Best movie of this year hands down!

Purely Joyful Movie!

Absolutely Fantastic

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

This film is not timeless, it is stuck in 1981 and will forever stay there. However, before getting into details, I did enjoy the split screens and the attention to detail of the equipment and meticulousness of the sound recordist played by John Travolta. I enjoyed the opening scene of the "slasher film" the main character works on. It felt like a commentary to other films of its time, especially on how women were/are viewed in such genres. Thinking Blow Out will go in a different direction I thought it to be clever, especially in 1981 to start a film in such fashion. Unfortunately, Blow Out was a continuation of that. It was frustrating watching a film that portrayed all female characters as either porn stars, incredibly dumb, naive, or extraordinarily helpless where the only way they are able to survive is with a man's help. I don't know what the director was thinking, did he portray the female characters like that on purpose? Is there a message? Is it a commentary after all? I don't know, and honestly I don't think so. All I know is that this is a very sad portrayal of women, and an even sadder attempt to make a thriller which has been done before. Utterly disappointing, and just really boring.

A Movie Full of Film Flourishes. The Always Fanciful and Never Shy to Show-Off Director, Brian De Palma, Relishes in the Glory of Film-Making and Makes Love to His Movies. Here He makes another Visually Interesting Picture and the Audio Track is No Side-Bar. It is Present right Beside the Images.John Travolta is a "Sound-Man" for Low-Budget Horror Movies and as He is doing some On Location Recordings, the Tapes Immediately become Central to the Plot. Not to be Upstaged, the Visual Images become just as Important. Travolta Literally Pieces Together Clues to a Crime, uncovers a Conspiracy, and the Chase is On.Nancy Allen Co-Stars as a "Honey Trap" who is in Over Her Head. The Two Encounter Cover-Ups, a Psycho-Killer, Cynical Cops, and Political Corruption in the "City of Brotherly Love" during a Week of Bi-Centennial Celebration.John Lithgow makes quite an Impression with Limited Screen Time. Dennis Franz is Typecast as a Sleaze who Drinks, Drools, Urinates, and Oozes Odorous Obscenity.De Palma Pulls every Trick in His Considerable Bag of Cinematic Trademarks to make this a Pulse-Pounding, Neo-Noir and it is one of His Most Bleak and Depressing Movies.Colors Explode from the Screen as De Palma Paints a Picture just a Heartbeat Removed from Reality. An Amped Up, Pulpy Presentation with Crafty Cinematography (Vilmos Zsigmond), Music and Sound that is an Earful, and a Pace that is Swift and Unrelenting.Another De Palma Movie that is a Delight the way it Pays Homage to Film and Filmmakers of the Past with Referential Playfulness and Artistic Hubris. The Director has made Many Movies. All are Interesting at the Very Least, Entertaining, and some are Great Films. This One Falls somewhere in there, Depending on Point of View.Where it Ranks in the Director's Impressive Filmography is an "Eye of the Beholder" Thing and this one is a Sight...and Sound...to Behold.

Out of Brian De Palma's entire filmography, Blow Out could easily be his most overlooked. Similar to his other works he plays homage to other classic films (such as Blow Up) in his own stylistic direction, whilst also combining it with cynicism and concluding with one of the most tragically powerful moments of De Palma's entire career. Travolta stars as sound recording artist Jack Terry. He works on cheap exploitation movies and his time is mostly spent gathering sound effects like screams to dub over bad actresses. One night when he's collecting new sound recordings, a car tyre blows out nearby and sends it plunging in to a river. Travolta dives in and rescues a girl named Sally (Nancy Allen) but is unable to save the driver. Later Travolta discovers the driver was a presidential candidate and after reviewing the sound recording becomes convinced that he heard a gunshot before the blow out. As Travolta begins digging deeper a man named Burke (John Lithgow) emerges who's willing to do anything to cover up what happened, even if it means killing even more people to do it. He's a pure sociopath who never shows any remorse for his actions. Beyond this, many others (including the police) also seem to be covering up whatever happened. Travolta is even told after the accident not to tell anybody that the girl was in the car with him. Supposedly this is to prevent distress to his wife that her husband was in an affair, but Travolta can't be sure that there wasn't some ulterior motive to this cover up.Similarly to Francis Ford Coopla's The Conversation, it's this feeling of Paranoia that dominates the majority of Blow Out. It's an extremely pessimistic film that is still reeling from the conspiracies and cover ups that surrounded the likes of Watergate and the Kennedy assassination. These events seem to have shaped Travolta's character to be distrusting of almost everyone around him. Even when somebody does eventually offer to help him out, Travolta remains hesitant and convinced that they're in on it too. And for good reason, since he's never entirely certain of just how large this conspiracy is. De Palma really helps build this paranoia throughout the film through a very voyeuristic style. For example, in one recurring shot we see Travolta from the street looking up at him through a window. This feeling of being watched recurs throughout the entire film and it serves as a constant reminder of the unknown conspiracy that constantly consumes Travolta's life. De Palma also seems to take great pleasure throughout the film in giving us a look in to the filmmaking process. In the introduction of the film then after following a long take from one of the horror films that Travolta's working on (in a shot resembling the introduction of Halloween) we see how he isolates each individual sound and the attention to detail that's required to create even something like a cheap exploitation film. Then later when Travolta is reviewing the recording of the crash we see the lengths that he goes to so he can put together the audio in order to make a solid case to prove his theories. It's an effective attention to detail that really shows a great appreciation to the entire film-making process. Interestingly this film is also the reason that Tarantino cast Travolta in Pulp Fiction and Blow Out is definitely a key example of Travolta at his very best. Throughout Travolta seems so worn down and constantly on the verge, whilst also still successfully creating a very loving and natural chemistry with Nancy Allen. On top of this he really brings a real sense of tragedy to the films climax and really brings home just how grim this world can be.

