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Brian De Palma’s obsession with Hitchcock paid off in a series of suspenseful films in the 70’s that visited Hitchcockian territory with De Palma’s own variations on the themes of voyeurism, “twins” (either real or metaphorical). We see both expressed in De Palma’s last exceptional movie “Carlito’s Way”. De Palma never received the critical acclaim that Coppola and even Spielberg received during his career; it’s sad because although he takes on many of the same themes as Hitchcock, he brings his own unique visual spin to the story. Whether it be “Sisters”, “Carrie” or even “he Untouchables” De Palma’s films are as unique in their own way as maverick filmmakers like David Croenberg and David Lynch using traditional narratives to explore many of the same ideas. Perhaps De Palma’s most mature, thoughtful work combining brilliant action sequences and quiet dramatic scenes, “Carlito’s Way” was over looked when it was first released. De Palma’s ability to portray characters in films has always been glossed over by those focusing on his technical abilities (much like the artist he is most frequently compared to—Hitchcock). De Palma’s work with the actors here is truly spectacular. ***

Al Pacino plays Carlito Brigante a Puerto Rican drug kingpin who gets released from prison on due to diligent work from his lawyer David Kleinfield Sean Penn) and a technicality and promises to go straight. He lives up to his word for the most part although he still stays centered in the “community” that made up so much of his life as a drug lord. He agrees to run a legit club that Kleinfield has an investment in so that he can put together enough money to purchase a car rental company in the Bahamas. Unfortunately, Carlito’s life keeps intersecting with the thugs he used to do business with. If Carlito can’t achieve the redemption he seeks, he at least washes away the past until it comes waltzing in as Benny Blanco (John Leguizamo) a mirror image of Carlito when he was a young, brash punk. ---

This is the most decked out edition of the film released yet. Sadly, that also means that fans of this film will have to buy it for the third time. Re-released to coincide with the prequel being released to DVD, this edition features the original promotional featurette released when the film was in theaters. The packaging has been redesigned to mimic the packaging of the popular “Scarface” DVD release earlier in the year. There’s also a fine retrospective featurette which showed up on the “Collector’s Edition” of a couple of years ago. Brian De Palma doesn’t provide a commentary track but, instead, appears in a five minute interview discussing the scenes he feels are most important in the film and also his take on the critical reaction to his work. It’s a pretty blunt and accurate assessment of the critical establishment. The new material inclues the deleted scenes and for fans this will be worth the price of purchasing this fine film again. While it’s clear why many of these scenes were cut (for pacing, because they replicated a point made in another scene) most of them are gems with strong acting and direction. We also get the original theatrical trailer and all the extras from the “Collector’s Edition” including the poster and photo gallery. I would have preferred this be released in a two disc edition vs. a flipper but we can’t have everything. ---