Dressed to Kill (1980)

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Brian DePalma serves up a twisty Hitchcockian thriller about a female slasher hunting a prostitute who witnessed her last murder. Michael Caine stars as the shrink who tries to help the call girl, who’s played by Nancy Allen (Mrs DePalma at the time). But it’s Angie Dickinson who delivers the film’s most memorable performance as a married woman who nervously initiates a one-night stand. Her role functions like Janet Leigh’s in Psycho, and the Hitchcock comparisons don’t end there. Dressed to Kill brings out the best in DePalma, whose inventive staging and camera movement, like Hitch’s, are excellent fodder for film students everywhere. With Keith Gordon.

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