Carrie (1976)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writers:

Lawrence D. Cohen (writer)
Stephen King (novel)

Release Date:

3 marraskuu 1976 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

Tagline:

You were warned never to push Carrie to the limits. Now you must face the evil consequences.

Plot:

A mousy and abused girl with telekinetic powers gets pushed too far on one special night.

Plot Keywords:

Prom | Student | Teacher | Night | Outsider

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Sissy Spacek	...	Carrie White
Piper Laurie	...	Margaret White
Amy Irving	...	Sue Snell
William Katt	...	Tommy Ross
Betty Buckley	...	Miss Collins
Nancy Allen	...	Chris Hargensen
John Travolta	...	Billy Nolan
P.J. Soles	...	Norma Watson
Priscilla Pointer	...	Mrs. Eleanor Snell
Sydney Lassick	...	Mr. Fromm
Stefan Gierasch	...	Mr. Henry Morton
Michael Talbott	...	Freddy DeLois
Doug Cox	...	The Beak
Harry Gold	...	George Dawson
Noelle North	...	Freida Jason
Cindy Daly	...	Cora Wilson
Deirdre Berthrong	...	Rhonda Wilson
Anson Downes	...	Ernest Peterson
Rory Stevens	...	Kenny
Edie McClurg	...	Helen Shyres
Cameron De Palma	...	Bobby Erbeter - boy on the bicycle
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Terry Bolo	...	Bad Girl (uncredited)
Michael Towers	...	Vance or Towers (prom band) (uncredited)
Glen Vance	...	Vance or Towers (prom band) (uncredited)

Directed by
Brian De Palma

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lawrence D. Cohen		writer
Stephen King		novel

Produced by
Brian De Palma	....	producer
Paul Monash	....	producer
Louis A. Stroller	....	associate producer

Original Music by
Pino Donaggio

Cinematography by
Mario Tosi

Film Editing by
Paul Hirsch

Casting by
Harriet B. Helberg

Art Direction by
Jack Fisk
Bill Kenney		(as William Kenney)

Set Decoration by
Robert Gould

Costume Design by
Rosanna Norton

Makeup Department
Wes Dawn	....	makeup artist (as Wesley Dawn)
Adele Taylor	....	hair stylist
Ron Snyder	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Donald Heitzer	....	first assistant director
Bill Scott	....	second assistant director (as William Scott)
Dick Ziker	....	second unit director (as Richard Ziker)

Art Department
Gary Seybert	....	property master
Michael Casey	....	leadman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Lois Freeman	....	assistant sound editor
Bert Hallberg	....	sound mixer (as Bertil Hallberg)
David Rust	....	boom operator
Dan Sable	....	sound editor
Dick Vorisek	....	sound re-recording supervisor

Special Effects by
Greg Auer	....	special effects (as Gregory M. Auer)
Ken Pepiot	....	special effects (as Kenneth Pepiot)

Stunts
Dick Ziker	....	stunt coordinator (as Richard Ziker)
Janet Brady	....	stunts (uncredited)
Glory Fioramonti	....	stunts (uncredited)
Mags Kavanaugh	....	stunt double (uncredited)
Mary Peters	....	stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Dustin Blauvelt	....	first assistant camera (as Dusty Blauvelt)
Joseph Cosko Jr.	....	second assistant camera (as Joseph Cosko)
Jim Dyer	....	best boy grip (as James Dyer)
Gene Griffith	....	key grip (as Eugene Griffith)
Joel King	....	camera operator
Ken Miller	....	dolly grip (as Kenneth Miller)
Joe Pender	....	gaffer
Jerome L. Posner	....	best boy (as Jerome Posner)
Dave Friedman	....	still photographer (uncredited)
Wynn Hammer	....	still photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Agnes Lyon	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Maria Iano	....	apprentice editor
Michael Kirchberger	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Michael Arciaga	....	music supervisor
Natale Massara	....	conductor

Transportation Department
Gary Littlefield	....	transportation

Other crew
Wendy Bartel	....	secretary to Mr. DePalma
James L. Carter	....	production assistant
Angelo Corallis	....	craft service
Dow Griffith	....	location manager
Patricia Heade	....	production secretary
Hannah Scheel	....	script supervisor
Robert Sinclair	....	auditor

Production Companies

• Redbank Films

Distributors

• United Artists (1976) (USA) (theatrical)
• UA (1977) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1978) (USA) (TV) (original airing)
• CBS / Fox Video (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• MGM/UA Home Entertainment (1984) (USA) (VHS)
• United Pictures Finland (1991) (Finland) (theatrical)
• SF Film (2002) (Denmark) (DVD)
• Cinema Mondo (2005) (Finland) (theatrical)
• MGM Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD)
• Chapel Distribution (1997) (Australia) (theatrical)
• 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (Brazil) (DVD)
• Carlotta Films (France) (re-release)
• Criterion Collection, The (laserdisc)
• Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) (video)
• Paramount Home Video (video)
• Warner Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Get Set  set decorating

