Blow Out
1981 · Movie · R · 108 min · ★ 7.4 · 87% critics
A sound effects recorder for a horror film witnesses a deadly real-life car accident and rescues a survivor, while evidence from the recording suggests it wasn’t just bad luck. As he reviews the tapes and gets closer to the survivor, he’s pulled into a dangerous conspiracy with political stakes.
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Details
- Years
- 1981
- Release date
- 1981-07-24
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Max quality
- HD
- Critic score
- 87/100
- TMDB rating
- 7.4/10 (1,677 votes)
About
If you like Hitchcockian conspiracy thrillers such as The Conversation or Chinatown, you may enjoy Blow Out’s suspense and intrigue; Not for you if you want a straightforward, deeply satisfying plot with closure.
Pros: tense suspense; strong performances; stylish mystery | Cons: convoluted plotting; bleak or unsatisfying end; dated feel
Themes
- philadelphia, pennsylvania
- hitman
- presidential election
- politics
- audio tape
- paranoia
- faithlessness
- yell
- conspiracy
- tape recorder
- whodunit
- car accident
- +7 more
Cast & crew
John Travolta
as Jack Terry
Nancy Allen
as Sally Badina
John Lithgow
as Burke
Dennis Franz
as Manny Karp
Peter Boyden
as Sam
John Aquino
as Det. Mackey
John McMartin
as Lawrence Henry
Deborah Everton
as Hooker
J. Patrick McNamara
as Detective at Hospital
Roger Wilson
as Coed Lover
Directed by Brian De Palma