Review of Blow Out (1981) by Reuben M — 23 Mar 2013

I had never seen BLOW OUT until just the other day. I'm on a path (although a slow-going one) to try to watch the Criterion Blu-Rays. I was attracted to this one on this particular night because I wasn't in the mood for a sub-titled brain teaser. It sounded like it would be more conventional (it's directed by Brian DePalma, after all). And it was in many ways a very conventional thriller. But it had enough fun moments to elevate it, and I understood why Criterion felt it was worthwhile to dust off this 1981 nugget.

The core of the plot involves a movie sound effects recordist and editor (John Travolta) who inadvertently picks up the sounds of what he thinks is a car accident that may actually be a political assassination. A car plunges into a lake, and Travolta is able to save a passenger (Karen Allen), who may be just a "dumb blonde" (pardon the cliché, but it seems apt) or a far more involved member of a rather insidious conspiracy. The two develop a fairly complicated and interesting relationship that is the emotional heart of the story...while at the same time, some pretty nifty plot twists develop. Travolta also grows more and more paranoid about the investigation he feels compelled to conduct (when the forces around him tell him to drop it). He's not some obsessive weirdo...he's a fairly normal guy who thinks he's made a great and useful discovery and his shocked to find that there are powerful forces that really would rather he just drop the whole thing. He can't believe his life is turning into a movie.

This is all well-done but still fairly conventional. But De Palma has spiced it up. Perhaps the most fun of all is to be had right at the beginning. We have an extended scene from the latest cheapie slasher flick that Travolta is working on. It's well shot with a very long single-take tracking shot from the point of view of the villain, as he peeks in through various windows in a girls' dormitory. We see all the sex, drugs and rock `n' roll going on. It's hilarious but when it abruptly ends, we're left feeling a bit complicit in being in a society for which topless girls being slashed to death works as casual entertainment. The movie could certainly have been made without this scene...but the entertainment value would have been very much diminished AND the ironic twist of the very last scene of the movie would not have worked. Also, throughout the film, De Palma and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond have a simple fantastic time. They play around with framing, with deep focus, with lighting and so on. De Palma plays more technical games than he ought to be able to get away with, but rather than just seeming needlessly showy, they enhance Travolta's growing feelings of paranoia. (In fact, there are a couple of times when the film feels like a knock-off of THE CONVERSATION...but Travolta's character doesn't go quite so completely off the deep end.).

Travolta gives an excellent performance, one of the best from his early career. He's smart, funny, a little charming and yet a little goofy. He keeps the performance mostly well-rooted in reality. A very young John Lithgow is in a critical villain's role...and here he' s setting the stage effectively for later turns in movies such as CLIFFHANGER. Nancy Allen is the weak link. A mediocre actor at the best of times, she doesn't quite make this character believable. When she's playing "ditzy" there is no subtlety at all. Her voice strays dangerously close to Betty Boop territory.

The climatic scenes are less exciting today than they doubtless were in 1981. We've seen so many thrillers that a scene involving a simple chase on foot through a crowd hardly measures up to Jason Bourne's exploits. But they are nonetheless directed and edited with skill and care.

The Blu-Ray itself is the usual excellent quality from Criterion. Many of the scenes are dark and murky...Blu Ray doesn't exist to "clean up" or "brighten" stuff like that, so even in Hi-Def you may struggle with a few scenes. It's perfectly fine and in accordance with De Palma's plans. The extras on the disc are very nice as well, including a recently done, lengthy interview with De Palma. That is very much worth watching, particularly right after the film is concluded so that the scenes referenced are fresh in your mind. Other extras include a very early De Palma film called MURDER A LA MODE from 1968. It's a dreadful film, but may provide brief amusement. I couldn't get through it, but I appreciated it being here...because there are parallels in themes with BLOW OUT, and you can see how De Palma grew as a storyteller...learning to balance "artsiness" with the need to tell a coherent story.

All-in-all, this was time well spent with a solid, inventive thriller.