Blow-Up

The 1966 film "Blowup" (or "Blow Up" or "Blow-up") has been categorized as a postmodern film for it's themes and message. It attempts to depict a world without meaning. The evidences for this conclusion are the characters in the film: self-serving, self-interested, lustful men and women who decide that there is nothing more meaningful than living life for one's self. Sex, drugs, murder are all among the pursuits of the individuals in the film. The main character, a famous fashion photographer, becomes dissolusioned when he comes to this conclusion. A problem with the film is its attempt to manipulate its audience in believing this lie. Attempting to create meaning by creating a void of meaning is ridiculousness. The falsehood of such messages should be self-evident to the audience. It illustrates the saying, "Confessing to be wise, they became fools. . ." Don't waste your time with this one.

Blow-Up-480P

source: Blow-Up

Trailer—Blow-Up

Blow-Up

This, along with L'Eclisse, is one of the two best Antonioni movies. It is very different from his earlier films in that it is much less overtly intellectual and is purportedly a thriller. However, it is no more a standard thriller than is The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Instead, it is an examination of reality and illusion and an exploration of what distinguishes the one from the other. The movie has an exceptional lyrical quality to it, which of course is also not associated with thrillers. The color is gorgeous and Vanessa Redgrave is a total surprise. I have generally not found anything appealing about her, but in this movie, master-magician Antonioni transformed her into a ravishing beauty. Sarah Miles is also very sexy as the next-door neighbor. Young Jane Birkin plays a groupie who gets to roll around * in the photographer's backdrop paper. As in L'Eclisse, the final scene is stunningly poetic.

I know, I know: Antonioni is one of the most respected and skilled filmmakers of Italy. But Blow-Up was a tremendous letdown for me. I found the film boring and the set of characters uninteresting. The only fun I had in watching this film, was stepping in some sort of time capsule to sixties London. A time when the capital of England truly was the capital of the world.

I only had one reason to check out this film, actually...Michelangelo Antonioni's career (and Blowup in particular) heavily influenced the directing skills of Dario Argento, who's one of MY favorites. Argento copied multiple of Antonioni's trademarks for his own giallo-masterpiece Profondo Rosso and he even cast David Hemmings for the leading role as well! Now, it WAS interesting to see the resemblances in style but that's about it. This whole film is pretty tedious, with only a few moments of brilliancy and excitement. It's supposed to portray a mystery...but you're never involved enough to care. All that remains is a decent acting performance by David Hemmings, a few interesting appearances by Jane Birkin (singer of the French classic: Je T'aime moi non plus) and a stunning photography. Not enough to keep you awake for 110 minutes, unfortunately....