Blow Out (1981, dir. Brian De Palma)

Blow Out (1981, dir. Brian De Palma)

What Is It?: A bleak, exciting political thriller about a man who witnesses an assasination of a presidential favorite and his struggle with the aftermath.

What About It?: Though (arguably) overpraised by Pauline Kael in his heyday, De Palma has fallen on largely deaf ears in the years that have followed. Today, he's praised only by a select few Kaelites left (no disrespect intended) who appreciate his singular gifts, which is a shame. He's a intelligent, funny filmmaker who knows when to crib from Hitchcock and when to put his own peurile cinematic impulses on display.

Why Should I See It?: Blow Out, a kind of re-imagining of the seminal Blowup (1966, dir. Antonioni), tells the story of a B-movie sound engineer who accidentally records the fatal accident of the favored presidential hopeful and the unraveling of his life following the incident. De Palma makes the best 70's political conspiracy thiller you've ever seen (in 1981, natch). And it'll remind you of the magnetic actor John Travolta once was without having to watch Saturday Night Fever again.

Reserve it at the Multnomah County Library

-- ddt/pdx