Raising Cain (Collector's Edition)

Critics of Brian De Palma love to write him off as a Hitchcock ripoff, and call it a day. Raising Cain is the second of his films to be called a clone of Psycho, the fist being 1980's Dressed To Kill. Personally, I don't think it's a fair thing to say about either film.Let me be clear; the influence is there in the case of both films. You'd have to have never seen Psycho in order to miss it. However, it isn't just De Palma remaking Psycho under a different name; it's him borrowing certain ideas and stylistic elements, then combining them with his own to create something new.The basic plot involves a man named Carter Nix abducting children to be part of his father's experiments in child development with the help of his psychotic twin brother Cain. If you've looked at the cover art, read the tagline, or read the back of the box, you've probably guessed that Carter and Cain are actually the same man, Cain being a split personality caused by abuse Carter suffered as a child. To be fair, the movie doesn't seem to expect that this is going to be a shocking twist for the audience, but it does give the reveal appropriate weight for the characters involved, so it doesn't feel cheap.The 'B Plot' involves Nix's wife Jenny reconnecting with an old flame, and falling for him again. The romance gets a fair amount of screen time, but comes off as a little bland when compared to the main story. It sometimes feels like the love story is only there because Hollywood rules state that is has to be, and the film needed a 'heroic' male lead. I say 'heroic', because he doesn't do much, and the things he does do seem too important for someone who you could easily forget in the whirlwind of madness that is the Carter/Cain plot.I think the reason why I'm willing to call Raising Cain an "homage" and not a "ripoff" is in the execution. De Palma's direction is solid as usual, and John Lithgow's performance is easily one of his best. Playing four distinct characters, and one loosely-defined one, Lithgow gets to show off a good deal of his wide range as an actor, alternating between sweet and sadistic, childish and cruel, all without seeming like he's stretching beyond his limits. Those who only know him from 3rd Rock From the Sun may be surprised to see how versatile he really is.This is not a movie for everyone. The dark subject matter and violence will put plenty of people off, and even more will simply choose to watch Psycho instead of a film dubbed as an imitation. However, there are plenty of positive aspects to Raising Cain; the script and direction are very good, and Lithgow's performance alone makes it worth seeing at least once. There are also many moments of genuine suspense, something sorely lacking from many films. You'll find no jump-scares or overly-gory gross-out scenes, and even if you've guessed every single twist from the opening, you may find your eyes glued to the screen nonetheless, so drawn in by the deft execution that you almost forget that you know how the movie will end.

Absolutely insane and barely makes sense. Ultimately making it a very interesting movie to watch. I recommend it.

The Directors Cut that reorders the scenes massively improves the movie, if you have never seen Raising Cain at all then watch that version from Disk 2 in the Blu ray set first. I always liked this crazy story, it is perhaps the most "De Palma" of De Palma's films with great suspense, ridiculous twists that you somehow mostly buy and amazingly planned and filmed extended single shots. I think of this type of his films "Dressed to Kill" and "Blow out" are much better movies but this does have a lot of great scenes and John Lithgow at his versatile best.SPOILERS don't read unless you know the movie:The directors cut starts with the scenes of Jenny shopping for the clocks and leaving one for each of the men then panicking that she left them each the wrong clock with a personal note that will expose her. If you have not seen the theatrical version you think her husband Carter is a normal guy with a cheating wife. This builds tension more than knowing from the first scene in the theatrical version that he is an insane kidnapper of women and children.

John Lithgow plays a child kidnapper with multiple personalities. Sometimes he’s just one of them. Other times he’s two of them talking to each other. It’s those performances that make the movie. After that however things go all over the place. They try to throw in a side story about the infidelities of Lithgow’s wife Lolita Davidovich, but I wasn’t impressed. The big climax is also way overdone. The last image however saves things otherwise I would have given this a thumbs down.

