Blow Out

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Jan 27, 2019 The best mystery movie ever made!

Anakin G Dec 19, 2018 Brian De Palma is for me best known for directing "Carrie", "The Untouchables" or "Scarface" - the last one stays unseen by me. Anyhow, this is one of his film's that's a bit further down on his "most known" list. It features Travolta in tip top shape and a young Nancy Allen. John Lithgow as a creepy dude and Dennis Franz as a sleezy, shabby guy are also excellent casting matches. Travolta as "Jack" is working as a soundguy. He records and edit sound and put them on top of films. He is out, fetching sounds and scores a real car crash. In it is a presidential candidate and a young woman, "Sally". Jack saves her life, but the other guy dies. When the entire thing seem to be planned his soundcapturings seem to come an hot item, both for the police and the guys behind it. This is a very well crafted movie. In a way it's about moviemaking and there are loads of nice movie making techniques here. Great usage of camera here too - a cinematic treat in many ways. It got a very solid story that never bores me and the acting is also very good. Some very smart tricks like the opening scene and words, together with the last scene is pretty brilliant. I really enyoyed this one and it stays pretty fresh even today. 7.5 out of 10 meters of tape. See more

Hagrid M Nov 6, 2018 This film was amazing!

Albus G Oct 8, 2018 Blowout is a very engaging film starring a young John Travolta who plays a sound recordist who accidently records a murder and is suddenly embroiled in a bigger conspiracy. Blow Out has bits of the conversation and Blow up and whole lot of early 80s atmosphere. When the legendary critic Pauline Kael says "This is the best American conspiracy movie" you should take note. Oh, this also involves a whole lot of movie making and even Travolta considers this one of his best films. A bleak ending only adds to its legacy. See more

Draco R Aug 19, 2018 'Blow Out' is a 1981 thriller written and directed by Brian De Palma. The film stars John Travolta as a sound recordist for movies who becomes involved in a dangerous conspiracy after accidentally recording an alarming piece of evidence. De Palma's passion in the story is evident on screen, which came to him while working on the sound for his previous film 'Dressed to Kill.' He has crafted a riveting, unique piece of suspenseful filmmaking, especially for those interested in the medium. You can see De Palma's appreciation for sound design, lingering on recording instruments in striking closeups as we see Travolta carefully do his work. There is a scene in which his character 'Jack Terry' explains to Nancy Allen's character what he does for a living. She is initially confused, and precedingly fascinated, as if she never realised sound was actually designed for movies. It is clear De Palma must have had personal experience with a situation similar to this, and it adds to the sense of realism in the film. During sequences where we see the sound design process, the audience is treated with respect. The actions are not explained and we must therefore watch carefully, as the character is, what is happening. As you watch you feel as if you are learning secrets of moviemaking, which is one of the best aspects of the film and very rare in films today. The style of the film escalates the unique story, which is slightly inspired by Michelangelo Antonioni's 1966 film 'Blow-Up,' in which a murder may or may not have been witnessed and recorded in a London photographer's work. De Palma's fresh take on the story oozes style. Vilmos Zsigmond, cinematographer of 'Close Encounters of the Third kind' and 'The Deer Hunter' elevates the style of the film with rich, almost surreal images within a fairly grounded, realistic story. These surreal images with creative uses of lighting-a particular shot which stood out to me was one in which the camera is positioned inside a motel room, facing Travolta's character who sits by the window at night, listening to the fateful recording. The rain on the window pane is illuminated from what is presumably a car's light from outside, giving the rich red colour of blood. Combined with a blue curtain behind Travolta, a colour representative of anxiety, the shot reflects the state of his mind at that moment. There are frequent uses of colour throughout, with neon lights almost giving the feeling of a neo-noir film. A staple of the cinematography of De Palma's films is the split-focus diopter lens. It is a half convex second lens which is attached to the initial lens which allows areas of the background and foreground to simultaneously be in focus. The eye is not used to seeing this kind of image, so it may almost create a sense of anxiety due to its heightened surrealism. It is used in several scenes, most notably in the sound recording scene where it builds tension effectively with incredible shots involving owls and frogs in the extreme foreground, with Travolta in the background. It is also used to amplify John Ligathow's chilling performance, especially when he is listening to characters nearby - his face in the extreme foreground, his probable next victim in the background, still in focus. The screenplay is very cleverly written, with the story unfolding to the audience and characters as new information and characters are revealed. The sense of dread gradually increases throughout as everything becomes heightened. However, the ending of the film felt rather rushed and was slightly disappointing. This may be partly due to the fact that two reels of film were stolen of the Liberty Parade sequence and had to be reshot. On the other hand, I am willingly to accept the ending due to the near perfection of the rest of the film. To conclude, 'Blow Out' is a riveting thriller, worth watching if you enjoy the genre and a must-see if you are interested in the filmmaking process or a fan of John Travolta, who gives possibly his best performance. See more

Jul 19, 2018 The picture is a simple thriller, but since it's so marvelous made it can attract viewers into an interesting Story with excellent performances. However (and this is not bad) the ending can make you feel really sad See more

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