Blow Out (1981)

An impeccable thriller combining horror and politics, a meticulously constructed feast for the ears and one of De Palma’s finest films. It features strong performances, especially from Travolta, and self-referential homage to Blow-Up.

The critic praises Blow Out as a mind-blowing masterpiece where De Palma uncovers reality through personal construction, highlighting its political themes and emotional impact, especially the ending.

The critic calls it De Palma's best and most original work, a conspiracy thriller that draws on real American history and other films but stands alone with three-dimensional characters and a real cinematic intelligence. He singles out the brilliantly crafted sequence in which Travolta reconstructs the accident from sound and photos for praise.

De Palma’s best and most ingenious film, a dazzling 1981 masterpiece with never-better John Travolta caught in a murder plot. It excels in its deconstructive trickery, political themes of media manipulation and conspiracy, and emotional set pieces.

The critic praises De Palma's thriller for its visual style and deeper political commentary on American power and paranoia, framing it as a story of a working-class man punished for doing the right thing. The tragic final scene is singled out as particularly sorrowful and gorgeous.

The critic calls it Travolta's best role in a paranoid mystery full of De Palma's trademark suspense, black humour and high style, with a knockout downbeat ending. It is described as an audio version of Antonioni's Blow-Up.

The critic views Blow Out as De Palma’s most nightmarish film, a conspiracy thriller whose downbeat ending and slow-motion fade into personal and political hell underscore the impossibility of preserving truth or innocence. They single out the film’s frank anti-establishment stance and Nancy Allen’s poignant performance as the victimized Sally for particular praise.

The critic describes Blow Out as a terrific psychological thriller that questions film's ability to show objective truth, mixing paranoia with Hitchcockian suspense. She singles out the haunting final scream and De Palma's technical tricks like split-diopter shots and a dizzying 360-degree sequence for building dread.

The critic calls the film a vastly underrated and intricately crafted thriller full of suspense, praising its De Palma showboating and John Lithgow's crackpot performance while noting it falls short of The Conversation. The verdict labels it a forgotten gem.

The review describes the film as a stylish mix of influences from Antonioni and Coppola, with strong performances and thrills, but notes that the baroque plot often confuses rather than frightens. It highlights plenty of style and a slick ending.

The critic lauds the film's brilliant shock ending and its exploration of filmmaking and conspiracy, calling it carefully crafted and outright brilliant, contrasting it with lesser genre films.

The critic hails Blow Out as Brian De Palma’s best or most bravura film, a politically cynical masterpiece that masterfully blends sleaze and exquisite craftsmanship through techniques like split diopters and deep focus. They single out the film's exploration of filmmaking elements, particularly sound, and its grim, truthful ending that underscores the futility against political intrigue.