Runtime:

98 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) | West Germany:16 (re-rating) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Portugal:M/16 | Finland:(Banned) (cut) (1978) | Finland:(Banned) (uncut) (1977) | Finland:K-16 (uncut) (1993) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) (1991) | Brazil:16 | South Korea:18 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) (2000) | Argentina:X (original rating) | Argentina:18 (re-rating) (1983) | Spain:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A (Alberta) (2000) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Chile:18 | France:-16 | Iceland:16 | Netherlands:16 | Norway:15 (2000) | Norway:18 | Peru:18 | Singapore:M18 | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #24688) | Ireland:18 | UK:X (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Culver City Studios - 9336 W. Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Redbank Films

Trivia:

Brian De Palma wanted Betty Buckley to really slap Nancy Allen. Because Allen couldn't get the reaction De Palma wanted, Buckley ended up slapping her as many as thirty times.

Goofs:

Audio/visual unsynchronized: Chris is somehow able to give her boyfriend a blow job and talk to him at the same time, without her voice being distorted in the least.

Quotes:

Carrie White: It was bad, Mama. They laughed at me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Life's Work: Pilot (#1.1)" (1996)

Soundtrack:

(Love is Like a) Heatwave

MELDING OF TWO GREAT ARTISTS

"Carrie" is a melding of two great artists, in this case, Stephen King, who wrote the novel and Brian DePalma, who directed the film. This is a tense, exciting thriller that is also a sturdy character study. It's hard to make a film that can accomplish both, but DePalma does it.

King's novel mostly dealt with a telekinetic girl who is cruelly treated by her classmates. DePalma and screenwriter Lawrence Cohen follow the novel fairly closely, with the exception of the ending, which is a great deal more sensationalistic and better, in my opinion. (King himself liked the finale and the film, as stated in his exceptional study of the horror genre "Danse Macabre")

As is the case in most DePalma films, the technical credits are superb. The cinematography (by Mario Tosi)is extremely effective; colors and shadows have never been shot more effectively in a DePalma film since. The film score is by Pino Donaggio, and it marks the first collaboration between Donaggio and DePalma. (Bernard Herrmann died shortly after "Obsession" was completed) Donaggio is among the most underrated and overlooked composers of his time. His scores for "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out" and "Body Double" are all exceptional and all deserved Oscars. "Carrie" is no less brilliant, as it accomplishes what all great scores are supposed to do: enhance the film without giving anything away. Paul Hirsch's editing is also extremely effective as it was in "Sisters", "Obsession", "Blow Out" and "Raising Cain".

But it is the performances that make "Carrie" stand out. Carrie is played by Sissy Spacek in a performance of such power and strength that she received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress (the first actress ever to be nominated for a horror film; the second would be Sigourney Weaver for "Aliens")She manages to hit all the right notes. A lesser actress would have veered toward melodrama. Spacek plays the role more realistically and the film is much more effective that way. (Just in case you didn't know, Spacek was a DePalma regular, but off-screen; she was the art director for several of his early pictures). Also, "Carrie" marked the return of Piper Laurie to films after a too-long hiatus (her last credit was "The Hustler") Here, she plays Carrie's mother. Again, a lesser actress would have veered toward melodrama, but Laurie resists the temptation. Her performance is a real knockout and also garned an Oscar nomination (she should have won, but typical Academy genius set in and gave the prize to Beatrice Straight who was in "Network" for a whopping 10 minutes and really didn't do much.)Also, as a side note, this film also is a start for some future DePalma regulars such as John Travolta (his first major studio film) and Nancy Allen (her first major role)

What I really liked about "Carrie" is the absolutely perfect ending. I had commented before that "Sisters" had an absolutely perfect ending. The one thing about Brian DePalma is that he knows how to end a picture. "Dressed to Kill" had a really good one, although some people hated it as well as "Blow Out". "The Fury" has the greatest ending of all the DePalma thrillers.

A small note to finish: In 1999, "Carrie 2" was made by profiteers at MGM. Despite a rich premise, the film was an artistic failure. DePalma had nothing to worry about. The sequel (retread might be a better word) lacks everything that makes DePalma's original so good. Rent or buy the original, on tape (in pan-and-scan or widescreen)and DVD (widescreen)and forget the sequel, even if they give it away.

**** out of 4 stars