“Unknowingly
witnessing the murder of
a US senator while out taking recordings,
a movie sound recordist slips into a
world of deceit and lies, endangering not
only his own life but that of the young
woman he rescues from a watery grave
in the epic thriller Blow Out...”
SOUND RECORDIST JACK TERRY (the superb John Travolta) accidentally stumbles
upon the murder of a prominent senator when he is making recordings for his
film sound effects library — a murder he is told has never happened; but
on his equipment he has the potentially explosive evidence of a deadly conspiracy.
Seeing a car veer off into a river from a bridge following an apparent tyre
blow out, Jack dives in to rescue a young woman, Sally (Nancy Allen), who is
trapped inside; but fails to save the driver, US Senator and Presidential candidate
Governor McRyan.
“A
welcome blast
from the ’Eighties,
Blow Out
is a fascinating
and absorbing
movie...”
At
the hospital Sally is jittery and wants to leave. The hospital is secured and
Governor McRyan's assistant Laurence Henry (John McMartin) approaches Jack and
tells him to forget it ever happened, alluding to the fact that the Governor
being in the car with a strange girl would cause a scandal and hurt his family.
Jack takes Sally to a motel and while she is asleep he checks his recordings.
He hears the unmistakable sound of a gun going off moments before the car swerved
into the river and he becomes obsessed with proving the senator was murdered.
Sleazy photographer Manny Karp (Dennis Franz), who was also on the scene, has
sold his frame-by-frame shots to News Today magazine and a curious Jack pieces
them together into a film and plays the recording over it. Sure enough, he can
spot what looks like the flash of a gunshot.
When it comes to trying to get anyone to listen to him, Jack hits a brick wall
until he hears from Frank Donahue (Curt May) of the City News. But somebody
wipes his tapes and has paid Sally to get out of town for a while. There is
also a murderer on the loose; a man called Burke (John Lithgow). And someone
is paying him to silence Sally and Jack for good.
Brilliantly shot by the then recent Oscar-winner Vilmos Zsigmond, this terrifically
stylish thriller is about the filmmaking process itself. Originally hired to
work on the low-budget slasher film Co-ed Frenzy, soundman Terry uses
his technical skills to reconstruct a political assassination on film. A welcome
blast from the 'Eighties, Blow Out is a fascinating and absorbing movie
benefiting from a strong lead character played by John Travolta, a sassy Nancy
Allen and sinister bad-guy Lithgow in a serious role.
The UK Blu-ray premiere of Blow Out features a newly-restored digital
transfer of the film, a process which was supervised and approved by Brian De
Palma himself. The super-deluxe package, available both as a standard Blu-ray
and as a limited edition Blu-ray steelbook, is loaded with Special Features
and Bonus materials and has a stunning 40-page collector's booklet featuring
an exclusive and revealing conversation between Quentin Tarantino and Brian
De Palma (one of Tarantino's all-time favourite directors and biggest influences);
also new writing on the film by film critic Michael Atkinson, illustrated with
archive movie stills and promotional material.
In keeping with what is now a fan-favoured tradition of Arrow Video restorations,
Blow Out will come complete with a reversible sleeve featuring the original
1981 artwork and a stunning new illustration.
One of the greatest film directors of his generation and best-known for his
psychological and often violent thrillers, Brian De Palma's inspirational career
spans forty years and includes commercial and critical successes in each decade
since the Seventies. De Palma — alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese,
Francis Ford Coppola and Ridley Scott — was part of the so-called
New Hollywood movement that ruled Tinsel Town throughout the 1970s and 1980s.
De Palma's films are instantly recognisable by his use of split-screens, slow
panning shots and Hitchcockian suspense. As well as the acclaimed Blow Out,
Brian De Palma's most revered works include Scarface, Carrie, Dressed To
Kill, The Untouchables and Mission Impossible.
Hugely influential, De Palma has inspired many modern-day film-makers to get
behind the camera. In Blow Out's collector's booklet, Quentin Tarantino
reveals that he views De Palma, who is also known for discovering and nurturing
new talent, as the best living American director. He is widely credited with
fostering the early careers of Robert De Niro and John C Reilly.
De Palma is due to once again reunite with Scarface star Al Pacino when
they work together on Happy Valley, a biopic about Penn State University's
controversial former American football coach Joe Paterno, who was forced to
retire following a sexual abuse scandal on his watch.
A brilliant fusion of the obsessive sleuthing of Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up
and Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation, Blow Out contains
themes drawn from real-life political scandals: the JFK assassination, Chappaquiddick,
and Watergate.
Blow Out also features: John Quino as Detective Mackey; Peter Boyden
as Sam; Deborah Everton as the Hooker; Cindy Marion and Missy O'Shea as the
dancing co-eds; and Ann Kelly as the studious co-ed.
Music is by Pino Donaggio and Conducted by Natale Massara; Director of Photography
is Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC; Executive Producer is Fred Caruso; produced by George
Litto; Written and Directed by Brian De Palma.
*
Arrow
Video is pleased to announce the highly-anticipated UK Blu-ray and Blu-ray Steelbook
release of Brian De Palma's 1981 classic Blow Out on 27 May 2013. Blow Out Blu-ray & Steelbook Editions Product Information —
Limited Edition Steelbook Catalogue Number: FCD792; RRP £24.99 | Standard Blu-ray
Catalogue Number: FCD791; RRP £19.99.
Special Features included on the deluxe Blu-ray Edition—
New, restored digital transfer, supervised and approved by Brian De Palma |
Original uncompressed 2.0 Stereo PCM Audio | Optional English SDH Subtitles
for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing | Black and White in Colour: An Interview with
Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond | Rag Doll Memories: Nancy Allen on Blow
Out | Return to Philadelphia: An interview with Producer George Litto |
Multi-tracking Blow Out: An Interview with Composer Pino Donaggio about
his work with Director Brian De Palma | A Gallery of On-Set Photos by photographer
Louis Goldman | Original Theatrical Trailer | Collector's Booklet: Featuring
new writing on the film by Michael Atkinson and a discussion between Brian De
Palma and Quentin Tarantino, illustrated with Original Archive Stills and promotional
material | Standard Blu-ray Edition Features Both original and Newly-Commissioned
Reversible Artwork.
"A welcome blast from the 'Eighties, Blow Out is a fascinating and absorbing
movie" —Maggie Woods
“Unknowingly
witnessing the murder of