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Stats
- Episodes featuring their films
- 5
- Movies in this archive
- 6
Rewatchables episodes featuring Brian De Palma’s films
Blow Out
1981 film
Bill Simmons · Chris Ryan · Sean Fennessey · Wesley Morris
Aired November 15, 2022
Displaying all 5 episodes
Mentioned in discussions
Recasting Couch
Brian De Palma as director; young Denzel Washington or Samuel L. Jackson as the rejected tenant
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:34:41Read transcript
- Brian De Palma is the preferred alternate director; young Denzel Washington and another candidate are proposed for the rejected tenant.
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:58:22Read transcript
- Nicolas Cage is chosen on the theory that he has never lost a movie in which he is the lead.
- Brian De Palma is an alternate winner because this was his last memorable commercial success.
- Carla Gugino is considered but not selected.
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Nicolas Cage
- Speaker not identified
- Brian De Palma
Apex Mountain
Fixed-boxing movies; Michael Rispoli; Atlantic City as a thriller setting.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:36:47Read transcript
- Nicolas Cage and Brian De Palma are rejected for personal Apex Mountain. — Bill Simmons
- Fixed-boxing movies, Michael Rispoli, and Atlantic City as a film destination are proposed.
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Restore the tidal wave; De Palma is better with lurid material; swap the leads; Nicolas Cage can play any casino-world role.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:50Read transcript
- The tidal-wave ending is again argued to be better. — Sean Fennessey
- The Untouchables is called less interesting than De Palma’s less respectable, more lurid films; others partly disagree.
- Swapping Gary Sinise and Nicolas Cage is proposed as a more interesting version.
- Nicolas Cage is proposed as uniquely able to play nearly any Las Vegas or Atlantic City role. — Bill Simmons
The Butch’s Girlfriend Award for the Weakest Link in the Film
Removing the filmed tidal-wave ending.
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:24Read transcript
- The omitted tidal wave is selected because the storm is set up without payoff. — Bill Simmons
- A participant says the existing tidal-wave footage would make the ending substantially better.
- Another explanation is that De Palma decided the movie was about intrigue rather than spectacle. — Sean Fennessey
- The beach kiss is criticized as too tidy and too much like a romantic comedy. — Craig Horlbeck
What’s Aged the Best?
The fixed athlete; De Palma’s craftsmanship; villain reveal; innocent bystander; recurring visual clues; a compromised cop choosing integrity.
In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 01:06:56Read transcript
- An athlete driven by debt into fixing a contest is called newly topical.
- Brian De Palma’s control of a modest thriller is praised as increasingly rare. — Sean Fennessey
- The moment Kevin is revealed as the villain is nominated. — Bill Simmons
- The random hotel guest who expects sex is shot despite ending the encounter after the woman says she is in trouble.
- De Palma’s clues that gain meaning on replay are nominated. — Bill Simmons
- Rick deciding he will no longer be bought is nominated. — Bill Simmons
- The casino’s willingness to serve as a film location is proposed. — Bill Simmons
The Stephen A. Smith Hottest Take Award
Josh Brolin’s post-film career and alternate-director arguments drive three hot takes
In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:30:26Read transcript
- Josh Brolin is argued to have had the best post-American Gangster career in the cast — Chris Ryan
- Ridley Scott is argued to have prevented the material from becoming a classic — Van Lathan
- David Fincher is preferred for a Golden Triangle version and Brian De Palma for a New York crime version — Chris Ryan
- Michael Mann is argued to have been capable of making this his second-best film after Heat — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:10Read transcript
- Recasting the director: late-1990s David Fincher could have made the film one of the decade's best, with The Game as a reference point. — Bill Simmons
- Brian De Palma is another director choice, imagined bringing more sexuality and a Seattle following sequence. Levinson's brighter, lighter style and prior commercial success are considered an awkward fit. — Bill Simmons
- Levinson's light touch may have broadened the audience, while a Fincher version might have earned less. Gone Girl is proposed as his later version of related material. — Bill Simmons
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:47:55Read transcript
- Griffith receives two explicit winner utterances because the film leads into major stardom; De Palma is rejected as still unhappy with its commercial failure. — Bill Simmons
Podcast choices
- Speaker not identified
- Melanie Griffith
- Speaker not identified
- Melanie Griffith
In the discussion (1)
Approx. transcript time · 01:40:53Read transcript
- Griffith for supporting actress and Stephen H. Burum for cinematography are choices; De Palma is also floated amid an uncertain discussion of the year’s competition.
Apex Mountain
Craig Wasson; Gregg Henry; Frankie Goes to Hollywood; 1980s adult films; telescopes; explicit body-double scenes
In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:26:30Read transcript
- Wasson is emphatically accepted, with later audiobook work noted. — Bill Simmons
- Griffith loses to Working Girl; De Palma is debated among Scarface, Blow Out, The Untouchables and Carrie, with Scarface’s resulting deal favored.
- 1980s adult films in mainstream movies, Gregg Henry and Frankie Goes to Hollywood are accepted; the band’s 1984 momentum and later soundtrack use are recalled. — Bill Simmons
- Telescopes and explicit demonstrations of body doubling are accepted; rotating beds are considered but Austin Powers is an alternative, and Barry challenges acting-class scenes.
- Characterful Los Angeles houses are considered but Heat and Greenberg become competing examples, leaving the category unsettled.
In the discussion (2)
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:22Read transcript
- Gregg Henry is debated as too familiar to De Palma fans but recognizable-without-a-name to others, suited to slippery untrustworthy roles.
- Larry Flash Jenkins is the explicit vote, recognized from The White Shadow and Fletch and playing a crew member here. — Bill Simmons
Displaying discussions 1 - 12 of 36 in total
Films in the archive
Blow Out
1981
Body Double
1984
Mission: Impossible
1996
Scarface
1983
Snake Eyes
1998
The Untouchables
1987