BLOW OUT
US, 1981, 107 minutes, Colour.
John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz.
Directed by Brian de Palma.
Blow Out is one of Brian De Palma's most enjoyable films. At the beginning of his career, he paid tribute to Hitchcock in such films as Sisters and Obsession. He was always interested in psychological drama - though from 1996 he was preoccupied with action themes such as Mission Impossible and Snake Eyes.
This film is also one of John Travolta's best. He plays a sound effects man who goes out into the woods to tape sounds and becomes involved in a conspiracy, the cover-up of a murder of a presidential candidate. The film's title pays tribute to Blow Up and is intended as a sound effect homage to that film about mysterious photography.
The film explores American paranoia, inherent violence in society - and presents all this with a complex plot and Hitchcockian suspense touches. It is a very entertaining thriller.
1 Satisfying thriller, murder mystery, view of society and politics, surveillance and technology, violence, failure and madness? A satisfying piece of '80s Americana?
2. The work of Brian de Palm : his interest in thrillers, horror techniques, suspense and shocks? His influence by Alfred Hitchcock? The influences in this film: Antonioni's Blow Up, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, the conspiracy films?
3. Panavision photography, the use of Philadelphia locations? The emphasis on media technology? The uses of sound? Sounds and the visuals? Audience response to contrived works of technological art? Seeing how they work, are contrived, fail? The introduction of parody and its comparison with reality? The special effects, stunt work? The atmospheric score?
4. The impact of the opening: the parody on the multiple killing trend, sex satire? Mood? Bad movie? The audience being prurient and later comments on peeping toms? The build up to the false scream? The cut to the group laughing? Jack and his work, the motif of the screams throughout the film and the irony of Sally's final scream? The irony of Burke as the multiple murderer and his fulfilling in reality the ugliness of the initial poor movie? The parallels between cheap movies and reality? The ambiguities for the audience culminating in Sally's scream?
5. The film's focus on machinery, technology, sounds and the making of sounds in the laboratory? The credits sequences and the parallel of Jack's work with the television reporting? His recording the live sounds, his tapes? Matching sounds with visuals? Still photos being transformed into moving film? The reconstruction of events through sounds and photos? The interpretation of the reconstruction? Detective work? The contrast between the police approach and Jack's approach? The importance of Jack's past and his use of technology for the undercover policeman ? and the tragedy of his death? Repeating the mistake with Sally? Having the record of her final scream and his insane use of it at the end? Ultimate tragedy?
6. The political themes? Governor McRyan?, his hopes, people's response to his candidacy, his death, the real story, the police cover-up, Henry and his closing the case, warning off Jack and Sally? The extent of the cover-up? The motivation for it? The reflection on American politics in the '60s and '70s, the innuendo about Edward Kennedy's history?
7. McRyan's enemies, for example the man on the phone with Burke and his disowning him? Burke and his plan, shooting the car's tyre, eliminating McRyan?, his deal with Manny and Sally, the photos, his destroying the sound on all the tapes, replacing the tyre, the bizarre murder plan for the ultimate killing of Sally? His brutal execution of the women? The bizarre touch of the Liberty Bell and its political overtones? His madness? His phone tapping, meeting Sally at the station, the long walk and the train ride, the confrontation and his killing her? Jack's killing him? His final anonymity according to television reports? His construction of the conspiracy?
8. John Travolta's performance as Jack: his work, second rate films, our view of the film he was working on, his recollection of two years working on these films, relationship with his boss? His skill in sound work? His recording sounds? Enjoying his work? His recording the accident, rescuing Sally? His attention to detail and his replaying his sounds, skills in reconstructing the situation, getting the photos and matching the sound with them? The encounter with the police in the hospital and their questioning, Henry browbeating him to agree to silence? The talks with Sally? Showing Sally the photographs and making her hear the sounds? His being distracted from his work ? and from the girls screaming? His concern for Sally? Discovery of the truth about her? Confronting her? The TV commentator persuading him to act on television? The police and their disbelief, exasperation about his empty tape? Jack trying to persuade Sally to go on television? Burke and his interfering with the phones? The growing relationship with Sally, the importance of their reminiscing and Jack's flashbacks to his experience wiring the policeman, covering him, failure to realise that he would sweat, batteries burning, his death and Jack's sense of responsibility? His making the same mistake with Sally? Trying to rescue her, chasing her, the reckless driving through the Liberty Day procession, the crash, getting out of the ambulance? His running through the crowds ? desperation, the slow motion technique? Listening to her cries? His failure to save her from death? His killing Burke? His preserving her scream and his mad use of it in the film?
9. The ugly effect of the ending with Sally's scream - highlighting Jack's failure?
10. Sally as a professional hooker, presence in the car with the Governor, her being saved, reactions in hospital, Henry's pay-off, in the motel with Jack and her not wanting to listen to the sounds, the meeting at the station and his telling his story to her, her character communicated by the discussion about make-up? Her going to see Manny and her believing him about the deal? The squalid background of the photography and the cases? Her listening to Jack, seeing the film, not wanting to go on TV, agreeing to see the commentator? Growing audience sympathy for her? The ugliness of Burke's murders in the railway station prior to his chasing Sally? Her talking to Jack, trying to give him the clues, her discovery of the truth, desperation during the fireworks? The pathos of her death? The visual impact of Jack holding her dead, with the fireworks behind, mood, significance?
11. The growing relationship between the two, audiences becoming involved in their plight, Jack's saving Sally and her dependence on him, his dependence on her? His wanting to atone for his past and his collapse in failure?
12. The grim ending, the contrast with an ordinary world and its beauty filled with the sinister and the brutal? The film continually dislocating audience responses? Jack as broken and unable to cope? The pessimism of our contemporary world being too much for the ordinary citizen?
