Blow Out

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Blow Out

R

1981

1h 48m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

81%

Popcornmeter

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.

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

09/09/2022

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.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

05/21/2021

5/5

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

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Bruce McCabe

Boston Globe

04/27/2018

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

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Alan Jones

Radio Times

Jul 2

4/5

Nothing is what it seems in a paranoid mystery that's overflowing with De Palma's trademark high style and cinematic technique right up until the knockout, downbeat ending.

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Noah Berlatsky

Splice Today

02/27/2025

In Blow Out, the beauty of the movie, as perhaps the beauty of life, is in its failures.

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

02/14/2023

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.

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RedApple A

@RT71152999 May 17

De Palma, you went beyond Hitchcock—you even went beyond cinema itself.

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Scott D

@RT07769066 May 4

Good overall. Some parts near the end are hard to believe. He drives through a parade and doesn’t get arrested? He wakes from a concussion and has no problem running around?

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Jason H

@RT50328122 Apr 10

It's good for the first hour or so, but it falls apart in the second half.

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Lloyd S

@Lloyd93 Mar 9

This is a really good movie! Great soundtrack as well. A must watch.

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Lucas D

@Lucas.Dorner Feb 2

Good movie, great acting by John Travolta, great soundtrack, nice story however, there where still parts which felt unnecessary or dragged too much. I still really recommend this movie to everyone who likes Drama, Horror and Thriller.

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Vincent S

@Vin_E_At_The_Movies Jan 21

This is Brian DePalma's best movie of his career in a great career in directing from one of my favorites. This paranoid political, conspiracy thriller contains John Travolta's best performance of his career in my opinion. Nancy Allen and John Lithgow are also outstanding, Allen is vulnerable and funny, Lithgow is scary in a subtle way. The direction, the music score and intense action scenes are perfection. This flawless thriller also has heart as we grow to love Sally and Jack's relationship through the chemistry of Travolta and Allen, giving this bleak, entertaining thriller heart.

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Brian De Palma

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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