Body Double: Steelbook – Sony Pictures (4k UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: USA, 1984
Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Robert J. Avrech, Brian De Palma
Cast: Craig Wasson, Gregg Henry, Melanie Griffith, Deborah Shelton, Guy Boyd, Dennis Franz, Barbara Crampton, Brinke Stevens

Release Date: September 24th, 2024
Approximate Running Time: 114 Minutes 44 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Widescreen / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: R
Sound: Dolby Atmos English, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English, DTS-HD Stereo French, DTS-HD Stereo German
Subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, Turkish
Region Coding: Region Free
Retail Price: $45.99

"Jake Scully (Craig Wasson), an unemployed actor, is asked to house-sit at a luxurious hillside apartment. As a bonus, the home offers Jake a telescopic peek into the bedroom of Gloria Revelle (Deborah Shelton), who performs an arousing striptease. When Jake discovers another man is also spying on Gloria, he begins an obsessive surveillance of her. Soon a grisly murder leads him into the world of X-rated film where he meets adult film star Holly Body (Melanie Griffith), who is a key to the crime." - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD), 4.5/5 (Blu-ray)

Body Double comes on a 100 GB triple layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 84.4 GB

Feature: 77 GB

This is another solid transfer from Sony; flesh tones look healthy, color saturation is excellent, image clarity, contrast, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image always looks organic.

Body Double comes on a 50 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 33.7 GB

Feature: 29.4 GB

The Blu-ray included as part of this release uses the same source that was used for the 4K UHD’s transfer.

Audio: 5/5 (Dolby Atmos English, DTS-HD 5.1 English, DTS-HD Stereo English)

This release comes with five audio options, a Dolby Atmos mix in English, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in English, a DTS-HD stereo mix in English, a DTS-HD stereo mix in French, and a DTS-HD stereo mix in German. For this review, I only listened to the three English-language tracks, which all sound excellent. The 5.1 and stereo tracks sound similar to previous releases, while the Atmos track is a solid that does a superb job expanding the original stereo source. Included are these subtitles: English, English SDH, Arabic, Chinese traditional, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish (Castilian), Spanish (Latin American), Swedish, Thai, and Turkish; all subtitles are removable.

Extras: 

There are no extras on the 4K UHD disc.

Extras on the Blu-ray disc include a stills gallery, a theatrical trailer (1 minute 28 seconds, LPCM stereo English, no subtitles), EPK interviews: director Brian De Palma (3 minutes 46 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), actor Craig Wasson (3 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), actress Melanie Griffith (2 minutes 48 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), an archival featurette titled The Setup (16 minutes 56 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), an archival featurette titled The Seduction (17 minutes 5 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), an archival featurette titled The Mystery (12 minutes 25 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), an archival featurette titled The Controversy (5 minutes 30 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English with removable English, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Korean, Spanish and Thai subtitles), and Frankie Goes to Hollywood "Relax" Music Video, directed by Brian De Palma (4 minutes 2 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles).

Other extras include a code for a digital copy.

Summary:

An actor’s voyeurism leads to his obsession with a beautiful woman, whom a killer targets as his next victim.

In response to the controversy surrounding Scarface, Brian De Palma made Body Double. He was more determined than ever to push boundaries after the censorship issues he faced because of Scarface. And with Body Double, he would set out to make what is arguably his most audacious film of his career. And creatively, with Body Double, he would once again pay homage to Alfred Hitchcock. The premise of the film draws inspiration from Vertigo and Rear Window.

Though there is some familiarity with the subject, the end result is something that far exceeds its inspirations and stands firmly on its own. The meticulously laid-out narrative is a deception-laced labyrinth that culminates in a very satisfying resolution. The narrative moves briskly, and it does a superb job building momentum, ensuring that pacing is never an issue.

Visually, Body Double does not miss a beat, especially when it comes to moments of deception. Also, Body Double’s tongue and cheek title provides a clue about the mystery that unfolds. Another area where Body Double excels is its ability to create sustained moments of suspense. And nowhere is this clearer than moments where the protagonist sees that the woman he had watched is in peril.

Performance-wise, the entire cast is very good in their respective roles. The most memorable performance is by Melanie Griffith (Fear City) in the role of Holly Body, an adult film star who holds the key to discovering the truth. Craig Wasson (Ghost Story), in an unexpected turn, delivers a striking performance as Jack Scully, the peeping-tom protagonist who becomes ensnared in a tangled web of deceit. Ultimately, the thriller genre, like all genres, has its tropes, and with Body Double, Brian De Palma pushes these elements to their breaking point.

Sony Pictures gives Body Double an exceptional release that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and a wealth of insightful extras, highly recommended.

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

Written by Michael Den Boer