Brian DePalma's career has been filled with movies that often have met criticism for containing more style than substance as well as too much in the way of homage. While both of these things are true, when a man as talented as DePalma makes a film as good as Blow Out, it really doesn't matter.
Low budget movie soundman, Jack Terry (John Travolta), just wants to record some new natural sound affects when his night is interrupted by a tragic car accident. While the driver is beyond rescue, he does manage to save the woman passenger (Nancy Allen). Little does he realize the dead man is the current Governor of Pennsylvania and a front-runner for the upcoming presidential election. What follows is part conspiracy movie, part inside look at filmmaking and one of the finest thrillers of the 80's.
DePalma's visual flourishes are in full force in large a number of scenes throughout Blow Out. His ability to use the camera as a free flowing device capable of showing both beautiful and horrific images simultaneously is matched by only a few other directors in history and in Blow Out he has characters that make it mean all that much more. I don;t think Travolta has ever been considered a remarkably skilled thespian, but his performance here is a good argument against that theory. Jack Terry is a man of great conviction and Travolta caries that through to the very end but also shows off the characters soft side as well. Allen's character seems to be just a old fashioned damsel in distress at first but her ability to transcend that is a key to her and Travolta's on screen relationship and ultimately the film itself. Add in a couple fine supporting turns from John Lithgow and Dennis Franz and you have a film that works on a personal level as well as a visual one.
No one is ever going to confuse the blu-ray transfer of Blow Out with a new release blockbuster but as usual the folks at Criterion have done an outstanding job with this release. Colors are very well represented, there are no issues of dirt or specking and the films grain structure is full intact. Detail is generally excellent but Blow Out was filmed to be a little soft and that comes through on the transfer. The audio is nothing fancy as the only options is a 2.0 uncompressed mono track but dialog is always clear, Pino Donaggio's score is full and there are no issues of cracking or popping. The blu-ray isn't going to blow anyone away but it's a very good representation of the film.
Blow Out just might be the finest film Brian DePalma has ever made. It's certainly one of his better ones and well worth picking up on Blu-ray without hesitation. I was a big fan of this film the first time I saw it years ago and seeing it again has been a revelation. It's a fantastic film.
Ratings:
Movie: 5
Blu-ray: 4.5
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