The name Brian De Palma first came to me when I saw a screening of the director’s new film “Phantom of the Paradise,” a high energy rock and roll fantasy based loosely on the classic “Phantom of the Opera” story. The film was a knockout, with a marvelous score by Paul Williams that should have earned the attention of the Academy for the many outstanding songs within.
Shortly thereafter I saw a De Palma double feature: “Carrie” and “Obsession,” the former a superb adaptation of the Stephen King novel that earned Oscar nods for lead and supporting actress, while the second was a Hitckcockian thriller with a great musical score. The Hitchcock homage continued with “Dressed to Kill,” a superbly shot thriller that gave Michael Caine one of his most bizarre, yet finest roles. Sexy and terrifying, the film was a huge hit with critics and audiences in the summer of 1980.
One year later De Palma gave us his masterpiece, a moody noir with John Travolta in his first role as an adult. Here we had a director at the top of his game and an actor made into a superstar with his previous films, “Saturday Night Fever,” “Grease” and “Urban Cowboy.” Travolta was hungry, looking for the role that would bring him greater attention as an actor.
People forget Travolta was nominated for an Oscar for “Fever” and won the National Society of Film Critics Award for the performance, which launched his career. His one career fumble, at that time, was the goofy love story “Moment by Moment” with Lily Tomlin that left everyone who saw the film puzzled as to why it was ever made. In De Palma, the actor had a director who understood cinema, who adored actors and allowed them their freedom while gently guiding them towards his vision of the film. Travolta could not have been in better hands.