Blow Out

Director and writer Brian De Palma quietly began harnessing a style of wildly dynamic suspense thrillers among other things, which amplified after his breakthrough with the Steven King adaptation Carrie in 1976. Various projects came to the directors attention after the mainstream success as he continued to write and direct many films that took off instantly like Scarface, The Untouchables, Carlito’s Way and the first Mission: Impossible however many endeavors between these boasted a high quality despite maybe less initial reception than those mentioned. One of these films in the expansive career of De Palma that’s only become more viewed and praised over the years is his 1981 neo-noir thriller titled Blow Out, which would go on to be championed by the likes of Quentin Tarantino calling it arguably his finest work. Writing and filming would take place in De Palma’s hometown of Philadelphia where he used many frequent collaborators going right in step with the numerous homages that are paid towards other films, most notably Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-Up from 1966 as we follow an obsessive character who chases after a murder conspiracy stretching far but using the tools of audio rather than photography. You add in elements of De Palma’s favorite directors like Coppola with his film The Conversation and narrative thrillers through plot and camera work like Alfred Hitchcock then it’s easy to see why this is herald as something impressive and headed of the genre despite being based directly on something already made. The various camera shots and movements, editing techniques with numerous engaging sequences that stack together are superbly done and now have become trademarks of the director but many other films over the years. Probably one of the best films that involves movie making in a primary display and while I still need to see more films from him, I believe this one of Brian De Palma’s best pieces of work to go with maybe the best John Travolta performance I’ve seen. Taking place in Philadelphia we meet Jack Terry (John Travolta) who’s a sound designer for low budget horror movies. While working on his latest project he’s told to find updated material but most importantly a better scream to use and as he’s out that night recording he witnesses a car crash into a lake where he’s forced to rescue a woman trapped who we later learn is named Sally (Nancy Allen). Jack soon finds that a high level politician was the other party in the car with a suspected assassination plot with others wanting Jack’s testimony along with Sally’s to remain completely unknown in order to avoid a damaging look for the family. Jack continues to use his evidence in order to put the pieces together demanding to find an answer to these things while trying to avoid him and Sally being silenced by any number of corrupted individuals. Intending to find answers or justice proves to be not only more difficult than intended by impossible to escape from once the door is opened. Upon rewatch I think this is such a dynamic piece of storytelling thanks to De Palma being the stylist he is throughout a pretty engaging mystery-thriller that’s most certainly elevated by him. The colors of the film are shown to be more vibrant than you’d expect from that time with the opening sequence having these engulfing red lights which almost by default make you think of Carrie being teenage girls as well. This continues with numerous displays of neon lights against a city back which is almost exclusively featured during nighttime which only adds to this neo-noir vibe with a protagonist who’s not only alone but beginning to deteriorate. The camera work is pretty outrageous in my opinion since you never aren’t noticing where it’s placed or how it’s moving often time creating dread or scale depending on the situation. There’s two or there moments where the camera circles to a disorienting effect that’s great plus on multiple occasions De Palma plays around with characters in and out of focus in a way that’s really effective as he’s always been able to convey panic and anxiety with his camera. There’s split diopter shots that are now synonymous with De Palma that are incredibly rare nowadays allowing for fasting exposure to characters actions while exposition of the story is happening. The only element of the film that gives away its date of release besides the technology used of course would probably be the score of the film. That being said I really loved it since it matched the noir theme and actually used some dramatic elements nicely but there were some classic 1980’s riffs used which didn’t match even though I like them separately. Anytime there is close up displays of tactile movement and equipment being used from any profession I’m usually always impressed when down authentically so seeing the inner workings of 1980s sound equipment is something I really enjoyed. The acting is great all around but Travolta I though was exceptional playing this sound tech who doesn’t really have ambition for other things despite being smart until this strange conspiracy falls in his lap for a short time giving him purpose, something he’s been desperately lacking. Of course this doesn’t end well and ultimately he gets whittled down to nothing with the ending line and scene showing us how at this point he’s completely aimless having been completely destroyed by the event and society. The entire final 30 minutes really are electric from the subway chase then the parade crash all the way into the dramatic firework conclusion which really does look outstanding. John Lithgow is also great here but plays the large sociopathic killer maybe a bit too easily but De Palma clearly liked what he saw since he used him in Raising Cane some 10 years later in a similar role. While Blow Out from Brian De Palma combines a laundry list of elements from past filmmakers, it still culminates in something tremendously adept for the time and one of the most engaging displays of his career. Technical elements are not only highlighted for the audience’s enjoyment but also as a means to pull back not only the chaos of the industry by the very real sociopolitical web of lies that’s worse now today that it ever was. Great stuff that’s a welcome blend of some of my favorite styles which include lonely fixation on things out of your control which leads more with a real world noir feel.