Interview by Peter M. Bracke
July 27, 2001

Branded a misogynist, a purveyor of trash, the ultimate Hitchcock grave robber, Brian De Palma is undoubtedly one of the most controversial filmmakers of the past few decades. Launching his career in the early 60s with a series of experimental short films, including the critically-acclaimed but little-seen The Wedding Party, Sisters and Phantom Of The Paradise, none managed to give the director that crucial breakthrough hit. Then came Carrie.

One of the most successful and acclaimed horror films of all time, this low-budget shocker would propel both De Palma and then little-known author Stephen King into the big leagues, garner Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie Academy Award nominations, and launch the careers of future stars John Travolta, Amy Irving, PJ Soles, Nancy Allen, Betty Buckley and William Katt. Not bad for a film most expected to play the drive-in circuit for a couple of weeks and then disappear into obscurity...

Following the success of Carrie, over the past 25 years De Palma has crafted a startling body of work, even creating his own subgenre, the "De Palma thriller." After such lulus as Dressed To Kill, Blow Out, The Fury and Body Double, De Palma branched out into action, comedy and drama, earning even more hits with Scarface, Carlito's Way, and The Untouchable, which garnered multiple Academy Award nominations.

While the DVD pickings from the director's oeuvre have been slim over the past few years, De Palma fans are finally in for a real treat this fall. Following the release earlier this year of The Untouchables and the cult favorite Obsession, MGM Home Entertainment is releasing new souped-up special editions of two of the directors seminal works, Carrie and Dressed To Kill, plus what for many still stands as their favorite De Palma work, Blow Out. Laurent Bouzereau, author of The De Palma Cut and all-round De Palma scholar has been tapped to produce the supplementary material.

To celebrate these upcoming DVD releases, we sat down for a chat with Bouzereau about creating the supplementary materials as well as his lifelong passion for De Palma. We'll also take you "inside the disc" with a little multimedia preview of the discs, including excerpts form the documentaries, trailers, and even a preview of the menu. (And don't forget to check out our reviews of Carrie and Dressed To Kill!)

So, need a date for the prom? Carrie's free...if you dare!