Blow Out, 1981

One of the main things that brought this film together was the photography. With this help of De Palma's want of a visual narrative, Vilmos Zsigmond was able to shoot a film that was almost a moving graphic novel. There are sequences in this film... split screens, double focus close-ups... all editing and shot tricks that have never been duplicated, since.

I'm going to start off with the cast, first.

John Travolta. In what was one of his many 'comebacks', Travolta came on to this film after having worked with De Palma in the 1976 film Carrie. Travolta went on to make three major blockbuster films before Blow Out... Saturday Night Fever, Grease and Urban Cowboy. At this time, his popularity was HUGE... the majority of those films being musically inclined... I can only hazard a guess as to why he went to work for De Palma. A change of scenery.

His performance is near flawless. I've enjoyed watching Travolta in only a handful of films, the majority of which were more serious roles. Pulp Fiction, Get Shorty, Face/Off, Phenomenon... after A Civil Action, I tuned out. I think the market is being flooded with Travolta films... I prefer his earlier work.

Nancy Allen. After acting in Carrie, too, De Palma ended up marrying Allen... who went on to act in three other films of his... Home Movies, Dressed to Kill and Blow Out. Her career could be defined as mediocre, working on such films as 1941, Robocop (along with 2 and 3), Out of Sight... I think her most important work coming out of the De Palma films, with the exception of Robocop.

She's a fantastic actress. Her work in the other De Palma films was slowly working up towards this role, I think... even though her character is a 'blonde', no brainer. There's a talent needed to be present, to portray any type of character... and Allen has the ability to change her role as need be. Again, with the exception of Robocop, she hardly, if ever, plays the same role twice.

John Lithgow. Prior to 3rd Rock from the Sun, I really enjoyed his work. I don't see him as a comedian, and I do not like the show.

One of his first roles was in De Palma's Obsession (1976). He would work on some other films, the biggest of which was All That Jazz in 1979... until he would work, again with De Palma, in Blow Out.

His work in this film is exceptional. He's got the thriller/spy/mystery atmosphere down pat, and his deadpan approach to a character (and being able to change his persona on a dime) gives his performance that much more force. His character is smart and calculating, and Lithgow plays him to a T.

Lithgow would go on to make a greater range of films after Blow Out. The World According to Garp, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Terms of Endearment, Buckaroo Banzai, 2010, The Manhattan Project, Harry and the Hendersons, Ricochet and, in 1992, he would work again with De Palma in Raising Cain, playing similar to Peter Sellers (re - Dr. Strangelove), portraying three different characters.

After the 1993 film Cliffhanger, I pretty much wrote Lithgow off. Not his abilities, but his choice of characters.

Dennis Franz. I'm not a big fan of his work. He's played, throughout his career, the cop character, or the shady character. I, for one, am tired of seeing this character, as I was seeing David Caruso play that 'cop' character, over and over.

Franz has been with De Palma since 1978, in The Fury. He would go on to act bit, but important parts in Dressed to Kill, Blow Out and my other favorite De Palma film Body Double. I enjoy his work, in these films. He adds an atmosphere that brings authenticity to the film... which is always wanted.

Since 1955, Vilmos Zsigmond has been shooting films. He's shot almost 70 of them... working on such nutty titles as The Sadist (1963), The Zombies (63), The Nasty Rabbit (64), Psycho a Go-Go (65), Futz! (69), Horror of the Blood Monsters (70)... a few more weird ones... and then, in 1972 he worked with John Boorman on a film that garnered national recognition, Deliverance. It would take a few more years for Zsigmond to begin his collaberation with three fantastic filmmakers. The first would be Robert Altman, in 1973 with The Long Goodbye. The second in 1974, was the director of The Sugarland Express, Steven Spielberg. The third would be in 1976, Obsession, with De Palma.

Movies would be coming out of the woodwork after Obsession. Close Encounters in 1977, The Deer Hunter in 1978, Heaven's Gate in 1980 and in 1981 he would help De Palma create this fantastic film. His ability, to this point, to be able to work with effects, and to understand the lengths that a director will go to get his creation made (re- Close Encounters), had prepared him for De Palma's want of a visual narrative unlike the world had ever seen.

The pacing, the feel of the characters, of the plot... the tension that is ever present in the film... is largely in part due to the look of the film... the trust that was obviously great between the director and the cinematographer.

Zsigmond would go on to make other great (and just plain mainstream) films. The River, Real Genius, The Witches of Eastwick, Fat Man and Little Boy, Sliver, Maverick, The Crossing Guard, Assassins and The Ghost and the Darkness...

His work is a credit to the directors who used his abilities. He's one of the greatest DP's to come out of the 1970's and early 80's. He garnered two Academy Award nominations for best DP for The River (1985) and The Deer Hunter (1977), and won the Award for best DP for Close Encounters. He also received the Lifetime Achievement award from the American Society of Cinematographers in 1999. For those of you who've never seen the film, but enjoy suspense, mystery, thrillers... this is a must see. The DVD looks great, although there are no extras... this is one of the best films to come out of the 1980s, for certain.

For those of you interested, De Palma has a website, with articles on each of his films, located here.

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