Blow-Up

"Sometimes, reality is the strangest fantasy of all."

1966 1h 51m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🍅

87%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 1,424🍅87%Rotten Tomatoes●82Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 72,180

DramaMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A successful mod photographer in London whose world is bounded by fashion, pop music, marijuana, and easy sex, feels his life is boring and despairing. But in the course of a single day he unknowingly captures a death on film.

“Sometimes, reality is the strangest fantasy of all.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

David Hemmings
Thomas
Vanessa Redgrave
Jane
Sarah Miles
Patricia
John Castle
Bill
Veruschka von Lehndorff
Veruschka
Jane Birkin
The Blonde
Gillian Hills
The Brunette
Peter Bowles
Ron

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, Michelangelo Antonioni
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Grossed $20M — a 11.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

60 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, shot by Carlo Di Palma. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Herbie Hancock. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Frank Clarke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Michelangelo Antonioni directs. Carlo Di Palma behind the camera. Herbie Hancock scores. Frank Clarke cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Shot for just $1.8M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
2Grossed $20M — a 11.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
360 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4International production across 3 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Italy.
5Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, shot by Carlo Di Palma. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Herbie Hancock. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Frank Clarke shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Sometimes, reality is the strangest fantasy of all.".
10IMDB entry: tt0060176 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 18 themes, including "london, england", "loss of sense of reality", "photographer", "burglar".
12Released under 12 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Carlo Di Palma
Original score: Herbie Hancock
Editing: Frank Clarke
Costume design: Jocelyn Rickards
Makeup / hair: Stephanie Kaye
Runtime: 111 min · 1h 51m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,800,000
Box office: $20,000,000
Return: 1111% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Blow-Up (1966)
Rotten Tomatoes: 87% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 82/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 72,180 votes
MPAA: Not Rated

Awards

Nominated for 2 Oscars. 8 wins & 9 nominations total

Palme d'Or

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Michelangelo Antonioni

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-01-09
★ 7/10
Judging by his Rolls Royce coupé that he tours London in, the young "Thomas" (David Hemmings) is a successful man. He makes his living as a photographer amongst the great and the good of the vacuous world of fame and celebrity. Drink, drugs and sex are wherever he wants them, whenever he wants them - and though fun, that's not really enough. He is in a park one evening when he espies a couple and takes some snaps. "Jane" (Vanessa Redgrave) is not impressed and wants the negatives. He sees the chance to have some fun and so teases her, discovering not just that she is truly desperate to obtain them but also, on inspection of the images, that he has accidentally photographed a murder! Who did what to whom, why, and what he can get from a scenario that now has him tingling? Just what did happen and what does "Jane" have to do with anything? It's got a very vibrant, Bohemian, 1960s feel to it from start to finish and Hemmings is in his element as the rather unlikable, manipulative, playboy. Redgrave also comes across well as her character's vulnerability - though to what we don't yet know - is also well captured as the mystery deepens. The X rating is all about tits and bums. There's nothing gruesome or graphic here to terrorise the viewer, instead we get a thriller set amidst a world of hedonism and profligacy and whilst Redgrave comes across as a more reluctant visitor to this territory, Hemmings looks a natural. Yes, it's dated a little but the story itself still stands up to a watch.

Production companies