Blow Out

"Murder has a sound all of its own."

1981 1h 48m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

🍅

88%

FRESH

💯

METACRITIC

⭐

7.4

IMDB

★7.3TMDB · 1,766🍅88%Rotten Tomatoes●86Metacritic★7.4IMDB · 74,172

CrimeMysteryThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally from the car, but the other passenger is already dead — a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.

“Murder has a sound all of its own.”

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Cast

John Travolta
Jack Terry
Nancy Allen
Sally Badina
John Lithgow
Burke
Dennis Franz
Manny Karp
Peter Boyden
Sam
John Aquino
Det. Mackey
John McMartin
Lawrence Henry
Deborah Everton
Hooker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Brian De Palma
Writers: Brian De Palma, Bill Mesce Jr.
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

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

Earned back only 67% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

45 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Travolta and Nancy Allen and John Lithgow carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Murder has a sound all of its own.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0082085 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Brian De Palma directs. Vilmos Zsigmond behind the camera. Pino Donaggio scores. Paul Hirsch cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 67% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
245 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Directed by Brian De Palma, shot by Vilmos Zsigmond. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Pino Donaggio. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Paul Hirsch shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6John Travolta and Nancy Allen and John Lithgow carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Murder has a sound all of its own.".
8IMDB entry: tt0082085 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 19 themes, including "philadelphia, pennsylvania", "hitman", "presidential election", "politics".
10Released under 19 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Vilmos Zsigmond
Original score: Pino Donaggio
Editing: Paul Hirsch
Production design: Paul Sylbert
Costume design: Vicki Sánchez
Makeup / hair: Joe Cranzano
Sound: Tom Fleischman
Stunt coordinator: Carey Loftin
Runtime: 108 min · 1h 48m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $18,000,000
Box office: $12,000,000
Return: 67% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Blow Out (1981)
Rotten Tomatoes: 88% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 86/100
IMDB rating: 7.4/10 · 74,172 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Brian De Palma

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-01-04
★ 8.5/10
Superior entry on De Palma's CV. Brian De Palma has always gotten a bad rap for his penchant for essaying his heroes and favourite thrillers, what often gets forgotten is just how great he could be in crafting said thrillers. Blow Out has John Travolta as a sound engineer for low budget horror movies, who while out recording sounds one night witnesses a car crash and dives into the river to rescue the call girl trapped in the back seat (Nancy Allen). Upon listening back to the footage of the crash, he hears two noises which point to a gun shot being fired at the car. So with the dead man in the car turning out to be a big political mover, he quickly finds himself spun into a web of intrigue, peril, paranoia and conspiracies. Can he and the girl stay alive long enough to solve the case? Blow Out finds De Palma at the top of his game, blending the twisty plot dynamics with virtuoso technical smarts. A number of scenes are striking, both visually and in execution and the garnering of acting performances. Pino Donaggio provides an unforgettable music score to marry up to the layers of sub-plots folding together, and cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond sharpens the primary colours (pic is awash with lurid pinks and purples - true neo-noir style) to give the story a Giallo like sheen that runs concurrent with the emotional states of the major players. A sprawling and bustling Philadelphia plays host to a conspiracy sandwich, with a corking side order of the film making process. Sometimes bleak and complex (how great it is to find a true noir finale), but never over stuffed, Blow Out is both thrilling and smart, while Travolta has never been better and John Lithgow is tailor made as the unstoppable crack-pot unleashed into our two protagonists' world. 9/10
Wuchak2021-06-14
★ 6/10
Colorful De Palma crime mystery with Travolta and Lithgow A sound effects man in Philadelphia (John Travolta) obtains evidence that a fatal accident involving the governor wasn’t really an accident, which thrusts him into danger with shady characters. John Lithgow, Dennis Franz and Nancy Allen are all somehow involved in the nefarious conspiracy. Written & directed by Brian De Palma, "Blow Out” (1981) is a crime drama/thriller whose colors, artistic style, cast and Philadelphia locations make it worthwhile. It’s similar to Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Conversation” (1974) but more dynamic. Allen plays a ditzy character, yet is alluring and enjoyable, while Travolta is in his prime. Meanwhile Lithgow makes for a great shady character. I loved the colorful, well-staged sequence under the Henry Avenue Bridge, but started to lose interest in the second half for some reason. The storytelling became increasingly contrived. Nevertheless, respectable critics rave about this flick. The film runs around 1 hour, 48 minutes, and was shot in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; with additional stuff done in New York City and Burbank, California. GRADE: B-
JPV8522022-09-08
★ 9/10
This is one I've watched a few times over the years and it's still great with each viewing. John Travolta and Nancy Allen give great performances and although it's not one of these thrill-a-minute films, it still maintains the suspense throughout. It's one of the gems for Brian De Palma. 4.5/5