Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		3.5

Sisters Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 6, 2014

Brian De Palma's "Sisters" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new video interviews with actress Jennifer Salt, editor Paul Hirsch, co-writer Louisa Rose, and unit manager Jeffrey Hayes; video essay by film critic Justin Humphreys; promotional materials; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Kier-La Janisse as well as Brian De Palma’s original 1973 Village Voice essay on working with composer Bernard Herrmann and a contemporary interview with the American director on making Sisters, and the 1966 Life magazine article that inspired the film. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

"She came to us last night. We're very happy to have her join our family."

A young and beautiful white girl (Margot Kidder, Superman, The Amityville Horror) approaches a handsome black man (Lisle Wilson, The Incredible Melting Man) and the two end up in a night club. Later on, she invites him home and then makes love to him. On the following morning the man heads to a nearby bakery to purchase a birthday cake for the girl and her twin sister. When he returns with the cake and tries to surprise the girl, he is stabbed multiple times with a large kitchen knife.

Single newspaper reporter Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt, Midnight Cowboy) watches from her apartment as the covered with blood man slowly dies. Convinced that something truly terrible has happened in the building across the street, she immediately phones the police. Soon after, two detectives appear but instead of rushing in the apartment where the man was stabbed they bombard the reporter with annoying questions. Eventually they meet the girl and then search her place, but much to the reporter’s disappointment do not discover anything suspicious.

Enormously frustrated, the reporter vows to do whatever it takes to find the body of the dead man and prove that the beautiful girl is responsible for his death. She is soon joined by an old friend (Charles Durning, The Sting, Tootsie) who has been waiting for a good opportunity to use all of the knowledge he has accumulated at The Brooklyn Institute of Modern Investigation.

Hitchcock’s influence is easily felt throughout the film. In fact, there are entire sequences where the camera moves and observes the action in ways that Hitchcock invented and popularized with his thrillers. Consider the sequence where the reporter watches the stabbed man while the camera peeks through the window, moves back and then moves forward as if to get a better look at the bloody hand. This is a classic Hitchcockian mise-en-scene.

The main characters also have Hitchcockian identities. The beautiful girl with the accent looks sweet and harmless, but she is different. Then there is the persistent reporter who most of the time looks paranoid but is the only character in the film that seems to have a properly functioning head. There is also a brilliant scientist that cannot be trusted.

And yet the film has an identity of its own. A good dose of light humor is used to counter the bizarre and scary, while the serious is delivered with an authority suggesting that it is in fact worth spending some extra time with. (I don’t want to be too specific so that I don’t spoil the film for you, but the archival clips for instance definitely offer some food for thought). The end result is a bit rough, especially when one compares Sisters to the likes of Dressed to Kill and Blow Out, but the ride is good and the finale satisfying.

The two female leads are very good. In the film the two have completely different personalities, but both look equally relaxed in front of the camera. Durning’s performance, however, is disappointing. William Finley, who passed away in 2012, looks appropriately delusional.

Sisters is complemented by an unusually intense music score courtesy of the great Bernard Herrmann (North by Northwest, Taxi Driver, Obsession).

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Brian De Palma's Sisters arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Video.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The HD master for Sisters was prepared and delivered by Criterion, in cooperation with Ed Pressman. Additional picture and restoration work was carried out using a combination of software tools and techniques at Deluxe Digital - EMEA, London.

Film restoration supervisor: James White.
Disc and booklet produced by: Francesco Simeoni and Anthony Nield.
Authoring: David Mackenzie."

The high-definition transfer has been struck from a pre-existing master, but the film looks quite beautiful in high-definition. Indeed, during close-ups and larger shots image depth and clarity are very pleasing. Contrast levels also remain stable throughout the entire film. (The minor fluctuations during select darker sequences and the archival footage are part of the film's photography). Excluding a few frame transitions where light color fading pops up, colors look very natural. Furthermore, grain is present and easy to see throughout the entire film, though some extremely light noise sneaks in. Nevertheless, the film has a very solid and convincing organic look. Edge-enhancement is not an issue of concern. There are no large debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains. A few times I noticed some extremely light weaving in the bottom end of the frame, but overall image stability is good. Also, there are no serous encoding issues to report in this review. All in all, this is a solid organic presentation of Sisters that should please its fans and admirers of director De Palma's work. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. For the record, Arrow Video have provided optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The film is complemented by an unusually intense music score courtesy of Bernard Herrmann, which benefits tremendously from the lossless treatment. Indeed, depth is very good and crispness improved (the high-frequencies could be slightly better). There are no balance issues. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow.

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Sisters. In English, not subtitled. (1 min).

• What the Devil Hath Joined Together: A Visual Essay - in this visual essay, film critic Justin Humphreys discusses the production history of Brian De Palma's Sisters and the film's unique qualities. The essay was recorded exclusively for Arrow Video. In English, not subtitled. (48 min).

• Cast and Crew Interviews - presented here are five interviews, in English not subtitled.
  
  1. Jennifer Salt (Grace Collier) discusses Brian De Palma's directing methods, her initial impression of the screenplay for Sisters, the use of split screens in the film, her relationship with Margot Kidder on and off the screen, etc. (11 min).
  
  2. Louisa Rose, who co-wrote the script for Sisters with Brian De Palma, discusses her background and work, as well as her collaboration with the American director and some of the stylistic similarities between his and Hitchcock's visual styles. (11 min).
  
  3. Paul Hirsch edited Sisters. In this video interview, he discusses his professional relationship with Brian De Palma and work on Sisters. (18 min).
  
  4. Jeffrey Hayes worked as a unit manager on Sisters. In this video interview, he discusses the pre-production and shooting processes. (6 min).
  
  5. William Finley. Presented here is an audio excerpt from an interview with William Finley, who plays Emil Breton in Sisters. (7 min).

• The De Palma Digest - this video essay, written and narrated by critic Mike Sutton, focuses on the life and career of director Brian De Palma. It was recorded exclusively for Arrow Video. In English, not subtitled. (31 min).

• International Poster Gallery - a collection of posters, lobby cards, and stills.

• Booklet - illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Kier-La Janisse (House of Psychotic Women) as well as Brian De Palma's original 1973 Village Voice essay on working with composer Bernard Herrmann and a contemporary interview with the American director on making Sisters, and the 1966 Life magazine article that inspired the film.

• Cover - reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Graham Humphreys.

Sisters Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I am not a particularly big fan of Brian De Palma's Sisters. Parts of it work well, but elsewhere the film looks quite rough and feels somewhat underdeveloped. What Sisters misses the most, however, is a good dose of the excess that typically makes the American director's best films truly unpredictable. Arrow Video's technical presentation of Sisters is very good. As usual, the British distributors have included a number of very good supplemental features. If Sisters happens to be one of your favorite films, place your order with confidence. RECOMMENDED.