**** May contain strong spoilers ****This is a review made by StoneDraim... and that means that if you want to read a probably different kind of review, keep reading....This is my personal experience, my personal point of view/perspective and my personal opinion... and my opinion is just one of like 7 billions in this world.Wow. This movie is from 1981, and kicks off in a really scary and psychological way. You are in the seat of a murder going from window to window. The breathing from the killer is on edge and a dark thump is going through the screen in a rhythmic way... at the same time the sounds and music from the night life is breaking through. A couple is having sex, two girls are dancing, one girl is masturbating and there is movement in the hall way... and the breathing keeps on coming closer, just to end in a scene ripped off from the classic of "Psycho". Cut; to Jack Terry (John Travolta) sitting in a movie theater commenting what he just saw. Follows does the discussion between Jack and the movie director, talking about sound effects. And when the conclusion is made, cut to black background, wind is whining out with a wind shield wiper showing that this production is made by Brian De Palma. Solid performed and solid production to kick things forward. Being a movie from 1981, this is made with pure horror and fine production, starting this motion picture off like a silent rocket just waiting to explode. The bar is set high.... really high.It keeps on; about 7 minutes into this one there is class act camera production and class act camera angels squaring off into a divided screen showing news on one side, the movements of the sound editor Jack Terry working on new sound effects. I loooove this kind of movie magic. The first movie I knowingly and consciously saw by Brian De Palma was "Snake Eyes" with amongst others Nicholas Cage and Gary Sinise. Brian De Palmas way grabbed me and I have always looked forward seeing more movies from and by him. His cinematography and flicks of details is just jaw dropping. So, I dived into "Blow out" with high expectations.... no...as TOTO puts it on their album XIV from 2016; Great expectations.Even in this one Brian De Palma stays within a time frame and shows the events from different angles. It is very interesting how he and the production team has put together the accident and the events during night time several times here. "Snake Eyes" really comes to mind.Nice little touch of a recording and production detail; at one moment the sound is being recorded from outside (or so it should give the impression of). The visual is recorded through a window. The scene and lines is carried out indoor and the sound is from outside; just to cut and the sound is being up close with Sally (Nancy Allen) indoor. Brian De Palmas interest of movie productions is shining through in "Blow Out". Jack (Mr. Travolta) is making sound effects and also cuts out pictures in a magazine just to photograph them and make a little picture-to-picture type of clarification of the "car accident". Mr. De Palmas show off of in and out focus and in and out zoomings in the same cut and scene (see time 18:20) is top notch. He even delivers two twists in the end that both gives the movie a sad depth and also a clever twist for Jack to wrap his work up to. Well... do you like how different types of styles blend together speaking of sound- and movie production, and at the same time getting a full "blow(n) out" (pun intended...?) thriller, turn this 1981 classic on.Over to the movie as a product: - The production : Magnificent! Astonishing! Visuals that is excellent, camera angles and recording at its peak, sound editing within the sound editing... I could go on and on. Considered this production is made 1981, its shining! - The actors : John Travolta and John Lithgow is almost spot on. Nancy Allen... either is she plain and simple bad or is Mr. De Palma playing around with her, 'cause her acting in this one is way off; her delivery of the lines, her accent of words and her awful facial expressions during... well, during all the time. - The story : A man recording a killing, and then dwells into a detectives work to put out the true story. In the alley, a dark killer is on a hunt. The political twist is that they hire an already known serial killer... really good story! - Entertainment : All the way through.... as written earlier; I love this kind of recording, screen writing, cinematography and production. - Age : 157,8 out of 10. (The final rate is based most on my own entertainment of the movie. Short elucidation of the rating: 8 Excellent movie and a solid production 7 Well made movie. Proper entertainment.)