Plot
A young actor's obsession with spying on a beautiful woman who lives nearby leads to a baffling series of events with drastic consequences.
Release Year: 1984
Rating: 6.5/10 (11,438 voted)
Director:
Brian De Palma
Stars: Craig Wasson, Melanie Griffith, Gregg Henry
Storyline Jake comes home to find his girlfriend with another man and has to find a new place. In between his acting workshops and his job in a vampire B-movie, he scans the paper looking for anything. He happens to meet a fellow actor who needs a house sitter. Both are pleased with the arrangement that will have Jake staying in the house and for a sweetener, Frank shows him his 'favorite neighbor', a well built woman who strips with her window open each night. Jake becomes obsessed with meeting her and is able to help recover her purse from a thief, but shows his own phobia, he is incapacitated by claustrophobia when the thief runs through a tunnel. When Jake witnesses a murder, he finds out that the police love to pin crimes on peeping Toms. Jake discovers that here are just too many coincidences but must hunt them down himself without the police.
Writers: Robert J. Avrech, Brian De Palma
Cast: Craig Wasson
-
Jake Scully
Melanie Griffith
-
Holly Body
Gregg Henry
-
Sam Bouchard
Deborah Shelton
-
Gloria Revelle
Guy Boyd
-
Det. Jim McLean
Dennis Franz
-
Rubin the Director
David Haskell
-
Will the Drama Teacher
Rebecca Stanley
-
Kimberly Hess
Al Israel
-
Corso the Director
Douglas Warhit
-
Video Salesman
B.J. Jones
-
Douglas
Russ Marin
-
Frank
Lane Davies
-
Billy
Barbara Crampton
-
Carol
Larry Flash Jenkins
-
Assistant Director
(as Larry 'Flash' Jenkins)
Taglines:
Brian De Palma the modern master of suspense invites you witness - A seduction. A mystery. A murder.
Release Date: 26 October 1984
Filming Locations: 320-322 N. Sycamore Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA
Box Office Details
Budget: $10,000,000
(estimated)
Opening Weekend: $2,837,978
(USA)
(28 October 1984)
(1428 Screens)
Gross: $8,801,940
(USA)
(18 November 1984)
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Did You Know?
Trivia: Bret Easton Ellis' book
American Psycho references this film many times, it is one of the main character, Patrick Bateman's, favorite movies.
Goofs:
Factual errors:
The first time Jake spots Gloria through the telescope he watches her for a moment, then she moves across the room. Jake is then shown turning the telescope a couple of inches to follow her movement. From his distance, a couple inches would have been much too far too keep her view.
Quotes: Sam Bouchard:
Don't be so melodramatic.
User Review
Another misunderstood masterpiece from De Palma
Rating: 10/10
I was pleasantly surprised when I picked this film up recently. Judging
this movie by its cover, and putting a little too much trust in the
IMDb rating, I avoided it. Finally having watched it I can honestly say
that its a post-modern classic. I love the fact that Craig Wasson's
character is involved with a Vampire B-movie, His character, and
situation make a film thats extremely fantastical seem somewhat
believable. It just goes to show you that Hollywood is indeed one of
the craziest places in the world. De Palma demonstrates manic inspired
genius by utilizing the southern California back-drop. Caught somewhere
between satire, and sexual thriller its one of those special genre
films that no one attempts to make anymore. As far as I'm concerned De
Palma is the only old-school director that continually takes chances,
and still explores new avenues. 10/10
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