History Film / Sisters1973

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Ultimately, Dr. Breton fails to make Danielle remember the murder and he's murdered by Dominique. Danielle is arrested and she's still unaware about her split personality. Grace remembers nothing of the murder she was investigating, courtesy of Dr. Breton's hypnosis...and the private detective is left watching the couch holding the body, somehow ''still'' [[CompletelyMissingThePoint thinking it'll lead to something big]].]]

* DownerEnding: Or ''maybe'' BittersweetEnding, if you assume that [[spoiler: Dr. Breton deserved to die, and that Danielle/Dominique will be arrested for murder.]] Still, even at best, [[spoiler: Grace remembers nothing of the murder she was investigating, courtesy of Dr. Breton's hypnosis...and the private detective is left watching the couch holding the body, somehow ''still'' [[CompletelyMissingThePoint thinking it'll lead to something big]].]]

* TheCassandra: The police dismiss Grace's claim that Danielle stabbed a man to death in her apartment. [[spoiler:She really did, but it was under the influence of her dead twin Dominique]].

The film is, in part, an homage to the works of Creator/AlfredHitchcock, and in particular borrows from and references ''Film/RearWindow'' and ''Film/{{Psycho}}''. The influence of Creator/MarioBava, Creator/RomanPolanski and Creator/IngmarBergman are also on display.

* SuperOCD: Arlene at the mental ward, who thinks germs travel through phone lines.

* PosterGalleryBedroom: At the end of the film, Grace is back in her girlhood bedroom at her mother's house, with a wall full of pictures and posters, includings ones of [[Series/TheAdventuresOfOzzieAndHarriet Rick Nelson]], Creator/RobertMitchum and Music/TheBeatles.

A cult PsychologicalThriller/{{Horror}} film from 1973, directed by Creator/BrianDePalma. It was the first of his films in the thriller-horror vein, and featured Creator/MargotKidder in an early starring role as well as De Palma regular character actor William Finley, who would go on the following year to star as the Phantom in his CultClassic horror rock musical ''Film/{{Phantom Of The Paradise}}''.

A cult psychological thriller/horror film from 1973, directed by Creator/BrianDePalma. It was the first of his films in the thriller-horror vein, and featured Creator/MargotKidder in an early starring role as well as De Palma regular character actor William Finley, who would go on the following year to star as the Phantom in his CultClassic horror rock musical ''Film/{{Phantom Of The Paradise}}''.

* BigBad: [[spoiler: Danielle Benton, or rather her alter Dominique, is the murderer.]]

%%* {{Yandere}}: Dominique.

** Much of the film operates as a "spot the [[Creator/AlfredHitchcock Hitchcock]] allusion" game. There's Grace as a RearWindowWitness, a major character who dies early in the film and someone suffering from a severe SplitPersonality (''Film/{{Psycho}}''), a dead body hidden in plain sight in a piece of furniture and a long tracking shot (''Theatre/{{Rope}}''), and a character who is maliciously tagged with a false identity (''Film/NorthByNorthwest''). Also, Grace's name could be a nod to the quintessential "Hitchcock blonde", Creator/GraceKelly (though this Grace is brunette).

* PrivateDetective: Joseph Larch (played by Charles Durning), hired by Grace to help investigate Danielle.

A 2006 remake with French singer-actress Lou Doillon as the twins, Chloë Sevigny as Grace, and Stephen Rea as the doctor was a critical and financial failure. [[SimilarlyNamedWorks Shares a name]] with a 2015 comedy from Creator/TinaFey and Creator/AmyPoehler.

* RedOniBlueOni: Danielle is the pleasant, outgoing Red twin, Dominique is the moody, disturbed Blue twin. This is even noted [[spoilers:by the doctors when they're still conjoined]].

%%* ManipulativeBastard: Dr. Breton.

* RedOniBlueOni: Danielle is the pleasant, outgoing Red twin, Dominique is the moody, disturbed Blue twin. This is even noted by the doctors when they're still conjoined.

Young model Danielle Breton (Kidder) goes on a date with Phillip (Lisle Wilson), but they have an awkward encounter with Dr. Emil Breton (Finley), who Danielle says is her ex-husband. Phillip sleeps over at her apartment, then the next morning awakes to the sound of Danielle and her twin sister Dominique arguing in French. Meanwhile, newspaper reporter Grace Collier (Jennifer Salt), who lives in an adjacent building to Danielle, is certain she's seen a murder in Danielle's apartment, and calls the police. As the story unfolds, it becomes frighteningly clear that the relationship between Danielle, Dominique and Dr. Breton is much more complex and disturbing than it first appeared to be.

%%* PsychoPsychologist: Dr. Breton.

* SoapBoxSadie: Grace fits this category, going by her arguments with her mother and the headlines of her newspaper column. PoliceBrutality seems to be a pet issue of hers (one column has the headline "Why We Call Them 'Pigs'"), which is why the cops aren't too eager to follow up on her call about the murder in Danielle's apartment.

* RedOniBlueOni: Danielle is the pleasant, outgoing Red twin, Dominique is the emotional, angsty Blue twin. This is even noted by the doctors when they're still conjoined.

* EpiphanyTherapy: Dr. Breton tries this with Danielle at the climax, [[spoiler:showing her the knife that killed Phillip, to get her to try to remember the murder. Instead, "Dominique" returns and kills ''him'' with it.]]

* EpiphanyTherapy: Dr. Breton tries this with Danielle at the climax, [[spoiler:showing her the knife that killed Phillip, to get her to try to remember the murder. Instead, "Dominique" returns and kills ''him''.]]

%%* EpiphanyTherapy: Subverted.

* DuckSeasonRabbitSeason: When Grace confronts an assistant at the clinic about Danielle, Dr. Breton shows up and acts like Grace is a new patient named Margaret, who ''thinks'' she's a newspaper reporter named Grace. The assistant is taken in by the ruse and follows Breton's instructions to ease her into treatment by calling her Grace, which agitates her and makes her slip-up.

-->'''Grace''': No, damn it, my name is Grace!

* RedOniBlueOni: Danielle is the pleasant, outgoing Red twin, Dominique is the emotional, angsty Blue twin.

-->'''Assistant''': Then you really do want to be Margaret?

%%* SplitPersonality: [[spoiler:Danielle.]]