Blow Out (1981)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Brian De Palma

Writer:

Brian De Palma (written by)

Release Date:

24 July 1981 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

The Blow Out took them to the edge of terror . . . his questions took them way beyond [Video Australia]

Plot:

A soundman accidentally records the evidence that proves a car "accident" was murder, and consequently finds himself in danger.

Plot Keywords:

Sound | Car Accident | Conspiracy | Murder | Witness

Cast

John Travolta	...	Jack Terry
Nancy Allen	...	Sally
John Lithgow	...	Burke
Dennis Franz	...	Manny Karp
Peter Boyden	...	Sam
Curt May	...	Donahue
John Aquino	...	Det. Mackey
John McMartin	...	Lawrence Henry
Deborah Everton	...	Hooker
J. Patrick McNamara	...	Detective at hospital
Missy Cleveland	...	Coed lover (as Amanda Cleveland)
Roger Wilson	...	Coed lover
Lori-Nan Engler	...	Sue
Cindy Manion	...	Dancing coed
Missy O'Shea	...	Dancing coed

Runtime:

108 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:M18 | Germany:16 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Brazil:18 | Italy:VM14 | New Zealand:R16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | France:U (re-release: 2000) | Norway:16 (1982) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R (certificate #26347) | Argentina:16 | UK:X (original rating) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

30th Street Station - 3001 Market Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Cinema 77

Trivia:

Also alludes to the Watergate scandal and the JFK assassination.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Jack is able to recreate the footage of the car crashing by cutting out selected frames in the newspaper and turning them into a film reel. These photos would not be enough, as film reels require 32 frames a second to appear as a seamless moving image.

Quotes:

Jack Terry: No one wants to know about conspiracy any more!

Movie Connections:

References La région centrale (1971)

Satisfying De Palma effort.

An engrossing thriller with a literally chilling climax, a wonderful (in its variety) music score and a first-rate performance by John Travolta. Lithgow is also suitably creepy and hateful as a totally ruthless and psychopathic killer. The script is pretty unimpressive (and if you've watched the film before you may also find it overly simple), yet De Palma manages to transform it into a generally satisfying and slick thriller, and the result is more polished, more pleasant for the eyes than his two previous outings, "Dressed to Kill" and "The Fury". Still, the film's several amazing scenes would have a much stronger impact if the script contained more surprises.