Brian De Palma two categories, his psychological thrillers ("Sisters", "Body Double", "Obsession", "Dressed to Kill", "Blow Out", "Raising Cain") and his mainly commercial films ("Scarface", "The Untouchables", "Carlito's Way", and "Mission: Impossible"). He has often produced "De Palma" films one after the other before going on to direct a different genre, but would always return to his familiar territory. Because of the subject matter and graphic violence of some of De Palma's films, such as "Dressed to Kill", "Scarface" and "Body Double", they are often at the center of controversy with the Motion Picture Association of America, film critics and the viewing public.
Brian De Palma lead actress and the exposition scene by the psychiatrist at the end. Film critics have often noted De Palma's penchant for unusual camera angles and compositions throughout his career. He often frames characters against the background using a canted angle shot. Split-screen techniques have been used to show two separate events happening simultaneously. To emphasize the dramatic impact of a certain scene De Palma has employed a 360-degree camera pan. Slow sweeping, panning and tracking shots are often used throughout his films, often through precisely-choreographed long takes lasting for minutes without cutting. Split focus shots, often referred to as "di-opt",