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Blow Out (1981)

post #1 of 47
8/25/08 at 2:13am
Thread Starter 
This post contains spoilers.

"It's a goodscream. Goodscream."

So, yeah. This was a good movie. (Understatement of the year.)

I've been lukewarm on De Palma for a while -- I thought the Untouchables was great, but not brilliant, and I will defend parts of Black Dahlia -- and I didn't really get what the fuss was about. But after the 80s draft, I decided to see this and fill in one more gap in my cinematic knowledge.

I'm really glad I did, just like I've been really lucky this past year to have my mind blown by some amazing films I've seen, films from all eras and countries, films that made me rethink or reconsider what was possible in this medium. Blow Out was the most recent of those movies.

First of all, this is a gorgeous movie to look at. I want to buy this and watch it without sound just so I can study the shot composition and the use of color and split screen and deep focus and consider why those techniques were used. (Oh, and his mastery of location.) Part of me thinks that De Palma is very obviously showing off in certain parts of this movie, but I also think that he's showing off with purpose and that there's an intent to it. Which I really admire -- directors who aren't just saying "check out what I can do."

Thematically, too, this is a really awesome movie. I love how it's never completely spelled out who's behind the conspiracy or what their reasons were for assassinating the governor (I don't buy the "it was an accident" story Dennis Franz tells), and that makes the ending all the more tragic and dark. (Just like it's dark as hell that the hero gets away with murder.) In a way, this feels like a natural progression from the 70s paranoia thrillers to a darker, more cynical 80s. At least in movies like The Conversation and Three Days of the Condor, you know at the end why. Here, it's never really clear.

Also, this is a really tense and unnerving movie. I had been spoiled by this years ago, but pretty much everytime John Lithgow was on screen I was on edge. And that final sequence -- especially with Travolta being trapped by the crowd and not being able to do anything but listen -- was absolutely mind-boggling and will probably haunt my dreams.

Shit. How did he do that? (I mean that as a general.)
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post #2 of 47
8/25/08 at 2:49am
For some reason, I'm reminded of The Man Who Knew Too Much by way of The Parallax View. DePalma's deft visual flair + use of sound, creates tension, and a feeling of dread, thats at times almost overwhelming. In the end, I guess it kind of all is. (The look on Travolta's face in the last shot...devastating. A good summation of what the decade had in store)

I'm a big fan of DePalma's mid-70's run. Give Sisters & The Fury a look, Rath. (If you haven't already)
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post #3 of 47
8/25/08 at 12:43pm
I'd say Dressed to Kill would be your next best bet for De Palma. That or Body Double. You need to catch up with his whole filmography before watching Femme Fatale which seems to be a a critique and commentary on his whole body of film.
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post #4 of 47
8/25/08 at 12:51pm
Body Double is great. But for a really great time, you must see Phantom of the Paradise. It stands out as unique in the De Palma library...even for his style. Untouchables is probably his best film all round, i think.
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post #5 of 47
8/25/08 at 12:55pm
Those films are good (I love Phantom and especially the Touch of Evil split-screen homage), but De Palma seems to really excel when it comes to his sexual thrillers.
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post #6 of 47
8/25/08 at 1:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Boogen View Post
Body Double is great.
Agreed. I think it's one of DePalma's best, actually. One thing that always bothered me, though (spoilerish): At the end, the bad guy has dug a hole with the two characters beside it. Now...not much time has passed from the previous scene to THIS scene, yet he's dug a perfect grave that's a good six feet long and five feet deep...by himself, with just a shovel.

That fucker can dig FAST.
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post #7 of 47
8/25/08 at 1:19pm
Dressed to Kill and Body Double are great. They're like Hitchcock viewed through smashed-up glasses or something. In a good way.
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post #8 of 47
8/25/08 at 1:24pm
Always thought of Body Double as a disaster with interesting subtext (One step above Raising Cain). I know hardcore DePalma-philes swear by it, but never worked for me.
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post #9 of 47
8/25/08 at 1:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fat Elvis View Post
Always thought of Body Double as a disaster with interesting subtext (One step above Raising Cain). I know hardcore DePalma-philes swear by it, but never worked for me.
'Raising Cain' is so bad that it's ALMOST good. It's one of the most unintentionally funny movies that I've ever seen. I've never seen a theater turn on a movie like they did on this one, openly laughing at everything going disastrously wrong. Lithgow's big 'reveal' at the end is right up there with the South Park 'Uncle Fucka' song as one of the hardest laughs that I've ever had in a movie theater.
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post #10 of 47
8/25/08 at 2:24pm
I love Raising Cain. I think it's a blast. Lithgow is so much fun in the film, and all the goofiness is entirely intentional.
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post #11 of 47
8/25/08 at 2:35pm
Raising Cain is another film where De Palma seems to be pushing the kind of films he is known for to the point of parody. Just look at the finale and the use of slow-motion for an example.
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post #12 of 47
8/25/08 at 2:43pm
I may need to see that one again, then. I haven't seen it since the movie theater, so a fresh viewing experience might make me appreciate it more.

