Page "Brian De Palma" Paragraph 13

The financial and critical success of Carrie allowed De Palma to pursue more personal material.

The Demolished Man was a novel that had fascinated De Palma since the late 1950s and appealed to his background in mathematics and avant-garde storytelling.

Its unconventional unfolding of plot ( exemplified in its mathematical layout of dialogue ) and its stress on perception have analogs in De Palma's filmmaking.

He sought to adapt it on numerous occasions, though the project would carry a substantial price tag, and has yet to appear onscreen ( Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Philip K. Dick's Minority Report bears striking similarities to De Palma's visual style and some of the themes of The Demolished Man ).

The result of his experience with adapting The Demolished Man was The Fury, a science fiction psychic thriller that starred Kirk Douglas, Carrie Snodgress, John Cassavetes and Amy Irving.

The film was admired by Jean-Luc Godard, who featured a clip in his mammoth Histoire ( s ) du cinéma, and Pauline Kael who championed both The Fury and De Palma.

The film boasted a larger budget than Carrie, though the consensus view at the time was that De Palma was repeating himself, with diminishing returns.

As a film it retains De Palma's considerable visual flair, but points more toward his work in mainstream entertainments such as The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible, the thematic complex thrillers for which he is now better known.