Brian De Palma’s ’80s thriller, “Blow Out,” was far from a box office success – a fate far too many movies suffer from these days. Despite being loaded with a cast of heavy hitters from its time, such as John Travolta, John Lithgow, and Nancy Allen (one of the stars of the RoboCop movie), the film made roughly $13.7 million in its stint in theaters, with an $18 million production cost. However, “Blow Out” was far from failing, as the movie would find its audience well after its release. Now, anyone can finally catch one of Travolta’s best performances on Amazon Prime Video.
“Blow Out” follows a man by the name of Jack Terri, a sound recordist. One night, he becomes a witness to a crime after capturing evidence of a political assassination while recording random sounds for his job. The discovery on the recording leads Terri to dig in deep, as he tries to expose the conspiracy alongside a woman, Sally (Nancy Allen), who accompanied the victim but survived the crime. But staying alive isn’t exactly easy, as John Lithgow plays a very convincing role as one of the movie’s main antagonists.
However, even the great acting and rave reviews from some critics weren’t enough to make “Blow Out” stand out in the box office, as it went up against some of the biggest movies of the early ’80s.
Blow Out found fame after the flop
Unlike other now-considered classics such as “Blade Runner,” De Palma’s “Blow Out” did not receive negative critic responses. Instead, experts praised the film, with Roger Ebert even complimenting the depth of the characters and saying that it stood strong on its own, despite its clear inspirations and draws from other media at the time.
However, perhaps one reason that “Blow Out” has become so well-known — besides De Palma’s signature style, which has been praised excessively over the years — is that the movie is one of Quentin Tarantino’s favorites, too. During a video store visit as part of the acclaimed director’s promotional circuit for “Pulp Fiction,” Tarantino sang the praises of De Palma’s “Blow Out,” saying it was one of Travolta’s best performances and De Palma’s “finest film.”
Beyond Tarantino’s praise, the movie was also inducted into the Criterion Collection in 2011. Criterion’s reputation for delivering prestigious home video editions of classic and beloved films helped give the movie some extra legs to stand on, at least in the eyes of cinephiles. It continues to receive online reviews from viewers revisiting it or watching it for the first time, with many praising the film on Reddit and other forums.
Almost blowing out along the way
The production of “Blow Out” also experienced some interesting problems, as John Travolta reportedly twisted his ankle the very first day of filming. This created a bit of an obstacle for both Travolta and De Palma, though the two clearly found a way around it. Travolta also reportedly had to learn how to actually edit film, as he needed to realistically handle the equipment his character used in the film.
As if that wasn’t obstacle enough, beyond Travolta’s minor injury on the set, the negatives of two important scenes from the movie were stolen from a truck when the driver stopped and left the vehicle unattended. Reshooting these scenes cost upwards of $750,000, as De Palma and the film’s cast and crew had to return to Philadelphia for the new takes. To make matters worse, the film’s cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was no longer available, so he was replaced by László Kovács to finish things out.
Despite any of the speed bumps it hit along the way, De Palma’s “Blow Out” continues to be a classic ’80s thriller, holding onto a Certified Fresh rating of 88% and an audience score of 81% on Rotten Tomatoes. It further cements De Palma’s place as one of the great directors of his generation, along with his take on Carrie — which remains one of the best revenge movies of all time. If you haven’t experienced the thrilling action of “Blow Out,” then you can see it for yourself on Amazon Prime Video right now.
