8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Former police technician Jack Terry makes his living doing sound for slasher flicks. While recording new outdoor effects one night, Jack witnesses a couple's car careen off a bridge into a river, but he can save only the female occupant, Sally. Jack begins to suspect something when he learns that her dead companion was a presidential hopeful. Re-playing his tape over and over, Jack thinks that he hears a gun shot before the crash-causing tire blowout. When sleazy photographer Manny Karp comes forward with photos of the accident, Jack discovers the real reason that the naïve Sally was in the car—and also a way to prove his auditory suspicions through motion pictures. Even with all his surveillance talent, however, Jack cannot see (or hear) how dangerous the big picture really is until it's too late.
Starring: John Travolta, Nancy Allen, John Lithgow, Dennis Franz, Peter BoydenDrama | 100% |
Film-Noir | 27% |
Mystery | 22% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
4K Ultra HD
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Brian De Palma's "Blow Out" (1981) arrives on 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the release include original theatrical trailer; the experimental film "Murder a la Mod" (1967); collection of images taken by still photographer Louis Goldman; and video interviews with Brian De Palma, cameraman Garret Brown, and actress Nancy. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.
Criterion's release of Blow Out is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack.
Please note that all screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and are downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.
In the United States, Blow Out made its high-definition debut more than a decade ago with this Blu-ray release, which was sourced from an exclusive 2K master. This upcoming 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo release is sourced from an exclusive new 4K master.
Earlier tonight, I viewed the 4K presentation of Blow Out and then performed some extensive comparisons with the previous Blu-ray release. On my system, in native 4K Blow Out looked incredibly healthy and astonishingly gorgeous -- and not in select areas, but everywhere, meaning daylight and darker/nighttime footage as well outdoor and indoor footage -- so it was very easy for me to conclude that this is the best organic presentation of the film to be made available on disc. However, I wish to make it very clear that the previous Blu-ray release still offers a very strong and very convincing presentation of the film as well.
What are some of the specific improvements on the 4K presentation? On my system, the dynamic range of the visuals immediately looked superior. Now, this means that there is a combination of upgrades, but what you will see on your screen is essentially lusher, better defined, and ultimately more attractive visuals. Also, I had Dolby Vision enabled but did not feel that the dynamic range of the visuals was unnaturally elevated, which is a very important detail that I would like to underscore. The Dolby Vision grade is quite delicate, yet it effectively enhances the organic qualities of the visuals. I thought that the consistency of this grade was most impressive, so I took a few contrasting screencaptures to demonstrate it -- see screencaptures #4, 5, 16, and 29. All visuals, regardless of the changing locations and evolving lighting, looked very tight and sharp (not digitally sharpened). So, in native 4K, the minor fluctuations that are introduced by the original cinematography actually do not leave the impression that there are 'softer' spots. Depth was tremendous, with the outdoor daylight footage looking simply incredible. I did not notice any transfer-specific anomalies to report in our review. All in all, I think that this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo release offers a spectacular presentation of Blow Out, so hopefully, we will soon see a similar immaculate makeover of Body Double. (Note: The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked").
There is only one standard audio track on this 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.
I don't know if this lossless audio track is identical to the one that was used for the previous Blu-ray release. If there are any technical discrepancies between them, I missed them. While comparing different sections from the 4K Blu-ray and the Blu-ray release, on my system their dynamic range appeared identical. This being said, I do wonder whether one of these new Dolby Atmos tracks that keep getting done for 4K Bu-ray releases of older films would have managed to handle a couple of areas differently because they reveal minor dynamic fluctuations.
4K BLU-RAY DISC
Should you consider upgrading if you already have Criterion's excellent Blu-ray release of Brian De Palma's Blow Out from 2011? Yes, because in native 4K this film looks absolutely incredible. To be honest, I was a little skeptical that the difference in quality would be substantial because the previous 2K restoration of the film that was prepared under De Palma's supervision was really, really good, but the superiority of the new 4K makeover is undeniable. So, you just have to decide whether you want to have the definitive presentation of Blow Out in your collection. On a related note, I sincerely hope that Criterion, or another party, will manage to prepare a similar definitive 4K Blu-ray release of De Palma's Body Double. It would be a visual stunner, and if it includes a newly remastered video of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax, it will instantly become the ultimate definitive release of Body Double that years ago older collectors loved to fantasize about. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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