Overrated and overhyped

I'll tell you why so serious

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

DE PALMA is a nice interview/career retrospective for director Brian De Palma, a Hollywood talent who has been making short films since the 1960s. I'm a big De Palma fan and have been for many years, so watching this documentary was a real treat for me. It's simple, unfussy, and unhurried stuff, presenting De Palma as he sits in front of a fireplace and talks about his films from his early shorts through to his recent efforts. Many clips from the movies are used to illustrate his points, but other than that it's straightforward, anecdotal, and thoroughly engaging.

For those with in interest in De Palma's films and long career, or just cinema in general, this is a highly entertaining and informative visit with one of the most interesting, controversial and eclectic American film makers of the last 50 years. The form couldn't be simpler. Just Brian De Palma sitting in a chair telling stories about each of his films in chronological order, from his first shorts in the mid 1960s to "Passion" in 2013 – an amazing span of almost 50 years. His comments are interspersed with well chosen clips from his own work, and – when he makes a reference – those of other film-makers as well. What makes this form work so well is that De Palma is a terrific interview subject. He's funny, thoughtful, insightful, and sometimes very entertainingly snarky. He is also tremendously honest. He saves many of his toughest criticisms for himself, analyzing with surgical precision why certain of his films could have been better, and his part in those lapses. Very few directors are willing to talk at length about choices and moments they regret, usually choosing only to blame others for artistic goals falling short. But by acknowledging his own choices that didn't work out he makes himself very human, empathetic and trustworthy as a subject. He's not interested in self-glorification as much as he is in sharing a lifetime of wisdom won by mostly hard experience (few of De Palma's films got the support and attention they deserved at the time of their release – some, like 'Scarface' only became iconic years later). And he also talks with a touching wistfulness about those films he is truly proud of that never got the support – critical, commercial or both – that they deserved. Overall you end up with a real sense of what it's like to be tremendously talented, protean, rule-breaking film-maker over 50 years – the ridiculous highs and lows, the multiple struggles, hard times and occasional triumphs of a high-profile artistic life in the weirdness that is the American film scene.

This is a documentary about Brian De Palma's movies and career. It's almost entirely him sitting and talking about his movies. His Hitchcockian influence is obvious to any passing fans. This is a good documentary for anyone who likes his movies. Having come up along with many young directing icons of the era, he has some good insights and stories about everything. It doesn't get too salacious but he's not really sugar-coating too much either. It's a compelling watch and a fine insight into his movies. This is basically a compilation of the best of twenty plus movie commentaries by the director.

If you've ever seen any of his films (Scarface, Mission: Impossible, among seemingly countless others) or have noticed his rather strange spiral into exclusively erotic thrillers as of late, then you just might enjoy this doc. If you happen to be a fellow director or other Hollywood fellow, then you just might appreciate exploring the mind of a uniquely-minded director.The filmmakers used a rather straight-forward technique to capture Brian De Palma's life as a director/producer/writer. They put him in front of a camera, and then let him tell them story after story about making each of his films. This format may have grown stale after a few minutes and a few stories in the hands and mouth of anyone else. Not for De Palma though. His strength as a storyteller and the editor's strength of knowing when and how to cut from one story to another kept this documentary moving at an enjoyable pace.Since I had only seen four of his almost thirty feature-length films, I was in awe of how extensive and varied his career behind the camera had been. Most of his work just never appealed to me - too weird, vulgar, and/or ill-regarded for my rather delicate palate. Here, he made his work into bite-sized snippets for easy and delicious consumption.One thing that worried me and almost dissuaded me from seeing it was my worry about spoilers. After watching the documentary, I can say that he does spoil a few plot points of his movies. Does it matter? I don't think so. He's the kind of director that specializes in building suspense and not the kind that dazzles with mind-blowing twists. For Brian De Palma, it's the journey that counts, not the destination (as much).