Actors
Frequently works with the following actors:
- William Finley (Murder à la Mod, Phantom of the Paradise, Dressed To Kill, The Black Dahlia)
- Robert De Niro (Hi, Mom, The Untouchables)
- Jennifer Salt (Murder à la Mod, The Wedding Party, Hi, Mom, Sisters)
- John Travolta (Carrie, Blow Out)
- Nancy Allen (Carrie, Dressed To Kill, Blow Out)
- John Lithgow (Blow Out, Obsession, Raising Cain)
- Al Pacino (Scarface, Carlito's Way)
- Sean Penn (Casualties of War)
- John Legasamo (Casualties of War, Carlito's Way)
- Dennis Farina (The Fury, Blow Out, Dressed To Kill, Body Double)
Writing
-Post-modern or ironic variations/references to older films and filmmakers (Hitchcock's Rear Window, Vertigo and Psycho into Dressed To Kill; Antonioni's Blow-up)
-Dark, unhappy endings (Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Blow Out, Carrie, Carlito's Way, Scarface, Redacted)
-Gruesome scenes of violence where the violence is not shown directly but heavily suggested (Scarface, Dressed To Kill)
-Characters or antagonists that have double-identities or ulterior motives
-Over-the-top, campy style or tone (Murder à la Mod, Phantom of the Paradise, Dressed To Kill, Scarface, Raising Cain, Body Double)
-Strong female characters (Carrie, Femme Fatale, Dressed To Kill, The Black Dahlia)
-Known for his particular brand of Hitchcockian thrillers, over-the-top comedies and psychological melodramas Dressed To Kill
-Social satire on pop culture (Hi, Mom, Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Dressed To Kill, Body Double)
Cinematography
-Split-screen: De Palma uses various types of split-screen framings in nearly all of his films, whether done optically with two different shots, split diopter shots to focus on two people who are a great distance apart (Dionysis in 69, Get To Know Your Rabbit, Sisters, Phantom of the Paradise, Carrie, The Fury, Dressed To Kill Blow Out, Scarface, Body Double, The Untouchables, Bonfire of the Vanities, Carlito's Way, Mission Impossible, Snake Eyes, Femme Fatale, The Black Dahlia, Passion)
-POV shots (Phantom of the Paradise, Dressed To Kill, Scarface, Body Double, Wise Guys, The Black Dahlia)
-Shooting from bird's eye view (Murder à la Mod, Snake Eyes)
-Showing important visuals in an indirect manner (Dressed To Kill, Body Double, Blow Out)
-Slow zoom/track in shots at dramatic moments in the narrative (Body Double)
-Frequently moving camera
-Extending dramatic moments in time through a combination of editing and slow motion photography (The Black Dahlia)
-Dutch angles during heated arguments or discussion between characters (Casualties of War, Raising Cain, Carlito's Way, Mission Impossible, The Black Dahlia)
-So called "Director's POV" shots where the camera moves independent of the action (Scarface, Snake Eyes)
-360 pan around (Wise Guys)
-Camera circling characters in love or at important moment (Carrie, Obsession, Blow Out, Body Double, Bonfire of the Vanities)
-Speed-up shots (Murder à la Mod, Carrie, Wise Guys)
-Long Take shots
-Shots taken from a diegetic camera (Murder à la Mod, Hi, Mom, The Fury, Dressed To Kill Blow Out, Scarface, Body Double, Wise Guys, The Black Dahlia)
Editing
-Short burst montage consisting of axial cuts away from or closing in on an object or person (The Black Dahlia, when Joshua Hartnett's character sees the Black Dahlia at the end of the film, or in Mission to Mars when the robot sends the correct signal to the face mountain and there is a brief pause waiting for a result)
-Rashomon-style flashbacks by various characters that add more information an important moment in the narrative than what was not previously seen or noticed by the audience and/or protagonist (Murder à la Mod, Mission Impossible, Snake Eyes)
-Sound Design that interlinks the audio and visual (Phantom of the Paradise, Blow Out, Wise Guys)
NOTE: This post is a living document, so it will be updated on a semi-regular basis
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