Blow Out (1981)
83%RT Audience Score:
Awards & Nominations: 2 nominations
With a story inspired by Antonioni’s Blow Up and a style informed by the high-gloss suspense of Hitchcock, DePalma’s Blow Out is raw, politically informed, and littered with film references
Blow Out is like a Frankenstein’s monster of a movie, stitched together from different genres and influences. But hey, sometimes the weirdest mashups make for the best entertainment. It’s got horror, politics, and serial killers all in one, and somehow it all works. Sure, it’s not the most original thing out there, but it’s still a forgotten gem that deserves more love. Plus, John Travolta’s hair is a work of art in itself.
Production Company(ies)
Warner Bros., Plan B Entertainment, Initial Entertainment Group,
Distributor
NA
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Lincoln Drive, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
MPAA / Certificate
R
Year of Release
1981
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:2.39 : 1
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Runtime:NA
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jul 24, 1981 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 28, 2001
Genre(s)
Mystery & thriller
Keyword(s)
Blow Out, John Travolta, Nancy Allen, Brian De Palma, George Litto, R, Mystery, Thriller, Antonioni, Hitchcock, Film References, Conspiracy, Sound Effects, Governor, Presidential Candidate, Gunshot, Tapes, Romance, Slasher Flick, Political Drama, Serial Killer, Suspense, Critic Reviews, Tomatometer, Audience Score, Box Office, Budget, Reviewed by Kevin Maher, Bruce McCabe, William Goss, Chris Nashawaty, Mark Dinning, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Scott Sublett, Brian Eggert, Taylor Baker, Rob Aldam, Mike Massie, Horror, Paranoid, Espionage, Police Corruption, Editing, Sound Editing, Dressed to Kill, Scarface, Carrie, Carlito’s Way, Foreshadowing, Hero, Lynch, Blue Velvet
Worldwide gross: $12,000,754
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $40,434,001
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 1,430
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 4,409,379
US/Canada gross: $12,000,000
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): $18,000,000
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): $60,647,191
Production budget ranking: 670
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): $32,658,512
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): -$52,871,702
ROI to date (est.): -57%
ROI ranking: 1,727
Nancy Allen – Sally
John Lithgow – Burke
Dennis Franz – Manny Karp
Peter Boyden – Sam
Curt May – Donahue
Director(s)
Brian De Palma
Writer(s)
Brian De Palma
Producer(s)
George Litto
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
2 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (53) | Top Critics (12) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (8)
A horror movie, a paranoid political drama and a serial killer flick all at once.
May 21, 2021 | Rating: 5/5
Kevin Maher
Times (UK)
TOP CRITIC
It’s a Xerox of a movie that’s nowhere near as indelible as the originals it purports to emulate.
April 27, 2018
Bruce McCabe
Boston Globe
TOP CRITIC
Perfectly contrasts movies that reveal the truth against those which avoid it – a blood-drenched yet stake-free slasher vs. the far more insidious horrors of all-American living.
April 30, 2011
William Goss
Film.com
TOP CRITIC
April 14, 2011 | Rating: A
Chris Nashawaty
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A forgotten gem.
March 27, 2009 | Rating: 4/5
Mark Dinning
Empire Magazine
TOP CRITIC
This 1981 release is one of Brian De Palma’s more interesting and better-made thrillers, though it’s even more abjectly derivative than his Hitchcock imitations.
March 27, 2009
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
Brian DePalma keeps getting better.
May 23, 2022
Scott Sublett
Washington Blade
Blow Out is pure cinema, an exercise in elegant direction and refined style in which technique and plot merge into a singular body. And yet, the picture goes beyond pure cinema to question the mechanics of filmmaking.
March 18, 2022 | Rating: 4/4
Brian Eggert
Deep Focus Review
…masterwork that constructs, deconstructs, and reconstructs Hitchcock’s genus.
August 28, 2021 | Rating: 96/100
Taylor Baker
Drink in the Movies
A captivating mystery which plays with political espionage and police corruption to create a tense and entertaining experience.
August 2, 2021
Rob Aldam
Backseat Mafia
One of the essential thrillers of the 1980s.
March 1, 2021
Matt Patches
Polygon
De Palma’s approach is more derivative than in the vein of an homage, and his pacing is way off the mark.
August 31, 2020 | Rating: 3/10
Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins…
Plot
This stylish Brian De Palma thriller plays off the theme of the unsuspecting witness who discovers a crime and is thereby put in grave danger, but with a novel twist. Jack Terry is a master audio technician who makes his living by recording unique sounds for grade-B horror movies. Late one evening, he is recording sounds for use in his movies when he hears something unexpected through his sound equipment and records it. Curiosity gets the better of him when the media become involved, and he begins to unravel the pieces of a nefarious conspiracy. As he struggles to survive against his shadowy enemies and expose the truth, he does not know whom he can trust.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
There is no goofy or funny or odd comment about the film Blow Out on Fresh Kernels.
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