Bill and Jess are joined by filmmaker and actor Ava Davis to kick off their discussion of Brian De Palma's highly controversial film Dressed to Kill (1980). Starring Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen, and Keith Gordon, Dressed to Kill blends Hitchcockian suspense with the stylish murder mysteries of Italian giallo, helping define the American Giallo movement while becoming one of the most influential psychological thrillers of the 1980s. Upon its release, the film ignited fierce debate over violence, sexuality, gender, artistic freedom, and censorship, and more than four decades later it remains one of Brian De Palma's most celebrated and polarizing films.
For the first time, Morally Offensive draws from previously unexplored material in the National Center for the Study of Censorship and the Moving Image (NCOMP) archives at the Catholic University of America. These archival files reveal how Catholic critics reacted to Dressed to Kill in real time, including surprisingly candid reviews, pointed disagreements with mainstream critics, and one especially memorable attack aimed at legendary film critic Pauline Kael. Along the way, Bill, Jess, and Ava explore Brian De Palma's Catholic upbringing, Alfred Hitchcock's influence on his filmmaking, the film's place within the American Giallo tradition, how Dressed to Kill has aged in light of modern conversations about transgender representation in cinema, and its enduring influence on horror, thrillers, and contemporary filmmakers.
Featuring exclusive archival research from the Catholic University of America, this episode examines Dressed to Kill through the lenses of film history, Catholic censorship, American Giallo, and modern cultural criticism, uncovering why Brian De Palma's controversial masterpiece continues to inspire debate more than forty years after its release.
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