As bad as the movie was, it was one of the most fun experiences that I've ever had at a movie theater. The theater came within a hair of turning into an MST3K experience.
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post #13 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:00pm
I've always seen it as a sort of test run before what he accomplished with Femme Fatale.


Listen, I love Brian De Palma (He might be my favorite filmmaker out of the Movie Brat Pack) but I'll even admit he has made some shitty movies. However, even in the shitty movies there seems to be at least one interesting element that makes them worth watching, such as the opening tracking shot in Snake Eyes. I'm trying really hard to think of something good about Mission to Mars right now but I'm completely failing.
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post #14 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:01pm
The score, the cast, The Van Halen.
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post #15 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andre Dellamorte View Post
The score, the cast, The Van Halen.
as I recall, Tim has a pretty sweet Corvette too.
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post #16 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:03pm
I would also like to add that scene I mentioned above from Phantom of the Paradise is probably DePalma's best use of the recontextualization of film imagery in his entire career. Even more so then the Odessa Stairs homage in The Untouchables.
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post #17 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:07pm
The whole sequence when they're outside the ship and Tim Robbins gets fucked is super well put together as well. And I love Cheadle's reintroduction. It's a modest pleasures film.
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post #18 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:09pm
Somebody defend 'Bonfire of the Vanities'. I won't.
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post #19 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:11pm
"Natives!"
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post #20 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:12pm
That's one of the few DePalma films I've never seen actually.
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post #21 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:14pm
Bonfire has a great opening tracking shot, and the reveal at the end, along with the scene between Hanks and Moffat, but it's a complete and utter misfire.
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post #22 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:16pm
The best thing about Bonfire is we got 'The Devil's Candy'. Facinating read.
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post #23 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:19pm
As I recall, the opening tracking shot of a wasted Bruce Willis IS pretty good. OK, I'll grant you that.
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post #24 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:20pm
BLOW OUT's my favorite De Palma by far.
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post #25 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:34pm
Now can you defend Snake Eyes apart from the opening shot?
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post #26 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:51pm
Yeah, I love Snake Eyes. The Rashomon elements, the performers, and the agony towards the end makes it worthwhile, also the ten minute last shot is kinda great.
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post #27 of 47
8/25/08 at 3:56pm
Really? I haven't seen it for years so maybe its time I give it another try.
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post #28 of 47
8/25/08 at 4:04pm
Sean Penn's snipe at Cage's performance always felt like such a cheap shot. Especially since he was going similarly over-the-top in Carlito's Way.
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post #29 of 47
8/25/08 at 4:07pm
Penn is fantastic in Carlito's Way.
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post #30 of 47
8/25/08 at 7:59pm
Snake Eyes is fun. Cage before he was tiresome. White-hot Gugino. It does the whole "Rewind That!" thing a shit-ton better than Vantage Point.
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post #31 of 47
8/25/08 at 8:00pm
Oh man, Snake Eyes kicks Vantage Point's ever-lovin' anus.
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post #32 of 47
8/25/08 at 8:04pm
Lithgow in drag looks like Judith Ivey. I could never get over that enough to truly enjoy Raising Cain. Also put me down on the Snake Eyes love train.

Oddly enough, didn't bother me in Garp.
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post #33 of 47
8/25/08 at 8:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by woodsy View Post
Penn is fantastic in Carlito's Way.
Love him in it, but he's riffing on his Falcon & The Snowman performance, dialing it up to an almost absurd degree. It seemed silly-and petty, after losing the Academy award to him-to knock Cage for having fun too.
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post #34 of 47
8/25/08 at 8:39pm
This is the one DePalma I actually like. I never found Carrie or The Untouchables to be too engaging, and I don't like Mission Impossible or Scarface.
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post #35 of 47
8/27/08 at 5:03pm
This interview with De Palma is a great watch. I've never seen him be more forthcoming.

