review by David Valkenet
Blow Out 1981
Watched Jun 29, 2012
David Valkenet’s review:
I am not by any means a Brian DePalma fan, but this movie is fucking awesome.
Travolta's character is a foley sound effects recorder for bad horror films and there is an amazing scene early on when he's recording sounds in a park at night and we're shown the scene in a small number of static shots. We hear what Travolta hears through his microphone which fills out the mental picture of the location effortlessly. It's incredible how increasing one sense can bring a whole new level of perception.
Totally engrossing mystery with a fairly restrained (at least for DePalma) style. I think I only counted 4 or 5 split screens...
I'd like to see your ranked list to see if maybe I haven't yet seen his best work, or if his films are just not for me.
@David. I just put it up.
Awesome, I'll have a look.
Looks like I'll have to add Femme Fatal to the list.
I love Femme Fatale. A lot of people hate it but I'd recommend it to anyone.
Even someone who didn't like Scarface and Untouchables?
I decided to finally rank De Palma's films myself. Check it out here.
It's telling that Blow Out is number one on both your lists. Hopefully I'll enjoy his other films but maybe Blow Out was just a fluke. I actually thought Snake Eyes was ok. Much better than Redacted.
@David. Femme Fatale is way different than both Scarface and The Untouchables so I'd say see it.
If that's the case count me in. I'll add it to the queue.