April 27, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • Page 19
Travolta political thriller, ‘Blow Out,’ revisited
by Dennis Seuling Political thrillers have had uneven success at the box office, but one of the best is Brian De Palma’s 1981 drama, “Blow Out” (The Criterion Collection), new on Blu-ray. De Palma spent a number of years making Hitchcock inspired films, including “Sisters,” “Obsession,” and “Dressed to Kill.” “Blow Out” is inspired by Antonioni’s “Blow Up” and Coppola’s “The Conversation,” but has an identity all its own and reflects more of De Palma than his Hitchcock imitations. “Blow Out” stars John Travolta, three years after his mega-box office success in “Grease.” No two films could be farther apart in mood, character development, and overall style. Jack Terri (Travolta) is a sound technician who works on soft-core porn movies. He becomes intrigued and later obsessed by what seems to be a conspiracy to cover up the murder of a politician in a car crash he accidentally witnesses and records. He falls in love with the young woman, Sally Bedina (Nancy Allen), who was in the car with the politician when he was killed. “Blow Out” builds interestingly as Jack becomes increasingly convinced that he is onto a crime the authorities have overlooked. De Palma loves showing off the mechanics of filmmaking and sound recording, and there are many lengthy, dialogue-less scenes that portray the machinery and technology Jack employs in attempting to demystify what he thinks he has witnessed. The success of “Blow Out” is De Palma’s ability to present it as an escalating real-life nightmare, as Jack refuses to abandon his suspicions and uses his technical talent to unravel a mystery. Also resonating in the movie are the Chappaquidick incident and the three major political assassinations of
John Travolta and Nancy Allen in ‘Blow Out.’
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the 1960s. Travolta is very good as Jack, who is the only decent character in the movie. In fact, it is one of his best on-screen performances. He was asked to be solidly dramatic and portray many of his feelings with expression and reaction shots. He was seldom asked to play this kind of heavy-duty role again until “Pulp Fiction.” The restored digital transfer looks pristine in Blu-ray. Extras include a new hour-long interview with De Palma, a new interview with Nancy Allen, Garrett Brown discussing the then-new Steadicam shots featured in the film-within-the-film, on-set photos, and a booklet featuring a critical essay. (continued on Crossword page)
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