Murder à la Mod (1968)

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Murder à la Mod (1968)* 1/2 (out of 4) Brian De Palma's feature debut has a woman (Margo Norton) trying to raise money so that her boyfriend (Jared Martin) can continue shooting a movie. The only problem is that the girlfriend is brutally murdered but who committed the crime? MURDER A LA MOD is a film worth watching if you're a fan of De Palma and must see everything that he's done. It's certainly much better than THE WEDDING PARTY but that's not really saying too much considering how bad that one is. This film here offers up a few interesting ideas and it's clear to see a few things that the director would use in later movies.There are several homages here to Hitchcock including some obvious ones to PSYCHO. These are mildly entertaining but the biggest problem with this movie is the fact that the story itself is just boring and it's quite confusing. Some would say that the director was already showing his "more style than substance" here. As far as the actual style goes, there's some of that on display here but it's easy to see this was a director learning his trade.The young cast were good for the most part and we also get William Finley in a small role. As I said there are several bits here that will appear in later De Palma movie including the sped up action (like in CARRIE when the boys are trying their suits on) as well as a woman being directed by the director (later seen in BLOW OUT). This film is a bit too boring for its own good but De Palma die hards will want to check it out.

Brian De Palma would go on to become the number one Hitchcock imitator with the release of films such as Sisters, Body Double and Dressed to Kill. It's his style that he is most famous for; so as you would expect, his first feature is absolutely full of style and various experiments...the result is a mixed bag really. First of all, the stylish flourishes and experiments are all at the expense of the story, although some of it is interesting to watch. The plot itself focuses on a maker of very strange films and a girl who falls in love with him. The plot is clearly not the most important thing about the film, however, and really nothing in it makes a great deal of sense. The picture is a stark black and white and this gives the film a distinctive look which is to its credit. The majority of the movie is taken up by sequences that see the film's pivotal event (an ice pick murder) from the perspective of several different characters. I would not really say that this film is entertaining or even fun to watch really; but it is interesting to see the film that De Palma made before he got famous and the film is worth seeing for that reason.

I'm so glad that Something Weird Video has issued this lost low budget film. This is Brian De Palma's first Solo attempt at feature film making. The Wedding Party was made earlier with two other fresh faced film students Cynthia Munroe and Willford Leach. Murder is Depalma's first flight on his own. He does a great job considering what he had to work with. There are some flaws with the picture; but it's very engaging and easy to watch.The b/w photography is as a plus, The acting is so so, with the exectpition of William Finley who steals the show despite having his lines dubbed in! Finley also writes and sings the Title Song, which isn't bad if you like 1960's garage rock!! The film is very dated. In fact it's dated 1967 on the title screen. It wasn't released until the following year; in a single New York theater!! Until Something Weird's DVD issue this film was next to impossible to see.I find Murder A La Mod interesting because it foreshadows his entire career. Many themes Mr. Depalma uses in later films are already in motion: His obsession with Hitchcock is touched upon with a wildly unpredictable shower scene! Voyeurism Peep Art and Porno Making are all integrated as they will be in his subsequent films: Greetings(1968), Hi Mom(1969) and Sisters(1973). Jennifer Salt looks fabulous in her film debut as a girl having trouble taking it all off. She does a great job, I wish she had a bigger part.Some other De Palma hallmarks present are: the speed ed up frame, the Hitchcock like editing in the murder scenes, misogyny, New York grubbiness and exploitation. It feels like the work of someone just fooling around without having any undue pressure placed upon them. The film is very disturbing and the violence is very graphic for 1967. The first murder takes place right after the opening credits!!! We then follow the Second murder through a series of takes that show the same thing from different angles. Just like Stanley Kubrick's racetrack robbery in The Killing(1956). Not to mention a whole slew of 1990's imitators who shall remain nameless. There are all kinds of holes in the plot, but the whole thing is so surreal that it works anyway. The Killer Male lead is the biggest problem with the film in my opinion. I wouldn't say that it is a great film; but sure is interesting and very worth while for the Brian De Palma or 1960 exploitation Drive-In fan. I give it a 6 out of 10

I bought this expecting nothing because I knew nothing of it, I had always thought Greetings was De Palma's first feature but I was wrong I guess. I thought this movie would have the feel of a student produced documentary or something small like that, but this film is somewhat wide in scope and pleases for a movie of it's age. I can't believe this unseen gem has aged so well while mainstream crap from the 60's just chatters on. This movie is the wave of the future that was to come. If you've ever seen Quentin Taretino's Jackie Brown and remember the sequence where all the characters go to the mall and it's told from three different points of view and you liked that then you'll love this movie. It's 80 minutes of that and I can't believe for this to have been so early in De Palma's career that he was able to pull it off so well. William Finnely does another great turn at acting in this movie as Otto a somewhat retarded stage hand and actor who goes beyond his means in this movie. It is from this where I can see why Brian De Palma would later hire him for 1974's The Phantom of the Paridise. He plays a character a little like that. Watch this movie, especially if you love De Palma and Finnley.