Editing Blow Out (section)

{{Short description|1981 film by Brian De Palma}}
{{About|the 1981 film|other uses|Blowout (disambiguation)}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox film 
| name = Blow Out 
| image = Blow outENG.jpg 
| alt = The poster has a squeezed, black-and-white image of John Travolta screaming, with the tagline below reading "Murder has a sound all of its own".
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Brian De Palma]] 
| producer = [[George Litto]] 
| writer = Brian De Palma 
| starring = {{plainlist|
* [[John Travolta]]
* [[Nancy Allen (actress)|Nancy Allen]]
* [[John Lithgow]]
* [[Dennis Franz]]
}} 
| music = [[Pino Donaggio]] 
| cinematography = [[Vilmos Zsigmond]]
| editing = [[Paul Hirsch (film editor)|Paul Hirsch]]
| studio = Viscount Associates
| distributor = [[Filmways|Filmways Pictures]] 
| released = {{Film date|1981|7|24}}
| runtime = 108 minutes 
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $18 million<ref>{{cite news|title=Filmways Board Elects Armstrong President, Chief Operating Officer|work=[[Wall Street Journal]]|date=August 18, 1981|page=38}}</ref>
| gross = $13.8 million<ref name="LATimes">{{Cite news|title=FILM CLIPS: Sigalert on 'Honktonk Freeway' |last=Boyer |first=Peter J.|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=August 6, 1981|page=h1}}</ref>
}}

'''''Blow Out''''' is a 1981 American [[independent film|independent]]<ref name="auteurspower">[https://www.thecollector.com/history-hollywood-1980s-1990s/ History of Hollywood in the 1980s-1990s: Everything You Need to Know|TheCollector]</ref> [[Mystery film|mystery]] [[thriller film]] written and directed by [[Brian De Palma]].<ref name="TCM">{{cite web|url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/69185/blow-out|title=Blow Out|work=[[Turner Classic Movies|Turner Classic Movie Database]]|access-date=February 25, 2016}}</ref> The film stars [[John Travolta]] as Jack Terry, a movie [[sound effects]] technician from [[Philadelphia]] who, while recording sounds for a low-budget [[slasher film]], unintentionally captures audio evidence of an [[assassination]] involving a presidential hopeful. [[Nancy Allen (actress)|Nancy Allen]] stars as Sally Bedina, a young woman involved in the crime. The supporting cast includes [[John Lithgow]] and [[Dennis Franz]]. The film's tagline in advertisements was, "Murder has a sound all of its own".

Directly based on [[Michelangelo Antonioni]]'s 1966 film ''[[Blowup]]'', the film replaces the medium of photography with one of audio recording. The concept of ''Blow Out'' came to De Palma while he was working on the thriller ''[[Dressed to Kill (1980 film)|Dressed to Kill]]'' (1980). The film was shot in the late autumn and winter of 1980 in various Philadelphia locations on a budget of $18 million.

''Blow Out'' opened to very little audience interest at the time of release despite receiving a mostly positive critical reception. The lead performances by Travolta and Allen, the direction by De Palma and the visual style were cited as the strongest points of the film. Critics also recognised the stylistic and narrative connection to the work of [[Alfred Hitchcock]], whom De Palma admires, and [[giallo]] films.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/blow-out/41751/blow-out-and-why-cinema-needs-shock-endings |title=Blow Out, and Why Cinema Needs Shock Endings |last=Lambie |first=Ryan |date=July 4, 2016 |website=[[Den of Geek]] |location=London |access-date=August 20, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bloodygoodhorror.com/bgh/reviews/blow-out |title=Blow Out (Movie Review) |date=November 5, 2015 |website=Bloody Good Horror |access-date=August 20, 2019}}</ref> Over the years since its initial theatrical release, it has developed status as a [[cult film]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://reflectionsonfilmandtelevision.blogspot.com/2009/08/cult-movie-review-blow-out-1981.html|title=CULT MOVIE REVIEW: Blow Out (1981) |last=Muir |first=John Kenneth |date=21 August 2009 |website=Reflections on Film and Television}}</ref> and received a home media release by [[the Criterion Collection]],<ref name="Criterion">{{cite web |title=Blow Out (1981) |url=https://www.criterion.com/films/27561-blow-out |website=Criterion Collection |access-date=1 September 2023}}</ref> a company which specializes in "important classic and contemporary film," which re-ignited public interest in the film. [[Quentin Tarantino]] praises De Palma as the "greatest director of his generation" and cites ''Blow Out'' as  one of his three favorite films that he would take to a desert island.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/quentin-tarantino-favorite-movies-of-all-time/ |title=Quentin Tarantino's Favorite Movies of All Time — 20 Cinematic Gems |first=Sam |last=Kench |date=June 13, 2021 |website=StudioBinder |access-date=March 7, 2023}}</ref>