Dressed to Kill Blu-ray review

            Dressed to Kill was the film in which Brian De Palma made it abundantly clear that he was a huge Alfred Hitchcock fan, one of many things that critics suddenly found to pick at in the talented new director’s work. They also criticized the use of a body double for the star of the first half of the film, Angie Dickinson. Dickinson disappears from the plot about 40 minutes in, a twist which reminded a few too many people of Psycho. Knowing this, the final twist is not so hard to figure out either. Still, at the time this was a fun and erotic thriller with a surprise ending, and some entertainment value remains 31 years later.

            The film begins with the sexual dissatisfaction of a housewife (Dickinson), who realizes in her psychiatry session that she wants to have an affair. After hitting on her therapist, Dr. Robert Elliot (Michael Caine), she seeks a random encounter at a Manhattan museum. This tryst is followed by abrupt punishment in an elevator. The crime has only one witness, a call girl (Nancy Allen) on her way out after an appointment. Paired with the victim’s genius son, the prostitute sets out to prove her innocence by finding the blonde killer for the police.

            The Blu-ray high definition is sharp and clear, with no static to be found. Everything is cleaned up to perfection, and there are even special features. There have all been previously released, but they are a welcome inclusion nonetheless. Most remarkable is the making-of documentary, but there are also three diverse featurettes as well. There is a featurette about the differences in the three different cuts of the film (the unrated is included on this disc), as well as opposing featurettes on the quality of the film. Also included is an animated photo gallery and the theatrical trailer.