Stephen M (harrycaul)

An intelligent film, scripted by Nigel Kneale, which postulates that the abominable snowman is a near relative to homo sapiens, biding it's time until we have destroyed ourselves before taking our place. The genuine mountain footage was shot with stand-ins; the actors never left the studio. For the most part the location and studio footage is well matched. This is a much better film than its reputation suggests.

This is a little known independent film made by Brian De Palma in-between "The Fury" and "Dressed To Kill". It was made with a crew of young film students as a philanthropic hands-on exercise in movie-making, helmed by De Palma and with contributions from his Hollywood contacts: composer Pino Donaggio; actors Kirk Douglas, Gerrit Graham and Nancy Allen; editor Paul Hirsch, etc. The hope was that the movie would be a commercial success and would kick-start a wave of independent film-making. Unfortunately, this didn't happen, but "Home Movies" is still a little gem which is well worth seeking out. Its humour is rather more absurd and less gentle than that of De Palma's first feature, "The Wedding Party", though the tangible enthusiasm for the project by all concerned is somewhat similar to that film's. This is more than just a fascinating cul-de-sac in his career, containing as it does a few of the recurring motifs of his major work, most notably voyeurism ("Hi, Mom!", "Sisters", "Body Double", etc) but also the idiosyncratic use of railway stations ("Dressed To Kill", "Blow Out", "The Untouchables", "Carlito's Way"). One comic episode in which Keith Gordon, grease-painted and sporting an afro wig, is assaulted by a racist cop reminds one of the "Be Black, Baby" segment in "Hi, Mom!". Essential viewing for die-hard De Palma fans.