ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

Gary The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

derrickneal-98015 Vintage Brian De Palma film with all the Hitchcockian traits. Blowout is a very engaging film starring a young John Travolta who plays a sound recordist who accidently records a murder and is suddenly embroiled in a bigger conspiracy. Blow Out has bits of the conversation and Blow up and whole lot of early 80s atmosphere. When the legendary critic Pauline Kael says "This is the best American conspiracy movie" you should take note. Oh, this also involves a whole lot of movie making and even Travolta considers this one of his best films. A bleak ending only adds to its legacy. A great Brain de Palma movie.

JohnnyLee1 Unconvincing Hitchcockian conspiracy thriller. Uninvolving. Interesting Philadelphia setting and '70s pre-digital gadgetry though. SPOILER ALERT Should we even remember that Sally was responsible for Manny's death (defending herself from rape)? Obedient media will probably report it as an accident but still it's a loose end I didn't like left hanging, especially in a thriller.

avik-basu1889 Based on all the Brian De Palma films I have seen as of now, I have no problem is stating that 'Blow Out' is my absolute favorite among them. De Palma's technical prowess has never been in doubt and it is again on show in this tightly paced conspiracy thriller, but he also adds layers to the screenplay through his visual choices and the protagonist Jack Terry played by John Travolta has the kind of depth and humanity that I couldn't find in some of his other films.While talking about the themes of the film, one has to make a comparative analysis because the nature of the film lends itself to such an approach. The connection to Antonioni's 'Blow Up' is unmissable if someone watches both the films. Both films are about a person unearthing a truth through their technical expertise, a truth that could somewhat go unnoticed by a layman. However De Palma is in no way trying to bring in an element of abstract existentialism that is a big part of 'Blow Up'. I think 'Blow Out' is also influenced by Hitchcock's 'Vertigo'. De Palma uses the colours of Red, White and Blue in a very meaningful and thematically poignant way just like Hitchcock did with the colours red and green in 'Vertigo'. As a matter of fact the shot of Manny's apartment room engulfed by the red neon light was very reminiscent of Judy's apartment in 'Vertigo' which had the green neon light coming in from outside. 'Blow Out' also shares with 'Vertigo' the Orpheus-esque theme of a character hurt by something in the past intentionally going through a similar incident again which breaks him permanently. 'Blow Out' can be compared with Coppola's 'The Conversation'(which was also tangentially influenced by 'Blow Up') because both films involve a character whose past trauma has led them to resort to something else for spiritual respite. For Jack Terry in 'Blow Out' it is the B- movie industry, while for Harry Caul in 'The Conversation', it is religion. However Jack isn't as psychologically broken and introverted as Harry was.Apart from everything that I mentioned, one can't forget that this is a political conspiracy film. The film was made at a time when USA was ready to move on after enduring the traumatic incidents that marked the 70s like Vietnam and Watergate by electing Ronald Reagan. De Palma at a political climate like this coming out with a film of this sort, must have tried to claim that this is nothing but a false sunrise and in the end, the film and the political deviousness that is depicted in 'Blow Out' turned out to be prescient. I think 'Blow Out' is also a bit of a love letter to all the grind-house sleazy exploitation films of the 1970s. The film opens with a scene which makes fun of these kind of films including De Palma's own films which did at times go overboard with the sleaziness. But over the course of the film and especially with the beautiful ending De Palma conveys that no matter how technically inept and thematically vapid these exploitation films may be, they still will always carry the filmmakers' blood, sweat and tears. There will still be something personal in these films too.The screenplay for the most part works. But there are a few sloppy elements here and there like exposition through television news reels and I also thought the climactic set-piece of the film gets a little too overblown. However the mild shortcomings of the screenplay get completely outweighed by De Palma's technical mastery. We get split screens, split diopter shots, tracking shots,etc. like all other De Palma films. There is a particular scene where De Palma uses the 360 degree shot and the camera revolves in a circular motion over and over again and it brilliantly expresses the paranoia of Jack in the scene.This might be Travolta's best role of his career. He is brilliant with the nuance as well as the gradual sense of paranoia that engulfs him. He fully realises the character and endures the psychological journey that the character of Jack goes through in a convincing way. Nancy Allen is very sweet and likable as Sally, although it can be said that at times, the character becomes a bit too dumb. John Lithgow is also brilliant as the psychotic Burke.I will end this review by saying that although I made a very thematic analysis of the film, simultaneously I also have to drive home the fact that 'Blow Out' is not just a thematically poignant, but also a very entertaining and funny film. It has something for everyone. Highly recommended.

Cheritaro At the start of filming, the girl is killed in the communal shower. This is homage to Psycho, directed by Hitchcock. De Palma's may be Hitchcockian. Since we know the way of film, we expect scream. But we disappointed at the girl's hilariously inept, warbling cry for help. By doing this, Palma gives us strong impression. The screaming of the girl opens the film with a laugh. However, at last, real scream gives us despair. Though same image, comedy changes to tragedy. Also, Burke focus on the ad of the liberty bell twice. Not only the technique of film, De Palma reflects that people already know wiretapping is anywhere.