``Blow Out'' Brian De Palma's great and important masterpiece, highly praised by Tarantino

*This article touches on the core of the story, so we recommend reading it after watching the movie.

“Blow Out” synopsis

An effects man specializing in B-grade movies who went out to record the sound of the wind. While recording the sound effects, I witnessed a car accident. An effects man rescues a young woman named Sally from a car that has fallen into a river, but politics are behind the accident. The deceased passenger in the car was a presidential candidate, and there was evidence on the tape that the accident was a murder. Eventually, Sally's true identity is revealed, and they work hard to find out the truth.

Index

• Visual approach learned from Hitchcock
• Aspects of a political thriller
• Actual events that influenced
• De Palma's expressions are often criticized

Visual approach learned from Hitchcock

The suspense film `` Blow Out, '' created in 1981 by Brian De Palma, then 40 years old, in his hometown of Philadelphia , is one of his greatest and most important masterpieces. Although it was praised by American film critics Pauline Kael and Roger Ebert when it was released, it did not receive much support from audiences due to its dark and devastating ending.

Although it was a box-office failure, Quentin Tarantino later declared it one of the best films of all time -- he cast John Travolta, who starred in this film, in Pulp Fiction (1994) -- It has gathered enthusiastic supporters, and has now established itself as a classic cult movie (even in Japan, Rhymester Utamaru named it one of the best films of all time). In the fall of 2018, it was screened for a limited time at Cinemart Shinjuku's special screening `` Nomura Collection, '' and it is still fresh in my memory that many Japanese fans rushed to see it.

“Blow Out” preview

De Palma is a master filmmaker known for films such as ` `Phantom of Paradise '' (1974) and `` Scarface '' (1983), and is a favorite filmmaker of Guillermo del Toro, Edgar Wright, and Wes Anderson. , he may be said to be an under-appreciated director compared to his allies such as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, and Francis Ford Coppola.

One reason for this is that he has long been underestimated as an imitation of suspense master Alfred Hitchcock. He himself has for some time been averse to comparisons to Hitchcock, and has remained fiercely protective about disclosing the influences on his work. However, the documentary " The Squid and the Whale " (2015) produced by Noah Baumbach (2012), "The Frances Ha and the Whale " (2005), "Frances Ha" (12), and Jake Paltrow (2014), " Mad Guns" (2014 ), 15) shows a change in attitude.

Baumbach, a long-time fan of De Palma's visual approach to storytelling, met him at Paul Schrader's birthday party in 1996 and have been friends with him for more than 20 years. That's why De Palma opens up to his friends Baumbach and Paltrow in ``De Palma,'' and talks behind the scenes of the production and about Hitchcock, just as Hitchcock told François Truffaut. He openly reveals his love for him.

"De Palma" preview

"There are many people who were influenced by Hitchcock, but I am the only one who follows the Hitchcockianism. The way he invented visual storytelling died with him. "He's practicing what he pioneered and incorporating it into his own style. He's giving it a new form." De Palma turned the suspense techniques he learned from Hitchcock into a visual language, while incorporating devices such as split screens, 360-degree dolly shots, and slow motion to create his own aesthetic and sensuality. did. It brought aesthetic innovation to the thriller format.

Aspects of a political thriller