De Palma on Scene By Scene

I also have to throw a little bit of love for Sisters out there. It kind of runs out of steam at a certain point, but it's still a lot of fun, and the score is brilliant.
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post #36 of 47
8/27/08 at 5:13pm
I was blown away by the mid-90s adult contemporary Meredith "Bitch" Brooks acoustic guitar jam playing over the end credits of SNAKE EYES. The lyrics refer to the literal rolling of snake eyes, and gambling. Was this song appropriated by DePalma for ironic purposes, or was it commissioned especially to provide SNAKE EYES with a soothing send-off?

Either way, it is APPALLING.
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post #37 of 47
8/27/08 at 6:50pm
I love love love that one shot at the end of the split-screen view of Travolta's apartment. One side shows the TV playing while the other shows Travolta working. Eventually, you realize that the split-screening ended before you even noticed it.
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post #38 of 47
11/18/08 at 2:10pm
I also just watched this after feeling ashamed from witnessing the love during the 80's draft.

Damn good movie. Best DePalma I've ever seen, but not the biggest fan of his...

Great performance from Travolta is what shocked me the most. I'm coming to realize Lithgow plays amazing villains...
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post #39 of 47
11/19/08 at 2:26am
For more Lithgow and DePalma fun seek out the Vertigo influenced Obsession. A lesser work for sure, but an interesting script from Paul Schrader.
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post #40 of 47
4/27/11 at 9:19pm

Just had the Criterion release for this delivered to me today.  Beautiful.  Just blazed through the two essays in the booklet that came with the disc (one by Kael).  Travolta is magnetic in this.  

 

EDIT:  Just finished watching.  God, this score.  In general, I miss the fact that there were movies that weren't afraid to have such sweepingly (or blatantly) melodramatic scores.


Edited by mcnooj82 - 4/27/11 at 10:41pm
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post #41 of 47
5/29/11 at 1:56pm

I loved this movie, maybe even more than THE CONVERSATION. The Criterion looks (and sounds) beautiful.


Edited by Pop Zeus - 5/29/11 at 9:31pm
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post #42 of 47
5/29/11 at 8:55pm

it been a long time since I seen either, but isn't this movie a remake of Blow Up?

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post #43 of 47
5/29/11 at 9:22pm

It's kind of a homage to it rather than a remake. Blow Up is all about image, and whether or not what he saw really happened. Blow Out is all about sound, and we all know something really did happen.

 

Got the old MGM dvd at Wal-Mart back in 2006 for $4 and loved it. The Pino Donaggio score is beautiful. Just like his scores for Dressed To Kill and Carrie. I got the Criterion Blu-ray, and I have to say, that overhead helicopter shot of Jack's Jeep frantically driving to get to Sally and Burke is one of my favorite shots in the film. The pained look on Travolta's face at the end, and when he covers up his ears is disturbing, and also the perfect way to end the film. Not enough films have the balls to have such a depressing ending. I wish it could have had a happier ending, but those aren't always in the cards.

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post #44 of 47
5/29/11 at 9:39pm

I'm a fan of operatic, so I'm pretty inclined to prefer this film to The Conversation.  The score is a HUGE part of it.  Hehehe

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post #45 of 47
5/30/11 at 12:02am

I don't prefer it to The Conversation, but then again there's probably only one film I prefer to The Conversation.  Still, this is my pick for the final film of the 70's.

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post #46 of 47
8/27/11 at 11:37am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Judas Booth View Post
 
'Raising Cain' is so bad that it's ALMOST good. It's one of the most unintentionally funny movies that I've ever seen.

 

It is definitely intentional.  De Palma is pretty much parodying his own earlier works and image as a filmmaker.4

 

 

Anyway, Blow Out is fucking fantastic.  De Palma is one of my absolute favorite filmmakers.  Sisters?  Phantom of the Paradise?  Carrie?  The Fury?  Dressed To Kill?  Scarface?  Body Double?  The Untouchables?  Casualties of War?  Carlito's Way?  All classics.  Raising Cain, Mission: Impossible, Snake Eyes, and Femme Fatale are all great as well.  He might have some duds in his oeuvre, but on the whole De Palma has a wonderful body of work and I eagerly await his return.

 

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post #47 of 47
8/27/11 at 9:37pm

I'm not sure BLOW OUT is a great film, even though it has a magnificent ending. Still, I suspect it'll always be one of my very, very favorite films, even though I'm not crazy about De Palma on the whole (I think his career has more misses than hits, though his misses, at least, tend to miss the mark while remaining fascinating).

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