Blow Out

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Blow Out

R

Released Jul 24, 1981

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

81%

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10,000+ Ratings

While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terri (John Travolta) stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally (Nancy Allen) from the car, but the other passenger is already dead -- a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.

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Critics Consensus

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.

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Eric Henderson

Slant Magazine

It’s the death of the ‘60s and ‘70s that haunts Blow Out and has arguably inflated its reputation among those incapable of recognizing anything good in, say, The Fury.

Sep 9, 2022

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Kevin Maher

Times (UK)

A horror movie, a paranoid political drama and a serial killer flick all at once.

Rated: 5/5

May 21, 2021

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

It's a Xerox of a movie that's nowhere near as indelible as the originals it purports to emulate.

Apr 27, 2018

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Blow Out is among the top movies about moviemaking because it uses sound so cleverly and as the driving force to investigating what happened and the danger the lurks for his snooping.

Feb 14, 2023

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Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

…Blow Out is now considered one of the all-time greats because it’s so deeply, unremittingly dark in what it observes about human nature, and what’s remarkable is how De Palma uses the film-making technique to uncover that weakness in the human soul…

Rated: 5/5

Dec 2, 2022

Full Review

Nick Rogers

Midwest Film Journal

Brian De Palma has always explored the ear-piercing effects of American violence on the decibel meter, never more overtly and rarely more expertly than he does here.

Rated: 4.5/5

Nov 11, 2022

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Mason M

Blow Out is a great twisty thriller, often lit by beautiful blue and red lighting and an amazing performance by John Travolta. It mostly comes together in it's amazing, intense, and heartbreaking finale. It also does a good job showing an often overlooked part of filmmaking, sound design.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

09/08/24

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Mark M

Great Cast. Interesting Story.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/29/24

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Sams K

Iconic. John Travolta shows how good he really is here. A mix of strong feelings.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

08/23/24

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Audience Member

Greatest Film Ever Made.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/24/24

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Melissa C

A poorly-paced, convoluted plot that Travola’s charm and commitment can’t manage to save. Allen makes a noble effort as well, but it’s troubling that the female lead is written as a character with so little agency or common sense.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

07/09/24

Full Review

nick s

Suspenseful thriller with a well thought out plot and good character acting.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/08/24

Full Review

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Brian De Palma

Director

John Travolta

Jack Terry

Nancy Allen

Sally

John Lithgow

Burke

Dennis Franz

Manny Karp

Peter Boyden

Sam

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Synopsis

While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terri (John Travolta) stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally (Nancy Allen) from the car, but the other passenger is already dead -- a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.

Director: Brian De Palma
Producer: George Litto
Screenwriter: Brian De Palma
Production Co: Filmways Pictures
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 24, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 1, 2017
Runtime: 1h 48m
Sound Mix: Surround

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