On This Day

Birthday of Brian De Palma

September 11th 1940

06:36 11 September 2024

American film director and screenwriter Brian De Palma was born on this day in 1940. De Palma emerged alongside Scorsese and Coppola in the late 1960s as a leading player of the New Hollywood generation of film directors. After several independent projects working with a young Robert De Niro, he had his first success with the low budget thrillers 'Sisters' (1972) and 'Obsession' (1976) which led to his breakthrough hit, an adaptation of Stephen King's novel 'Carrie' (1976).

The follow-up horror movie 'The Fury' (1978) failed to reach the highs of 'Carrie' but the psychological thrillers 'Dressed to Kill' (1980) and 'Blow Out' (1981) proved more popular with critics and audiences alike. The 1980s also saw him direct two of the greatest gangster films of all time in 'Scarface' (1983) and 'The Untouchables' (1987) as well as the Vietnam War drama 'Casualties of War' (1989).

De Palma maintained his position as one of Hollywood's leading directors throughout the 1990s and into the new millennium with the hit films 'Carlito's Way' (1993), 'Mission Impossible' (1996), 'Mission to Mars' (2000) and 'The Black Dahlia' (2006). More recent directorial credits include 'Passion' (2012) and 'Domino' (2019). Happy Birthday Brian.