Blow Out [Blu-Ray] [Region Free] (English audio. English subtitles)

de Palma was at the top of his game during the 70s and 80s, churning out superb thrillers, oft-tinged with horror elements such as Sisters, Carrie, Dressed to Kill, The Fury, and this one, Blow Out. I won't go into detail regarding the plot as you can find that on the imdb, but if you're looking at this 4k release from Criterion and looking to see if it's worth the money, then the answer is a resounding 'YES.'It looks truly filmic, true to the source material. Not glossy and DNR'd to death, but like an early 1980s film treated with due respect. de Palma's use of split diopter shots is in full effect in this one, and the film as a whole looks tremendous. I really can't imagine it looking much better.Travolta is on fine form, Nancy Allen (what a babe she was) plays the ditzy patsy to perfection, Dennis Franz the sleazy photographer is great, and of course, the man of the show, John Lithgow, makes it worth watching based on his character alone.SO many great moments in this. The initial accident, the various actresses they audition for the scream, the overhead 360 as Travolta is in his recording studio and realises just how deep the conspiracy goes, the multiple 'sex killings' to draw attention away from the real target.An amazing film, and an excellent disc. 10/10

I have recently got into Criterion releases as the movies they choose to put out have something of substance so on the whole you can't go wrong. Howeever I've learned that it's always worth viewing on a streaming service first before purchasing physical media on blind buys due to cost difference. As a Scarface fan I thought it was time to give another DePalma film a go. After viewing I'm glad I didn't buy the physical release of Blow Out, for me this film has aged badly. Travolta is the only highlight, his character is of interest due to this profession and therefore the whole concept of the movie made for an enthralling one. The female character is utterly annoying, there is the not so bright and then there is the utterly stupid and she falls into the latter. The plot becomes predictable, there was nothing intelligent about this film. Phone calls from telephone boxes and weapon of choice being a thin piece of string which pulls out of a watch..really? To me this film feels like a missed opportunity. It has some entertainment value but just don't expect to be wowed by anything, I'm struggling to understand how this is viewed a something exceptional by Criterion. I will say is that my film choice has matured as I've aged so have been more selective with movies in more recent months, therefore if you're in that same phase and understand the better Criterion films from key directors then you are most definitely better off using your 2hrs to watch something with some substance.

One of De Palma's best films ever, with a fantastic rhythm and sense of cinema from the very start to the end. There are maybe some excessive scenes where pathos, anxiety or drama are too stressed and become a little over the top, but he managed to resume from Antonioni former film and concept of technology changing the way we see the world, and develop a master-thriller, with fantastic scenes, all built around the idea of time, perception, distortion of the senses, and a truth and reality that is not what we know. A political thriller where the concept, the story and the way it is directed are all connected and converge into this great example of Cinema with the capitol C, without losing however any adherence with reality. It si not just art for art, but art that change the way we see the world.Great blu ray, with some flaws, but still top class.

This is a review of 'Blow Out', which we watched on the 2013 Region B2 Limited Edition SteelBook from Arrow Video. The film itself, from 1981, appears in 2.40:1, and has received a restored digital transfer, supervised by the director, Brian De Palma. The sound is Dolby 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. The result is a very handsome, clean, picture, though the colour and lighting are still somewhat 1970s-influenced, with that slightly grainy, browny-sepia toning, of the era. The sound is pin-sharp.In 1966, Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni made ‘Blowup’, an arty mystery film, set in ‘Swinging London’. Made in the UK with David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave, it won the Palme d’Or in 1967, and subsequent cult status. It also inspired more than one successor, of which this film may be the most noteworthy. The remodelling, tweaking the plot to base the source of the central ‘reveal’ on a sound recording, rather than a photo, was the work of De Palma himself. Interestingly, although the film was not hugely successful on release, it has itself become a cult offering, and has arguably stood the test of time somewhat better than its inspiration ~ though not entirely!There are some really superior aspects to ‘Blow Out’. It gives a fascinating, in-depth insight into how sound is applied to movie films. And it is also interesting to see just how much more difficult it was to deal with sound, back when reel-to-reel tape decks were technically ‘state of the art’. Intriguingly, the film also references a host of major political scandals of the time, alluding to Watergate in the early 1970s, the assassination of JFK in 1963, and certainly reminded me forcibly of Chappaquiddick, the incident involving Senator Teddy Kennedy, in 1969. The Senator drove off a bridge, and his young female passenger drowned. His suspended prison sentence for leaving the scene, scuppered his chances of ever receiving the Democratic nomination for the US Presidency.Another major positive, is the performance of John Travolta, as the rather brash young sound technician, who captures more on tape than he bargains for. Travolta had become a major star in his early 20s, after his dance roles in ‘Saturday Night Fever’(1977) and ‘Grease’(1978), but this was very different ~ a tough, energetic, demanding, dramatic role, without a musical number in sight. Travolta is excellent, with real presence, as he slowly morphs from jokey and laddish, to responsible grown-up. Nancy Allen (Mrs De Palma) is also good, as the apparently ditzy victim.The underlying plot is excellent, the main plot aspect of the film begins well, and the ending (which sadly destroyed the film at the Box Office) is superb. However, there are some aspects that are much less successful. The start of the film is VERY De Palma, and his trademark black humour runs away from him. The main baddie, played by the usually reliable John Lithgow, is a dreadful pantomime villain. And there is a long sequence, near the end, involving a very spectacular action sequence, that is frankly, completely ridiculous, and utterly implausible.So, my assessment is: Good ~ but with reservations. Hence, 4 entertaining, but flawed, Stars.

Ok film hard to understand at times

Travolta in an interesting position.

Another great transfer from Criterion with Travolta in one of his better roles and some extremely interesting extras. Definitely the one to buy.

Awful film don’t bother watching