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Body Double

R Released Oct 26, 1984 1h 49m Mystery & Thriller List
79% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 65% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood Hills. While peering through the beautiful home's telescope one night, he spies a gorgeous blonde (Deborah Shelton) dancing in her window. But when he witnesses the girl's murder, it leads Scully through the netherworld of the adult entertainment industry on a search for answers -- with porn actress Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) as his guide.
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Body Double

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Critics Consensus

Exemplifying Brian De Palma's filmmaking bravura and polarizing taste, Body Double is a salacious love letter to moviemaking.

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Critics Reviews

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Christy Lemire ChristyLemire.com It's an expertly crafted B-movie, a brisk and twisty mixture of the slick and sleazy, the glossy and grungy. Rated: 3/4 Jun 18, 2018 Full Review Paul Attanasio Washington Post ... "Body Double" finds Brian De Palma at the zenith of his cinematic virtuosity. Jan 4, 2018 Full Review Eric Henderson Slant Magazine Body Double, while not his finest, is the best candidate as Brian De Palma's signature film. Rated: 4/4 Aug 29, 2006 Full Review Douglas Davidson Elements of Madness As modern audiences tend to hem and haw over titillation, now seems like a good time to remember that it’s ok to watch, just maybe not get involved (without consent, of course). Sep 26, 2024 Full Review Sean Axmaker Stream on Demand As a murder mystery, 'Body Double' is absurdly elaborate and at times simply absurd. As a piece of filmmaking, it is delirious. Sep 22, 2024 Full Review Noah Berlatsky Everything is Horrible (Substack) The plot keeps putting you with Jake as he flails ineffectually, frozen outside of the narrative, just like the viewer. Jul 16, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Farah R As a fan of De Palma, I was shocked at how little his distinctive cinematography and intricate writing are present in Body Double. The film is dull from the get-go as it lacks an exciting mystery and characters. It also missed De Palma's usual unconventional way of unfolding his film's plots. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/14/24 Full Review Sams K Interesting and entertaining, some holes in the screenplay but still a good entertaining movie! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 08/30/24 Full Review Jody S For it's time very intriguing and entertaining ! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 07/19/24 Full Review Christopher A It's interesting to see some fellow De Palma fans consider this one of his best movies. To me, this is a somewhat awkward and messy bridge between the two main De Palma periods -- his early thrillers, which made his name, and his later forays into other genres (and his brief periods of mainstream commercial success). The choice of location itself announced Body Double as a new type of De Palma film (the wintry NYC and Philadelphia of Sisters, Dressed to Kill, and Blow Out is long gone). It's a sunny, sleazy, deliberately overblown thriller in day-glow LA colors and a lot of people seem to love it. Some of the big scenes are exciting and the film is always entertaining, but the script is a bit of a slog (the movie is much longer than it needs to be) and, most important, this is the one De Palma film for which his usually astute sense of casting failed him (something that fans of the film don't seem to grapple with). Other than Melanie Griffith in her star-making turn, the rest of the cast is adequate or in some cases (Deborah Shelton) much less than that. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 07/16/24 Full Review Jay H "Relax, don't do it When you want to go to it Relax, don't do it When you want to... " Rated 3 out of 5 stars 06/22/24 Full Review erika One of the worst I’ve seen Rated 1 out of 5 stars 04/19/24 Full Review Read all reviews
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Cast & Crew

Body Double

Body Double: Official Clip - Relax, P*rno Scene Body Double: Official Clip - Relax, P*rno Scene 1:53 Body Double: Official Clip - Porn Star vs. Hollywood Actress Body Double: Official Clip - Porn Star vs. Hollywood Actress 1:41 Body Double: Official Clip - Who's The Creepy Stalker? Body Double: Official Clip - Who's The Creepy Stalker? 2:59 Body Double: Official Clip - Spying on the Sexy Neighbor Body Double: Official Clip - Spying on the Sexy Neighbor 1:51 Body Double: Official Clip - How to Flirt With a Porn Star Body Double: Official Clip - How to Flirt With a Porn Star 2:59 Body Double: Official Clip - Buried Alive Body Double: Official Clip - Buried Alive 4:42 Body Double: Official Clip - Wild Make-Out Sesh Body Double: Official Clip - Wild Make-Out Sesh 3:17 Body Double: Official Clip - Purse Thief Chase Body Double: Official Clip - Purse Thief Chase 2:51 Body Double: Official Clip - Bloody Power Drill Kill Body Double: Official Clip - Bloody Power Drill Kill 2:36 Body Double: Official Clip - Brutal Open Grave Fight Body Double: Official Clip - Brutal Open Grave Fight 1:49 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis After losing an acting role and his girlfriend, Jake Scully (Craig Wasson) finally catches a break: he gets offered a gig house-sitting in the Hollywood Hills. While peering through the beautiful home's telescope one night, he spies a gorgeous blonde (Deborah Shelton) dancing in her window. But when he witnesses the girl's murder, it leads Scully through the netherworld of the adult entertainment industry on a search for answers -- with porn actress Holly Body (Melanie Griffith) as his guide.
Director
Brian De Palma
Producer
Brian De Palma
Screenwriter
Robert J. Avrech, Brian De Palma
Distributor
Columbia Pictures
Production Co
Columbia Pictures Corporation, Delphi II
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Oct 26, 1984, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Aug 3, 2010
Runtime
1h 49m
Sound Mix
Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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