I give FEAR 4 starts! Its the only reason I got the set. I figures, what the hey.....3 more the for the price of the one I wanted. Mark Walkburg is, how shall we say without sounding like a creepy cougar, delightfully attractive? Now understand this, ladies and gents, I can say this without being creepy as he is older than I am. But when he was a young blooming actor, he really showed his acting chops in this film. He's everything a girl wants, gorgeous, strong, protective, tender and loving. But then.......the twist. As a mama, its every parents nightmare and every school girls dream. My daughter date a similar character and it was NOT sweet and "attractive" then. It was terrifying. But I am a Walburg fan and always loved this movie. The Watcher is good too. The others aren't really worth the watch unless you are a big Lithgow fan.

Excellent thriller from one of the masters of suspense, Brian De Palma. It features one of John Lithgow's best performances as well. It also features a brilliant score by Pino Donaggio. I often prefer original theatrical cuts of films over later re-edits, but this director's cut is actually an improvement. Thankfully, they have included both edits, so that you have a choice. Nice bonus features finish out this release as well.

I've actually long been a fan of 'Raising Cain', having owned it on VHS and DVD previously. But this latest release ticks many boxes.The film itself is a fun ride, allowing the terrific John Lithgow to use his talents, alongside some elaborate Brian De Palma set pieces and a great score. The film looks great now on Blu-ray but real treat here is the inclusion of a new Director's Cut, which has all the same scenes as the theatrical version, but reordered according to an earlier draft of the screenplay before the film was recut to be more conventionally structured. I'll leave it to viewers to determine how they view this version, but, having been restored to the Director's original intentions, I found it fascinating in terms of how a film I've seen so often can suddenly become something else, purely on the basis of different structural and editing choices.Extras are substantial, all in running to just under three hours of cast interviews, video essays discussing the two versions of the film, a gallery and a trailer. A pretty solid package.

RAISING CAIN (1992/DIRECTOR'S CUT 2016) Directed by Brian De PalmaEither cut of Brian De Palma's loopy and gleeful ride into audience baiting would have been met with the same split reaction. It really is a love/hate affair. The De Palma approved director's cut pushes the structural envelope to the max. He really should have stuck to his guns and released this version, incorporating flashbacks within flashbacks and dreams that contain actual events relevant to the story with guilt-tripping sex and death fantasies...it's gloriously convoluted, adding a free-wheeling, borderline manic edge to the schizophrenic tale of multiple personalities and child abduction.The new Arrow release is pristine. Skip the theatrical cut, go in as cold as possible (the less you know about this movie, the better) and relish De Palma's darkly comic, twisted and amoral thriller, sprinkled with (purposeful) soap opera schmaltz, classic noir elements and fourth wall breaking bravado (when Josh sees Margo is guaranteed to smack a huge grin on your face).Grab a copy and watch multiple times (for each personality).

The Bluray is good quality, clear picture, ratio 16.9, with good sound and subtitles. Loads of extras as listed here on the Amazon site. For me de Palma can be a bit hit and miss (see BODY DOUBLE for the "miss" part). This one is somewhat in the middle. Actually thinking back, it is good. It needs concentration and a certain amount of "going with the flow", but in the end you have an intelligent script, some rather strange editing/directing, and a powerhouse performence from Lithgow, ably supported by Lolita Davidovitch. Twists and turns, unlikely plot developments and a general feeling of "what next" makes this a well worthwile addition to your library of thrillers and de Palma films. Not quite a 5 star, but a very worthy 4 star.

One of Brian De Palma's craziest endeavours, Raising Cain doesn't always make sense (you can feel the timeline has been tampered with in the editing room), but thanks to John Lithgow, Lolita Davidovich and some clever Hitchcockian tricks and twists, this is one delightful ride!

I really wanted to like this more than I actually did having first seen it in 1992. How strange memories are? Now it reads like high camp with John Lithgow mugging (sometimes nearly to camera) for all he's worth. The three stars are for the interesting different cuts of the film and the various explanations of said.