Blow Out

R

Now Playing

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

List

88%

60 Reviews

Tomatometer

81%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

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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Melissa L

It's a Brian De Palma movie, and John Travolta stars in it. Hitchcockian and awesome. Recommended!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

04/18/24

Full Review

Farah R

Brian De Palma expertly combines suspense and drama to create a brilliantly intricate thriller in Blow Out. This film is simply a masterpiece owing to its breathtaking cinematography, where clever editing makes every shot a work of art. John Travolta gives one of his finest performances, and Nancy Allen is a ray of sunshine in a dark sea of heavy themes. The ending is the cherry on top, delivering a shocking, spectacular twist.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

04/12/24

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Jeffrey P

It doesn't leave one feeling disappointed, and I can attribute that to a detailed vision and focus in the right direction. If you've seen enough bad movies, you know this is an above average piece of film whether it has a fresh buzz around it or not. The vision and focus is what I think makes it different and stand out.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

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Caleb J

De Palma's Magnum Opus. Travolta's best performance of his career in a fantastic crime thriller that will have you on your toes until the very end. Phenomenal camera work and editing.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

03/17/24

Full Review

William S

Such a frustrating film to watch. You want to help them so much; but you can't. So engrossing, so stylish. DePalma's best film, and that's saying a lot.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/22/24

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Jeff M

This is a deliciously intricate and intriguing thriller that I enjoyed immensely, but while I whole-heartedly recommend it, I can't say it hit the delicious highs of De Palma's other offerings from this period like CARRIE and DRESSED TO KILL. Watching it now, it feels to me like an above-average two-part episode of CSI or CRIMINAL MINDS - and that isn't meant to be a negative. I actually think this is one of Travolta's finest performances - he is an actor who rises or falls depending on the strength of his material, and here he is blessed with an intelligent screenplay that is wonderfully challenging. It's almost impossible not to imagine what Hitchcock would do with material like this, and, on his best days, De Palma is the closest modern equivalent we have. Watching it 40 years later, it does feel a bit dated, but its assets certainly overcome its liabilities. As I've stated in many of my reviews, I love movies that elevate intrigue and suspense over blood and gore, and this movie succeeds admirably in that regard. The climax strains credibility a bit, but overall this is a fine film made by a filmmaker at the peak of his form.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/11/24

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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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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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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

Full Review

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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: Fred C. Caruso
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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