Though much reviled when first released theatrically, Raising Cain (1992) has grown in its critical estimation since undergoing a re-cut in 2012 by Peet Gelderblom. The Gelderblom version of Raising Cain reveals a number of striking similarities to director Brian De Palma’s earlier controversial thriller Dressed To Kill (1980). In fact Raising Cain can be seen as a remake of Dressed To Kill in the Gelderblom cut where the emphasis shifts to the killer’s perspective rather than the call-girl’s perspective after the initial murder.
The discourse around Raising Cain remains muddied by the fact that the Gelderblom cut of De Palma’s film is presented and sold as the director’s cut. Although Gelderblom used De Palma’s original screenplay as the basis for the edits he made to Raising Cain (such as restoring its non-linear structure) the only version of the film whose editing was overseen by De Palma remains the theatrical version or De Palma cut. To call Gelderblom’s masterful re-edit of Raising Cain the “director’s cut” is to re-write a chapter in film history.
The Gelderblom cut reveals that Raising Cain contains moments of genius equal to anything De Palma did in Blow Out (1982), Phantom Of The Paradise (1974) or Hi, Mom! (1970). But what Gelderblom really does is to insist that the viewer see Raising Cain and join Gelderblom in his fandom. Gelderblom, motivated to re-write film history, has created one of the great “fan-edits” of all time. However, in revealing the aesthetic similarities between Raising Cain and Dressed To Kill, Gelderblom’s edit has obscured De Palma’s efforts not to repeat himself.
One could easily argue that the merit of the De Palma edit of Raising Cain is that it demonstrates or proves that the stylized formalism of Dressed To Kill or Body Double (1984) cannot be supported by conventional Hollywood storytelling. Some of De Palma’s most deeply flawed films remain his most interesting films to watch because they prove so clearly why his masterpieces really work. Raising Cain is the last breath of that style that was synonymous with De Palma’s thrillers in the eighties and marks a transition towards the mega blockbusters of the nineties.
To only see the Gelderblom cut of Raising Cain and to accept that cut as the “director’s cut” is to miss the importance of Raising Cain to Brian De Palma’s career. The Gelderblom cut is the superior edit of Raising Cain but it cannot be mistaken for the definitive version of the film. Raising Cain is a film like Greed (1924) of Mr. Arkadin (1955) that has no one true version and yet every available version is essential to understanding the film.
