Body Double (1984) (40th Anniversary) (Limited Edition Steelbook) [4K Ultra HD]

Director: Brian De Palma

Cast: Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith

Release Date: September 24, 2024

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8/10

Synopsis:

Brian De Palma invites you to witness a seduction… a mystery… a murder. It’s BODY DOUBLE — a spine-tingling look at voyeurism and sexuality from the modern master of suspense. Jake Scully (Craig Wasson), an unemployed actor, is asked to house-sit at a luxurious hillside apartment. As a bonus, the home offers Jake a telescopic peek into the bedroom of Gloria Revelle (Deborah Shelton), who performs an arousing striptease. When Jake discovers another man is also spying on Gloria, he begins an obsessive surveillance of her. Soon a grisly murder leads him into the world of X-rated film where he meets adult film star Holly Body (Melanie Griffith), who is a key to the crime. De Palma has created a gripping adult thriller of eroticism and horror!

‘Body Double’ accompanies a struggling actor named Jake who can’t resist taking up a fellow actor’s offer of a beautiful home to stay in while he’s out of town, a futuristic like dwelling with all of the luxuries that one could hope for, and a beautiful woman living across the way who he can’t help but spy on, especially when she puts on an erotic show from her window every night. But when Jake discovers another stranger spying on her and seemingly following her everywhere she goes, he starts to follow himself which eventually leads to a world of murder, uncertainty and a whole lot of trouble for the out of work actor.

Produced and directed by iconic filmmaker Brian De Palma from a screenplay written by Robert J. Avrech and Brian De Palma and a story by Brian De Palma, De Palma does a terrific job in the director’s chair for ‘Body Double’ guiding along the twisty and thrilling ride with tension, humor and style. The film’s cast includes Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith and more who each contribute notably to the film with their generally solid performances.

‘Body Double’ made its stateside theatrical debut in October of 1984 and took unsuspecting viewers for a wild and shocking ride into the world of murder, voyeurism and the adult film industry as one unemployed actor finds himself thrust into a deadly game that promptly sends his world into disarray and danger. The film still delivers a wild, thrilling and racy ride today and holds up quite well in many respects and makes for a fun watch that isn’t afraid to push limits or go all in when it comes to the levels of sexual content and violence, while also offering a humorous and unique look at aspects of the film industry itself (and even the title itself is a reference to the industry in its own right), many of which seem to come from Brian De Palma’s own experiences who utilizes them splendidly to complement the story within.

If you’ve never had the pleasure of Brian De Palma’s ‘Body Double’ but enjoy a capably crafted erotic thriller and from one of the best filmmakers doing it (especially in that era) with a capable and well-chosen cast to back up his work behind the camera then I would definitely suggest giving this one a whirl because you might just find yourself pleasantly surprised with how wild and exciting this one manages to get, especially or a film that was first released a whopping four decades ago.

Brian De Palma’s 1984 cult classic ‘Body Double’ arrives home on 4K Ultra HD for the first time from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment in a new Limited Edition Steelbook release celebrating the film’s 40^th Anniversary. The 4K release features a tremendous new Ultra High Definition presentation with Dolby Vision of the film which is nicely boosted by a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that throws you into the wild chaos and intrigue of the film like never before. In addition to the rewarding new UHD picture and Atmos soundtrack, the new 40^th Anniversary release also features a Blu-ray copy of the film which includes some newly added and previously released extras that take you behind the making of the film. Both discs arrive in a nice, sturdy and glossy Steelbook case with artwork on the front, rear and interior and as a whole this is a pretty spectacular release that should thrill any fans of this wild ‘80s gem. If you’re a fan that’s also fully 4K capable and already contemplating a purchase, then this new 4K UHD Steelbook release of ‘Body Double’ is definitely recommended.

VIDEO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Body Double’ features a full 2160p Ultra High Definition video presentation with Dolby Vision and HDR-10 presented in its original 1.85:1 Aspect Ratio. The video presentation looks spectacular as a whole and delivers a clean, sharp, filmic and richly detailed presentation from start to finish that never suffers from any unexpected issues or faults to be uncovered along the way. The film embraces its filmic style and ‘80s roots by offering a nice grain structure that’s complemented by notable detail that brings every aspect onscreen looking sharp and spectacular from the details of the penthouse to the mall and the various outdoor locations presented, while characters, vehicles and other elements all look solid in addition. The Dolby Vision HDR makes a wonderful complement, enhancing the array of bright, vivid colors, fine tuning many and also making many look more lifelike and deep, while black levels and shadowing hold up nicely in their own right. Overall, this is a wonderful Ultra High Definition presentation that stays true to the film’s look and simply enhances it on numerous levels and fans should be quite thrilled with the results.

AUDIO:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release features a Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 channel compatible) soundtrack. Please note that this review pertains solely to the Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio presentation. This multichannel soundtrack is quite nice in its own right and provides a clean, crisp and at times surprisingly immersive audio presentation throughout. It takes advantage of all seven available channels on multiple occasions in order to send music, some crowd chatter, nature effects and a fair bit more moving throughout the various speakers whenever fitting, while never causing any dialogue or other audio elements that might be occurring simultaneously with one another to become distorted or negatively affected along the way. Overall, this is a solid Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 compatible) soundtrack that delivers splendidly from start to finish and should have fans fairly excited.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Steelbook release of ‘Body Double’ features some enjoyable extras, all of which can be found on the included Blu-ray disc. Included on the release is a collection of Behind the Scenes Featurettes including ‘The Seduction’ (running approximately 17 minutes in length), ‘The Setup’ (running approximately 17 minutes), ‘The Mystery’ (approximately 12 minutes), and ‘The Controversy’ (6 minutes), along with ‘EPK Interviews’ with ‘Brian De Palma’ (4 minutes), ‘Craig Wassan’ (3 minutes) and ‘Melanie Griffith’ (3 minutes). Also included is the ‘Frankie Goes to Hollywood “Relax” Music Video’ (4 minutes), in addition to a ‘Still Gallery’ and the film’s ‘Theatrical Trailer’ (1 minute).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray disc included in the 4K UHD Combo Pack and resized. They do not represent the quality of the 4K Ultra HD disc itself and will additionally suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on the 4K UHD & Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

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Disc Rating: 8/10

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Brian De Palma’s ‘Body Double’ is Now Available to Own on 4K Ultra HD as A Limited Edition Steelbook from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

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You can purchase ‘Body Double’ on 4K UHD Steelbook at Amazon HERE!

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