Review of Blow Out (1981) by M. K — 16 Jun 2011

Ah the good ol days, when a remake of ________ didn't translate to a bastardization of ________. Still haven't seen La Grand Bouffe, but after seeing this I have to say that I am intrigued. This was a really good suspense thriller.

Horror movie sound effects man Jack (played by John Travolta) is out one night recording sounds for a film he is working on, when he records more than he bargained for. A car's tire blows out, and the car crashes into a lake.

Jack jumps in to save the survivng women passenger. Later on Jack discovers that the driver was a politician and the woman he was with was not the politicians wife but someone who he wwas having an affair with.

Some goons warn him to keep this quite. Later while re-listening to the tape he becomes convinced that the car's tire didn't just blow out but was in fact shot out. What follows this discovery is a paranoid consiracy thriller, as Jack struggles to let the truth be known regardless of the great dangers posed against him personally.

The cops don't take him seriously and neither does anyone else, exept for a television reporter who wants to play his tape. but will Jack survive long enough to air the tape and let the truth out? Easily one of Brian DePalma's best works.

I've never been a John Travolta fan, but he was great in this. The supporting cast were all very good as well. Recommended.