{"id":70156,"date":"2021-03-06T11:12:40","date_gmt":"2021-03-06T18:12:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=70156"},"modified":"2021-03-07T12:08:18","modified_gmt":"2021-03-07T19:08:18","slug":"blow-out-1981","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=70156","title":{"rendered":"Blow Out (1981)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;I think you&#8217;ve got a tape, Jack &#8212; and I think it&#8217;s the real thing.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster-196x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-70151\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster-196x300.png 196w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster-669x1024.png 669w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster-84x128.png 84w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster-176x270.png 176w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Poster.png 739w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nA sound recordist (John Travolta) who accidentally records a car crashing into a river rescues a young woman (Nancy Allen) from drowning, but is asked to cover up his heroics when it turns out the car&#8217;s driver was a presidential hopeful (and Allen a prostitute). Soon Travolta becomes obsessed with sharing his audio evidence that the car tire&#8217;s blow-out was from a bullet shot, and that the politician&#8217;s death was anything but an accident &#8212; but the killer (John Lithgow) behind the plot wants to get rid of all witnesses.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Amateur Sleuths<\/li>\n<li>Brian De Palma Films<\/li>\n<li>John Travolta Films<\/li>\n<li>Nancy Allen Films<\/li>\n<li>Political Conspiracy<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary\u2019s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary writes that this film &#8220;allowed Brian De Palma to combine his obsessions with the Kennedy assassination-conspiracy, the themes of Antonioni&#8217;s <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=69599\"><em>Blow-Up<\/em><\/a>, and the visual style of Hitchcock.&#8221; He notes that the &#8220;first half of the picture is prime De Palma, but then the picture becomes bogged down with self-conscious camera work&#8221;, and he adds that at least &#8220;if you don&#8217;t care about the characters, you&#8217;ll be intrigued by the editing in the final sequence.&#8221; I&#8217;m in agreement with Peary&#8217;s tepid assessment of this atmospherically shot (by DP Vilmos Zsigmond) but disappointing thriller in which De Palma &#8220;refuses to develop Allen&#8217;s character&#8221; &#8212; or more accurately, fails to provide her with much of a meaningful presence other than as a bubble-headed foil. Travolta&#8217;s character comes across much better, and his lengthy audio-investigation sequence is impressively shot: <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing-1024x429.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70161\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing-1024x429.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing-768x322.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing-604x253.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Hearing.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8230; but it&#8217;s not enough to redeem this film over-all as must-see. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> It was interesting watching <a href=\"https:\/\/youtu.be\/V4wV3e78svY\">this hour-long discussion<\/a> between De Palma and Noah Baumbauch about the making of <em>Blow Out<\/em>, and hearing De Palma describe movies in this way: <\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;We create illusions for you to fall in love with. That&#8217;s something totally unique to cinema: beautiful women doing unusual, interesting, exciting things. We follow them, we look at them, and we get involved with them. It&#8217;s one of the basic tools of movies&#8230; It&#8217;s a gun and a girl. With a gun, when&#8217;s somebody going to fire it? With a girl, when&#8217;s somebody going to undress <strong>it<\/strong>?&#8221; (bold mine) <\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>If &#8220;girls&#8221; (not women) are viewed simply as beautiful objects for audience members to watch and enjoy, it&#8217;s no wonder that Allen (De Palma&#8217;s wife at the time) &#8212; as well as the other females in this film &#8212; come across literally as pretty pawns in the bloody proceedings. Thank goodness Travolta is such a sympathetic male character. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments:<\/strong><\/p>\n<li>John Travolta as Jack<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta-1024x429.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70157\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta-1024x429.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta-768x322.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta-604x253.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Travolta.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Atmospheric cinematography<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography-1024x429.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70159\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography-1024x429.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography-768x322.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography-604x253.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Cinematography.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Fine location shooting in Philadelphia<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia-1024x429.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"268\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-70158\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia-1024x429.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia-128x54.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia-768x322.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia-604x253.png 604w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Blow-Out-Philadelphia.png 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nNo, though it&#8217;s worth a one time look. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0082085\/?\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/horror\/blow-out-1981.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/thespinningimage.co.uk\/cultfilms\/displaycultfilm.asp?reviewid=5755\">Spinning Image Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;I think you&#8217;ve got a tape, Jack &#8212; and I think it&#8217;s the real thing.&#8221; Synopsis: A sound recordist (John Travolta) who accidentally records a car crashing into a river rescues a young woman (Nancy Allen) from drowning, but is asked to cover up his heroics when it turns out the car&#8217;s driver was a presidential hopeful (and Allen a prostitute). Soon Travolta becomes obsessed with sharing his audio evidence that the car tire&#8217;s blow-out was from a bullet shot,&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=70156\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-70156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=70156"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70206,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/70156\/revisions\/70206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=70156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=70156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=70156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}