Ya’ll can have your blockbuster spectacles featuring heroes clashing on the screen for the first time. For me, I’m just dying to see De Palma, the new documentary from Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow about the life and art of Brian De Palma. If I were to compile a list of my all-time favorite filmmakers, De Palma would rank within the Top 5. His work is political and personal, shocking in their content and thoughtful in their execution. Brian De Palma is truly a master without peers.
Over the course of 50 years in filmmaking, Brian De Palma has shepherded a number of masterpieces and few fiascoes, but like a true master, his fiascoes are fascinating — his disastrous production of Bonfire of the Vanities inspired one of the greatest books about filmmaking ever written, The Devil’s Candy by Julie Salamon.
Of course, De Palma ranks as one of my most anticipated movies of 2016. Today brings us the first trailer of the documentary, which will be released in theaters on June 10th by A24, a studio with their own impeccable track record. Even as excited as I am for De Palma to hit theaters, I’m still slightly upset that we’re getting a documentary about Brian De Palma instead of a new original work from of cinema’s greats.
The official synopsis for De Palma:
One of the most talented, influential, and iconoclastic filmmakers of all time, Brian De Palma’s career started in the 60s and has included such acclaimed and diverse films as Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, Scarface, The Untouchables,Carlito’s Way, and Mission: Impossible. In this lively, illuminating and unexpectedly moving documentary, directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow engage in a personal and candid discussion with De Palma, exploring not only his life and work but also his singular approach to the craft of filmmaking and his remarkable experiences navigating the film business, from his early days as the bad boy of New Hollywood to his more recent years as a respected veteran of the field. In the end, what emerges is a funny, honest, and incisive portrait of a truly one-of-a-kind artist, and an exhilarating behind-the-scenes look at the last 50 years of the film industry through the eyes of someone who has truly seen it all.