---
title: "Blow-Up: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/blow-up/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/blow-up"
critics_score: 62
critics_reviews: 9
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Blow-Up (1966): what the critics said

Critics' score 62 from 9 reviews: 2 positive, 5 mixed, 2 negative.

## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen

Rating 4/4. 6 July 2017. 

Bowen finds the film moving and influential, though its critique of art’s limitations is tempered by an unexpectedly idealistic turn. He praises the sequence in which Thomas enlarges photographs of the park, turning them into an unsettling meditation on truth and perception.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/blow-up-2017/)

## Empire — Kim Newman

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Newman calls the film an absolute must, framing it as a portrait of swinging alienation rather than a straightforward mystery. He praises Antonioni’s eerie, attractive portrayal of London away from its familiar tourist settings.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/blow-3-review/)

## The AV Club — Noel Murray

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 1 March 2004. 

Murray finds the film’s central mystery less compelling today than its atmosphere, but still recommends enjoying its mod decadence and ennui. He singles out Antonioni’s sour, exhausted view of Swinging London and the film’s deliberately unresolved approach to meaning.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/blow-up-1798199380)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page only shows a browser-check screen, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praised or criticized element is visible.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-blow-up-1966)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 1966. 

The article appears to be a review of Antonioni’s Blow-Up, but its text is inaccessible. I cannot determine the critic’s verdict or what the review singles out for praise or complaint.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1966/12/19/archives/screen-blowup-arrives-at-coronet-hero-switches-between-luxury-and.html)

## The Guardian

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 16 March 1967. 

The critic calls the film an absolute must despite considering it Antonioni’s worst, while faulting it for shallowness. They single out its glossy depiction of swinging London and its unconvincing party and club scenes for criticism.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/16/blow-up-film-michelangelo-antonioni-review-1967)

## Time Out — GA

Fi1m's normalised score 35/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review describes a film with flashes of brilliance but ultimately finds it weighed down by pretension and longueurs. It also says the film fails as a portrait of its subject.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/blow-up)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1965. 

The critic finds the film’s intended meaning inaccessible and calls its commentary on modern humanity a failure. They single out the London backgrounds and the leads’ performances for making an impression.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1965/film/reviews/blowup-1200421140/)

## Eye for Film — Antoni Konieczny

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 17 April 2025. 

The review finds the film’s style impressive but sometimes obscuring, and its experience can feel numbing. It singles out Antonioni’s direction and the film’s compelling use of urban space for praise.

[Read the review](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/blow-up-1966-film-review-by-antoni-konieczny)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/blow-up.md