Blow Out

1981 "Murder has a sound all of its own."
7.4| 1h48m| R| en
Details

Jack Terry is a master sound recordist who works on grade-B horror movies. Late one evening, he is recording sounds for use in his movies when he hears something unexpected through his sound equipment and records it. Curiosity gets the better of him when the media become involved, and he begins to unravel the pieces of a nefarious conspiracy. As he struggles to survive against his shadowy enemies and expose the truth, he does not know whom he can trust.

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Reviews

Hellen I like the storyline of this show,it attract me so much
GamerTab That was an excellent one.
Beanbioca As Good As It Gets
Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.
JohnnyLee1 Unconvincing Hitchcockian conspiracy thriller. Uninvolving. Interesting Philadelphia setting and '70s pre-digital gadgetry though. SPOILER ALERT Should we even remember that Sally was responsible for Manny's death (defending herself from rape)? Obedient media will probably report it as an accident but still it's a loose end I didn't like left hanging, especially in a thriller.
okk07 I watched "Blow out", then I felt grate in three points.First, it is last was good. When I saw that Jack made a film and put scream into the film, I didn't know why he put scream into the film. However, in the last scram, Jack put Sally's scream into the film. This makes us sad and painful.Second, it is music. When the atmosphere , I felt feelings by music.Also, I found similarity with the films of Hitchcock. Maybe, Jack was a police and he failed when he was a politics, so he regretted that. In Vertigo, Scottie is the same situation and has guilty. I wondered Jack also has guilty.Third, I become sad at the last scene. At last, fireworks rise and the love of Jack and Sally are pictured on a large scale. I moved this scene very much.
Danny Blankenship Finally saw this 1981 art house suspense thriller from the well known legend Brian De Palma and I must say that "Blow Out" is really one well done suspense thrill like movie of trust that's blended well with issues of action, murder, and media issues! Filmed in Philadelphia, PA(if you've been there you will notice the 30th street train station and center city)"Blow Out" is the tale of a political cover up of murder, all of it starts when Jack(John Travolta)who's a B list movie sound mixer and editor one night happens to record evidence of a plot actually it turns out to be the murder of a governor and upcoming presidential candidate! Thru it all nothing or no one is who they seem or appear to be enter Sally(the sexy Nancy Allen)the lady who was inside the governor's car the night the tire was shot at and crashed in the water below the bridge, as it turns out little lady Sally was the candidate's mistress. Now talk about a web of corruption, it's now a cat and mouse game of sex, lies, and videotape which the dirty media will questions and even erase from Jack's collection in a scandal of cover up drama. And John Lithgow is A okay as Burke the film's evil never see him coming villain. Now need I say more if you haven't I say check out this art house suspense classic as it has many themes and plots of entertainment and enjoyment.
avik-basu1889 Based on all the Brian De Palma films I have seen as of now, I have no problem is stating that 'Blow Out' is my absolute favorite among them. De Palma's technical prowess has never been in doubt and it is again on show in this tightly paced conspiracy thriller, but he also adds layers to the screenplay through his visual choices and the protagonist Jack Terry played by John Travolta has the kind of depth and humanity that I couldn't find in some of his other films.While talking about the themes of the film, one has to make a comparative analysis because the nature of the film lends itself to such an approach. The connection to Antonioni's 'Blow Up' is unmissable if someone watches both the films. Both films are about a person unearthing a truth through their technical expertise, a truth that could somewhat go unnoticed by a layman. However De Palma is in no way trying to bring in an element of abstract existentialism that is a big part of 'Blow Up'. I think 'Blow Out' is also influenced by Hitchcock's 'Vertigo'. De Palma uses the colours of Red, White and Blue in a very meaningful and thematically poignant way just like Hitchcock did with the colours red and green in 'Vertigo'. As a matter of fact the shot of Manny's apartment room engulfed by the red neon light was very reminiscent of Judy's apartment in 'Vertigo' which had the green neon light coming in from outside. 'Blow Out' also shares with 'Vertigo' the Orpheus-esque theme of a character hurt by something in the past intentionally going through a similar incident again which breaks him permanently. 'Blow Out' can be compared with Coppola's 'The Conversation'(which was also tangentially influenced by 'Blow Up') because both films involve a character whose past trauma has led them to resort to something else for spiritual respite. For Jack Terry in 'Blow Out' it is the B- movie industry, while for Harry Caul in 'The Conversation', it is religion. However Jack isn't as psychologically broken and introverted as Harry was.Apart from everything that I mentioned, one can't forget that this is a political conspiracy film. The film was made at a time when USA was ready to move on after enduring the traumatic incidents that marked the 70s like Vietnam and Watergate by electing Ronald Reagan. De Palma at a political climate like this coming out with a film of this sort, must have tried to claim that this is nothing but a false sunrise and in the end, the film and the political deviousness that is depicted in 'Blow Out' turned out to be prescient. I think 'Blow Out' is also a bit of a love letter to all the grind-house sleazy exploitation films of the 1970s. The film opens with a scene which makes fun of these kind of films including De Palma's own films which did at times go overboard with the sleaziness. But over the course of the film and especially with the beautiful ending De Palma conveys that no matter how technically inept and thematically vapid these exploitation films may be, they still will always carry the filmmakers' blood, sweat and tears. There will still be something personal in these films too.The screenplay for the most part works. But there are a few sloppy elements here and there like exposition through television news reels and I also thought the climactic set-piece of the film gets a little too overblown. However the mild shortcomings of the screenplay get completely outweighed by De Palma's technical mastery. We get split screens, split diopter shots, tracking shots,etc. like all other De Palma films. There is a particular scene where De Palma uses the 360 degree shot and the camera revolves in a circular motion over and over again and it brilliantly expresses the paranoia of Jack in the scene.This might be Travolta's best role of his career. He is brilliant with the nuance as well as the gradual sense of paranoia that engulfs him. He fully realises the character and endures the psychological journey that the character of Jack goes through in a convincing way. Nancy Allen is very sweet and likable as Sally, although it can be said that at times, the character becomes a bit too dumb. John Lithgow is also brilliant as the psychotic Burke.I will end this review by saying that although I made a very thematic analysis of the film, simultaneously I also have to drive home the fact that 'Blow Out' is not just a thematically poignant, but also a very entertaining and funny film. It has something for everyone. Highly recommended.