Blow Out
1981
****
Director: Brian De Palma
Cast: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter Boyden, Curt May, John McMartin, Deborah Everton, J. Patrick McNamara, Barbara Sigel
A movie sound technician accidentally records evidence suggesting that a car crash he witnessed was in fact an assassination. As he tries to protect a woman he rescued from the incident, he becomes entangled in a dangerous political conspiracy. Brian De Palma's powerful thriller draws clear influence from Blow-Up and The Conversation, and stands among his finest works. The film examines paranoia, media manipulation, and truth, but it is most notable for its dynamic camerawork and striking use of the split diopter filter.
