I'll never forget the first time that I saw Brian De Palma's adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Carrie. I was in middle school. One night it came on TBS, back when the show "Dinner and a Movie" was popular. It was heavily edited for television - all of the intense gore and nude scenes were cut out - but it still made an impact on me.
As a child who was constantly bullied from elementary school up to high school, I sympathized with the main character of Carrie White. As a child who grew up in a pretty relaxed religious household, the idea of Carrie's mother, Margaret (brilliantly acted by Piper Laurie), scared the daylights out of me. I'd never seen a representation of religion quite like that before, and it terrified me. But the tenderhearted and beautiful portrayal of Carrie by legendary actress, Sissy Spacek, stood out to me.
I loved how De Palma places us right in the middle of Carrie's journey. We make discoveries as she makes them, and we are on this path with her throughout. The scene in the library where she reads up on her newfound telekinetic powers gave me cold chills, largely due to the fact that I had never heard of anything like telekinesis before, and at that point, I knew that anything was possible in this film.
And the intensity just builds and builds up until the infamous "bucket of blood" sequence, and by then, I was on the edge of my seat. Carrie's epic prom massacre was both exhilarating and deeply disturbing to me, but at no time did I ever feel sorry for any of the victims on the screen. It was as though I was living vicariously through this character.
And then, Carrie goes back home and has the final encounter with crazy Margaret. I cried. And then the final dream sequence happened, and I didn't sleep well for at least two or three weeks. It was one of the first films that deeply touched me and traumatized me in equal measure. It's quite simply a perfect piece of filmmaking, and feels just as relevant today as it did back when it was released - despite all of the dated hairstyles.
Shout Factory has finally released Carrie on a remastered Blu-ray that is a must-own for fans of the film. It is a major improvement on the initial Blu-ray release, and is packed to the gills with special features. I highly recommend it. If you are film buff, you simply must own it, especially if the film made a similar impact on you. This is a landmark achievement in film, and now it has been properly preserved by a team of individuals who have given it the love and care that it deserves.
As a child who was constantly bullied from elementary school up to high school, I sympathized with the main character of Carrie White. As a child who grew up in a pretty relaxed religious household, the idea of Carrie's mother, Margaret (brilliantly acted by Piper Laurie), scared the daylights out of me. I'd never seen a representation of religion quite like that before, and it terrified me. But the tenderhearted and beautiful portrayal of Carrie by legendary actress, Sissy Spacek, stood out to me.
I loved how De Palma places us right in the middle of Carrie's journey. We make discoveries as she makes them, and we are on this path with her throughout. The scene in the library where she reads up on her newfound telekinetic powers gave me cold chills, largely due to the fact that I had never heard of anything like telekinesis before, and at that point, I knew that anything was possible in this film.
And the intensity just builds and builds up until the infamous "bucket of blood" sequence, and by then, I was on the edge of my seat. Carrie's epic prom massacre was both exhilarating and deeply disturbing to me, but at no time did I ever feel sorry for any of the victims on the screen. It was as though I was living vicariously through this character.
And then, Carrie goes back home and has the final encounter with crazy Margaret. I cried. And then the final dream sequence happened, and I didn't sleep well for at least two or three weeks. It was one of the first films that deeply touched me and traumatized me in equal measure. It's quite simply a perfect piece of filmmaking, and feels just as relevant today as it did back when it was released - despite all of the dated hairstyles.
Shout Factory has finally released Carrie on a remastered Blu-ray that is a must-own for fans of the film. It is a major improvement on the initial Blu-ray release, and is packed to the gills with special features. I highly recommend it. If you are film buff, you simply must own it, especially if the film made a similar impact on you. This is a landmark achievement in film, and now it has been properly preserved by a team of individuals who have given it the love and care that it deserves.