film apart from other good twin/bad twin films.

Some of the acting here is less than sterling, but Margot Kidder turns out a 1000 proof performance in the title role. The movie is worth seeing just for her alone. Movies with Margot Kidder are always better than the same films would be without Margot Kidder. Her drunken French accent is a thing to behold.

Give this movie a chance.

Watching the 'Special Features' section on Siamese Twins on the DVD, they make it look like the director wanted to pay homage to Siamese Twins in general. However, this film is far from it. If you always thought of Siamese Twins as sort of freaky/weird, then heres your chance to think of them as functionally delusional and hysterically dysfunctional as well. In this case, this works for the movie, but in real life does a disservice to the noble, yet troubled life plaguing many real life Siamese Twins.

Margot Kidder (with the most over the top Quebecois accent this side of Montreal) is wonderful in a role that doesn't shy away from showing her in an unflattering physical light. It is clear that this is a woman whose charms are enhanced by make-up alone, and she plays this card to the hilt. As one half of a Siamese Twin couple that were surgically separated, Margot plays Danielle, a mentally disturbed young woman who takes on her sisters' persona once her sister died on the surgical table during their separation process. Due to this, Danielle becomes a pathological killer with a penchant for blood, but of course when she 'comes to' she can't remember any of it. How convenient.

The director deals with all sorts of interesting issues here. Push through the intelligent script and you'll find a subtle irony in how the movie deals with racism (still very perceptible in 1973 when the movie was shot), to the bleakness of modern urban and suburban life, where 'Peeping Toms' are virtually you and I (better executed in the recent 'Disturbia').

The final shot of the film alienated many core fans of the movie to that point, as it seemed to many viewers as nonsensical and idiotic. Its sort of funny, actually, and reduces the movie from being a serious crime-noir to becoming a more pedestrian comedy. This minor flaw apart, the rest of the film plays out wonderfully. The now-famous 'split screen' effect first found its roots' here (yes, it was done in other films too, but this was the first time so much of it was used, and to great effect, even with overlapping dialogue).

The posters and adverts for this portray 'Sisters' as a companion of sorts to another thriller - 'Pscyho'. While I wouldn't go that far, this movie does have its scary moments and charms. To its' credit, I can say that I was never once bored or irritated by its' slow and languid pace. And even though Margot Kidder is not a great actress, the director knows exactly how to use her. Especially disturbing is her epileptic seizure once she commits murder in her bedroom. You will definitely be quite moved by this scene, one way or the other.

"Sisters" is a cinematic achievement that may or may not work for you. If you like most of DePalma's later work, don't even compare this to those films as its so very different. Its also quite dated compared to other films of the same genre from the same era. However, you cannot deny the slick direction, cool dialogue, and smart performances from all the leads (especially the nosy reporter neighbor).

Criterion's DVD is a fine transfer as always, though not as great as some of their other more recent transfers. I had a huge problem with the extras here, though, as most of them seemed an afterthought. For example, the feature on Siamese Twins is not a documentary or anything - just scans of an article from a magazine. I could get this off the Internet if I wanted to. Can't really call this a special feature. The poster section is mildly interesting, but since they're mostly the same poster in different lettering, theres really not much watchability in this regard.

For both the film and DVD, I give a generous three stars. This movie may not be a classic, but its a fine addition to the crime-mystery genre nonetheless. And while this is a let down in terms of extras (by Criterion standards - I had the same issue with their edition of "Le Samourai"), the film is good enough to stand on its' own. Go into this one with minimal expectations, and it makes fine viewing for a lazy Sunday afternoon. And try not to take the other five star reviews on this page too seriously. Its not a five star film by any means.

Hope this helped!