Criterion | 1981 | 108 mins. | R
Brian De Palma is a directorial enigma. In America, many consider him nothing more than a talented rip-off artist who takes from the greats—Michael Powell, Michelangelo Antonioni, Hitchcock, and Kubrick. One of his biggest stateside successes, 1983’s Scarface, was a remake. Regarded as a misogynist in some quarters, his films don’t always get a fair shake. Yet in France, De Palma is considered a genius, a master of visual style. Watch any of his films, and it’s clear that he’s working through some significant demons with his art. He’s obsessed with voyeurism; the act of peeking at something we’re not supposed to see.
1981’s Blow Up, is a voyeurs dream. De Palma continued his practice of paying homage to other directors and their films, and fictionalizing what could easily be based on a historical event. Regardless, Blow Up may be his best and most original work to date.
The title alludes to Blow Up, Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film about a photographer (David Hemmings) who saw, or thought he saw, a murder—he proceeded to go mad while obsessively analyzing his pictures of the “crime”—is there a dead body to be seen on the negative? Does reality even exist anymore?
In Blow Out, John Travolta plays Jack Terry, a Philadelphia based sound man for a worse than B movie studio. Late one night, while he’s standing on a bridge recording owls and other night sounds, he witnesses an accident. A car plunges off a bridge, and plunges into a river. Mortified, Jack plunges into the river, and rescues a young woman named Sally (Nancy Allen). At the hospital a short time later, it becomes clear that this was more than your average car accident. Jack discovers that the dead driver of the car was none other than the state’s governor and probable presidential candidate.
Asked to Sally’s identity a secret for the good of the governor’s wife and kids, Jack reluctantly agrees. Later that night, reviewing his sound recording of the event, Jack is sure he can hear a gunshot just before the blowout. He wonders, was the accident really murder? He meets up with Sally and discovers that she was part of a plot to blackmail the governor. He then finds himself on the trail of a private investigator (Dennis Franz), who had wanted to create a tire blow out, but never intended for anyone to die.
De Palma, who also wrote the script, builds the narrative tension perfectly. We are introduced to a series of violent characters, including, including Burke (John Lithgow), who specializes in dirty tricks. He complicates the investigation into the original crime, by shifting police focus to aseries of murders.
While the police are doing their thing, Jack continues to dig. For him, it’s personal. He refuses to believe he’s imagining things. Arguing with a cop about his tapes, he exclaims: “I’m a sound man!” He comes across a series of photos of the fatal accident. In a smart sequence, we follow each step as he assembles the film and his recording into a movie of the event, stubbornly putting together what he believes to be the facts of the case.
De Palma, never afraid to examine the underbelly of society, has made Blow Out a distinctly American film. It’s a bold choice, as he holds the post-Watergate society in contempt. Politicians are dishonest and police inept; that’s a strong indictment of American institutions.
The visual style is reminiscent of Hitchcock: graphic murders in unexpected places; a shower scene and a chase through Philadelphia during the ringing of the Liberty Bell. That chase scene harkens back to Hitchcock’s juxtaposition of patriotic images and espionage, as seen in North by Northwest and chases through oblivious crowds, as in Strangers on a Train.
Despite all of Blow Out’s similarities to other filmmaker’s styles, De Palma makes it his own. All of his characters are three dimensional—their all caught in a messy conspiracy, and act just as you’d think people in that situation would. At no time do they become superheroes. They’re pawns in a sick game.
The Criterion DVD of Blow Out is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1. Though there are some issues, this is a solid transfer. Sharpness occasionally suffers, as some shots have some noticeable softness. However, none of this distracted from the viewing experience, and I didn’t notice any digital anomalies. Colors appear accurate, though this is a fairly drab film overall, so vividness isn’t much of a concern.
The audio shows some signs of age, but the 2.0 track does the job for the most part. Dialogue sounds strong and even, while the music is given the full soundfield when required. I did notice a couple of occasions when the dialogue and music seemed a little thin, but I attribute that to the films age.
We get the following special features:
- Trailer – the original theatrical trailer for Blow Out. (2 min).
- Murder a la Mod (1967) – director Brian De Palma’s experimental film about a man who tries to track down the killer of his girlfriend. (81 min).
- Louis Goldman Photographs – a collection of images taken on the set of Blow Out by the late still photographer Louis Goldman.
- Garret Brown Interview – cameraman Garret Brown, the inventor of the Steadicam system, recalls the shooting of Co-ed Frenzy, portions of which appear in the beginning of Blow Out. He also demonstrates how the Steadicam is used. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).
- Nancy Allen Interview – actress Nancy Allen recalls her first encounter with John Travolta, the character she plays in Blow Out, the rehearsal process, how various scenes were shot, etc. The interview was conducted in Los Angeles in January 2011 (26 min).
- Noah Baumbach Interviews Brian De Palma – in this long and very informative interview director Brian De Palma discusses the production history of Blow Out, its characters, how and why certain sequences were shot, other films he made before and after Blow Out, etc. The interview was conducted in New York City in October 2010. (58 min).
- Booklet – an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow and Pauline Kael’s original New Yorker interview.
