Blow Out, 1981.
Directed by Brian De Palma.
Starring John Travolta, Nancy Allen and John Lithgow.
SYNOPSIS:
A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger.
Brian De Palma has directed a number of iconic Hollywood movies. He broke the mould with Carrie, created something that would become pop culture phenomenon in his remake of Scarface and a modern gangster classic with The Untouchables. The remainder of De Palma’s carry has been a heady, often stylised mixture of cult hits, miss-fires and fascinating failures, but always with plenty of engaging points. Blow Out is an oft overlooked entry into his canon, evoking Hitchcock.
The premise is interesting. A movie sound man (John Travolta) finds himself at the scene of a supposed traffic accident that claims the life of a running congressman. He pulls out a woman (Nancy Allen) from the drowned car, saving her life. It seems the powers that be, and the congressman’s aids all want this to be acknowledged as a tragic accident and avoid any unnecessary attention, whilst the presence of Sally (Allen) in the car is covered up. Travolta, having recorded the accident on audio, believes the tire was shot out and that the politician was murdered. The more he pushes it, the more he finds himself in danger, while a mysterious killer (John Lithgow) begins covering the tracks of those involved (including himself) putting Sally’s life in peril too. The more Travolta delves the more he uncovers plots of blackmail, and finds that those directly involved aren’t all they appear to be.
It’s very much inspired by the best of Hitchcock. The plot has plenty of twists and turns. The characters are complex. De Palma handles it all in his own inimitable style. The film looks fantastic. It’s very stylistic. Of course De Palma has often been labelled as being more style than substance, and he readily accepts that himself, without viewing it as something disparaging. Some of the shots are dazzling, looking particularly glorious on Arrows (typically awesome) Blu-Ray edition. That is not to say De Palma can’t carry a story. Here he can. He also gets the best out of his cast.
Travolta is fantastic. It’s possibly his best performance. It ranks alongside Saturday Night Fever and Pulp Fiction. He’s really on great form here, and it’s almost slightly sad in comparison to seeing him sleepwalk through roles of late. Allen is pretty decent too, while Lithgow shows off early promise as a villain that would later be seen countless times in genre films through the 80’s and 90’s.
Pino Donnagio’s score is effective, without necessarily being memorable (certainly in comparison to the music in some other BDP films). Again, the cinematography is beautiful and the film is edited extremely well. Technically it’s spot on in most counts while the attention to detail regarding Travolta’s sound equipment makes for interesting viewing.
What stops this from being a true classic of the genre is the pacing in the final quarter. The interesting premise and plot runs out of steam on the hour mark, before picking up again toward the end. There’s a sense that it never quite knows how to get from the mid section to the finale efficiently, logically enough. That said it is a must watch for fans of these Hitchcockian thrillers and features a fantastic central performance from Travolta.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Tom Jolliffe
Originally published May 27, 2013. Updated April 11, 2018.
