Blow-Up

Audience Reviews

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Theodore W Apr 9, 2019 This is exactly why I so rarely watch oldies. No matter how highly touted. Because 19 times out of 20, you end up sitting through shit like this. See more

Finn L Feb 21, 2019 Pretentious yet deceitfully and deliberately light and heavy at the same time. All of this goes into making this the success it is. What does it mean if no one knows what it means? We are taken on a delightful, colorful, absorbing journey through 1966 London, again allowed to see the agony and the ecstasy of it all. See more

Rey S Nov 6, 2018 This film was great!

Rey S Sep 11, 2018 Blow-up might have been ground-breaking in 1966, but today it's a bore. Even the scene where Jeff Beck smashes his guitar is flat. See more

Abraham R Aug 19, 2018 Another guilty pleasure... A very enjoyable movie.

Abraham G Nov 23, 2017 I jumped back and forth quite a few times when I saw this film for my first time. At first, I thought it took too long to get going, but after looking up a few critical essays, I decided to revisit it as I felt like I'd enjoy it more, having learned of more insight. As expected, I found more merits with it on my 2nd viewing. Now, I consider it to be pretty good, but it's not without its flaws. Thomas is a photographer who's bored with his job. One day while taking photos in the park, he takes several photos of a woman who demands he gives back the photos he took of her, to which he refuses. After he goes home and prints them out, he notices something out of the ordinary on one of them. After he blows several of them up, he comes to realize that he might've just photographed a murder. I get why people think as highly of this film as they do. As for what I think, however, I more or less think it works. After I watched this movie for my first time, I looked up different critical essays to see what other people thought of it. From what I found, many people brought up the fact that Thomas seems to find a way to escape his boring job only to be thrust back into it since he didn't solve the "murder" or whatever it was which he photographed (film critic Roger Ebert argued that what Thomas photographed is ambiguous). I was a bit confused after reading these interpretations, because I didn't remember Thomas showing much boredom at all. I decided to watch the movie again, specifically the opening scenes where he was at his job. The first scene at his job showed him photographing a female model. As he did so, he proceeded to climb over her as he took them. I was confused by that scene, because he didn't seem bored at all while doing it. He seemed to be having a blast. The next scene showed him slumped down on a couch. Admittedly, Thomas shows a clear sense of boredom in that scene both by his facial expressions and his body movements. Then, the next scene at his job showed him photographing 5 models. While he clearly didn't seem excited here, I wouldn't describe his reaction as boredom. He actually seemed kind of angry and hostile towards the women. Relative to showing how bored Thomas was with his job, however, I think that, despite a couple unfitting parts, this aspect was represented pretty well. The "point" of the film may have had a greater impact on me if Antonioni reshot a couple of scenes and removed a couple parts, but what I got was pretty good. In addition to this, there were quite a few other aspects to the film which I loved quite a bit. For instance, the final scene was a great way to conclude the film as it summarized the "Briefly woken from a boring life" point which the film that came before it was based around. I thought the meaning of the ending was a bit obvious, but I still think it was a clever way to end the film since it lingered in my head long afterwards. Also, I felt an enormous amount of dread at the ending since, a few days before watching this film, I watched another Antonioni film, one where the protagonist died at the end (I won't reveal which one it is due to spoilers). I thought for sure that this movie was going to go in the same direction. Also, the middle scene where Thomas blows up the photos he takes and discovers the truth about what happened in the park is a well-edited and captivating sequence which would make Hitchcock proud. Since some of the objects in the photos were small and near-indecipherable, I paid extra close attention to them and I had to carefully scan those objects as they may've been murder weapons or blood stains. When Thomas printed out more blown up photos, the sequence got more suspenseful up until Thomas discovered the murder weapon, a shot which is the climax of the scene. However, another scene, which is my other criticism with the film, was inserted between the middle scene. While Thomas was studying the photos, he had a romp with 2 female models who turned up at his studio. I found this scene to be pretty out-of-place. I get that he's likely in a good mood since he believed he prevented a murder, but he should've reported his findings to the police at that point. Since he gave Jane (who was a potential accomplice to murder) the wrong photo reel, his life could've been in danger. For that reason, I found that scene particularly odd. In conclusion, while I enjoyed this movie quite a bit, it doesn't quite reach greatness for me. It has several fantastic scenes and a compelling meaning behind it. There may have been a few weaker parts which took me out of the film, but in my opinion, the good far outweighs the bad. Not my favorite Antonioni, but it's still a must-see. See more

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Blow-Up

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