Review of Blow Out (1981) by Al M — 28 Apr 2011

An almost flawlessly stylish thriller that sits alongside DePalma's other masterpieces of the genre like Sisters and Dressed to Kill, Blow Out is essentially a homage to Michelangelo Antonioni's late 60s classic Blow-Up that concerns a photographer who believes that his photograph contains the evidence of a murder.

Blow Out develops a similar plot involving a soundman who records a car accident that he believes was actually an assassination. Part paranoid thriller in the vein of Pakula's All the President's Men and The Parallax View and part Hitchcockian thriller, Blow Out demonstrates once again that DePalma is not an originator of style.

Critics often slam him for being derivative, but DePalma is an adept impersonator of style that always infuses his own distinctive take upon the aesthetics that he impersonates--DePalma truly demonstrates his masterful use of camera position and movements Featuring John Travolta in one his best performances, Blow Out takes the audience through numerous twists and turns as it explores the paranoia surrounding assassinations and the increasing discourse about government conspiracies and cover-ups.