Since Sisters is still a relatively unknown film - it hasn't been available on video in Britain for over ten years - I won't reveal too much about the plot. It concerns siamese twins , Danielle (Kidder) and Dominique, who have recently been separated. Danielle is a friendly, attractive woman, but her twin, who apparently refuses to leave her room, seems possessive, jealous and slightly unbalanced. When Danielle brings home a man that she meets on a game show called "Peeping Toms", it seems that she has finally managed to make a life for herself away from her twin sister and her extremely peculiar ex-husband Emil (Finlay). Events turn complicated, however, when a vicious murder intervenes, witnessed by Grace Collier (Salt), a reporter who lives in the apartment opposite.

Soon, we're enmeshed in a beautifully constructed murder-mystery, orchestrated with immense panache by Brian De Palma. He uses split-screen techniques with casual brilliance, contrasting, for example, the clean-up after the murder with Grace's frustrating attempts to get the police to take her seriously (she's well known, unfortunately, for articles about the extent of fascist policing). Nor does he overdo this effect in the way he did in his later work. He also indulges successfully in experiments with forms, including a TV show, a documentary short and, best of all, a breathtakingly surreal dream sequence that is among the most effective sequences in any of his films. This last scene serves a vital narrative purpose in a way which avoids the sort of talky exposition which usually sends audiences to sleep, and it's capped with a wonderful epilogue that is rather more impressive than the more famous parting shot of Carrie.

The film is heavily influenced by Hitchcock, especially structural elements of Psycho and Rear Window. But, Hitchcock never produced anything as weirdly brilliant as the dream scene here, nor did he have any interest in devices such as split-screen, so De Palma is clearly using Hitchcock as an inspiration rather than blatantly copying him.

It does, occasionally, seem a little insubstantial, and the lengthy build-up is more an attempt to equal Psycho than make any important point. The acting is variable as well, with Margot Kidder and Charles Durning coming off best. But William Finlay overacts as usual, and his strong resemblance to Marilyn Manson is unfortunately hilarious. Jennifer Salt is also irritating, but whether that's the character or the actress is a matter of opinion.

The collaborators on the film are all top-notch professionals, although the film hasn't generally got the visual spark of some of De Palma's later films with Mario Tosi and Vilmos Zsigmond; the dream scene excepted of course. Paul Hirsch deserves great credit for his suspenseful editing, and Bernard Herrmann's music score is atmospheric and memorable. Interesting to hear the old maestro working with Moog synthesisers as well.

This is a deliberately briefer discussion than normal, because I really want people to approach the film with as little knowledge of the plot as possible. It's great fun to have De Palma play with expectations, and this is still one of his most entertaining and original films.

The Disc

When I heard that Criterion were tackling a De Palma film, I was delighted. The reality isn't quite as good as the prospect, but it's still the best version of the film that I've ever seen.

Visually, the disc is impressive. Admittedly, I'm comparing it to my 1981 ex-rental Spectrum tape, but this is generally very good. There is very occasional artifacting, but otherwise the blacks are deep, the colours are rich and the definition is sharp - a high level of detail is evident throughout the film. The dream sequence is, by the way, meant to be grainy. It was shot on 16MM for exactly that slightly rough look.

The soundtrack is also good. It's the original mono track, as you would expect from Criterion, and there are no serious problems. The music score sometimes sounds a little bit odd and overly screechy in places, but the dialogue sounds fine. Nothing special here, but it's a pleasing presentation of the original soundtrack.

The extras on the disc are limited. We get, firstly, a lengthy and fascinating print interview with De Palma, in which he constantly references Hitchcock to the extent where its easy to see why the Master was used as a stick to beat him with. I don't think I've ever seen a filmmaker so consistently compare himself negatively to one of his forebears. Then there is the original Life magazine article that inspired the film, about siamese twins in Soviet Russia. Finally, there are excerpts from the press book, with some truly extraordinary ideas for campaigns, and lots of publicity pictures. Inside the DVD case is an insert with De Palma's affectionate tribute to Bernard Herrmann and an essay on the film by academic Bruce Kawin. I strongly suggest leaving all these until you have seen the whole film through.

There are an adequate 18 chapter stops, the usual color bars, and a seriously creepy animated menu.

Sisters is certainly well worth seeing, and this disc offers the best version of it I can imagine. I wish that this had been a real Criterion edition, especially as De Palma has yet to do a commentary on any of his films, but it's still a good disc.

Mike Sutton