Blow Out

The opening of this movie must rival Bullit as cool openings go. Wonderfully shot throughout, and even though you can see how dated the film is just by Travoltas' and Allens' hair and dress sense, it doesn't affect the quality. The story is competent, but what makes the film is DePalma's treatment. The quiet scenes and the complete focus on noise, other than that of the characters talking. Visuals and backgrounds start this movie and run all the way through the major scenes, finally closing it. This is an excellent thriller, and many modern films of this genre should take notes. A great movie.

Jack Terri is a soundman for a B-movie studio. One night as he is out recording sounds for a film he sees an accident - a car swerves through a guard rail and into a river. Jack jumps in in effort to help and sees that the driver is dead, but he manages to save the passenger. He soon finds out that the driver was the current favorite in the presidential election and after listening to the recording he suspects that what happened was no accident.

This is the type of movie many people call a rip-off as not only does it take an idea from a previous story and film ('Blow Up') it is one of DePalma's many Hitchcockian efforts. However, under his direction the film feels fresh and moves very well. It is 13 years before John Travolta made 'Pulp Fiction' but he was already a good lead actor. Dennis Franz also gives a good turn as a photographer who knows more than he is telling.

However, the scene stealer, would have to be John Lithgow who stoically walks his way through the film as a ruthless killer who wants to remove Jack Terri for the evidence he has. Rarely is such a emotionless and callous role played out so well to such great effect.

Then there is DePalma's direction which is the great thing that put all the good stuff together. He has a particular skill of blending shots/scenes without dissolves and that carries the movie is an interesting way. Using shadows, silhouettes, rotating camera shots he is truly a master in good form here. 9/10

Rated R: some grisly violence, and profanity

Many consider "Blow Out" to be the highlight of Brian De Palma's career, but to be honest I was pretty underwhelmed. It starts of great though. De Palma gets to show of his amazing knack for style in a brilliant opening scene that provides a hilarious pastiche on the slasher genre. The faux-sleazy look, the clever winks at genre classics, the genuine suspense even though you know it's a movie-within-a-movie, it's genius at work. There are more of those beautiful stylistic touches spread throughout the movie (the fireworks during the climax would be an obvious example), but the plot is just contrived and the final act demands more than a little suspension of disbelief. And while John Travolta puts in a strong lead performance, obligatory damsel in distress Nancy Allen never really manages to make her character likable so you don't really care whether she lives or dies. That's why the obvious Hitchcock influence isn't as effective as it could have been, Hitchcock gave us characters we deeply cared about and then did awful things to them. Sally is no Marion Crane to say the least, making it more difficult to stay interested in her story. "Blow Out" looks fantastic, but doesn't go very far beyond that.

Jack is a sound editor for small films. When he is out one evening recording background noises, he inadvertently records a car crash which kills a politician running for the US Presidency, although Jack saves a girl in the car. When pressured to say that the politician was alone, Jack finds that his recording may prove that it was murder and not an accident. However someone is cutting off the loose ends around the crime.

A clever rework of Blow-Up that is given a thriller twist and visual style by De Palma. The story is quite straight forward and doesn't contain too many twists and turns. However it does have a good premise at it's core and it builds to a suitably low-key ending.

De Palma works well with the material – at some points it's a little obtrusive, but he certainly can frame a shot. From his use of foreground and background focusing to the scene where Travolta realises what he has on tape – he has style to spare. He handles the ending well but perhaps feels he wants to be like Coppola a bit too much.

Pre-career dip Travolta gives his best performance before Pulp Fiction – he plays the everyman really well and is totally convincing. Allen is a little too squeaky and irritating, but get past this and she's OK. Franz is on-form as a sleazy opportunist, while Lithgow is chilling as a ruthless, clinical killer.

Overall it occasionally feels like there is more style than substance but everyone holds their end up and the result is a solid, enjoyable thriller that maybe pays a bit too much homage to other work.

Brian DePalma was at the height of his film career when he undertook the direction of "Blow Out". Some comments to this forum have compared it to other distinguished films like Francis Ford Coppola's "The Conversation" and Michaelangelo Antonioni's "Blow Up", a comparison that seems to make sense, in a way, but Mr. DePalma, who wrote his own screen play, is an intelligent man who didn't need to copy anything from those masters of the cinema.

In fact, "Blow Out" has kept its impact as a thriller mystery with its political overtones as it mixes crime with the lives of influential people that might give viewers a point of reference between the movie and actual historical facts.

We are given an introduction to Jack's line of work as we watch scenes of the porno film that he is working on as a sound technician. The only thing that is needed is a real scream which the many actresses, either on the film itself, or being auditioned, can't produce. Whatever comes out of those women's throats are wimpy sounds, not a horror yell for help.

Jack, who is out one night recording sounds for future ventures, captures the shot that causes the "blow out" and makes a car plunge into a creek. Jack abandons everything and jumps to rescue whoever he can save. He is only successful in bringing Sally out of the water. This is the beginning of Jack's involvement into the mystery behind the actual fact.

Mr. DePalma's thriller is visually stylish. He photographed the movie in Philadelphia. The film has the excellent Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera. The atmospheric music by Pino Donoggio serves the movie well.

John Travolta's career was in decline when he made this movie. He gives a terrific performance as the sound effect man who stumbles in a conspiracy to eliminate the witnesses to the accident. Nancy Allen is not as effective as Sally, the young prostitute at the center of the story. Being married to the director might have helped her land the part, which with some other actress might have paid off better. John Lighgow is perfectly creepy as Burke, the evil man. Dennis Franz has the pivotal part of Karp, the man who was able to photograph the whole incident.

"Blow Out" is a must see for all Brian DePalma's admirers.