Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Blow Out 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 19, 2022

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.

Jack Terry (John Travolta, Saturday Night Fever) is a sound-effects specialist in a small company specializing in cheap horror films. He is handsome, self-confident, and single. He is also a perfectionist.

While recording outdoor noises not too far off of a small country road, Jack witnesses a "freak accident" -- a car veers off the road and overturns into a deep creek. He immediately jumps into the cold water and rescues one passenger, a beautiful blonde named Sally (Nancy Allen, Dressed to Kill). The driver drowns.

In the nearby hospital, Jack is told that the driver was Governor McRyan, an incredibly popular politician whom many believe would have been the next president of the United States. Moments later, another politician, supposedly a good friend of Governor McRyan, warns Jack that it would be best if he never ever mentioned Sally before the media or his friends.

Annoyed but intrigued by the warning, Jack attempts to talk to Sally, but she politely rejects him. He offers to buy her a drink when she gets better.

Later on, while listening to his recordings Jack recognizes a "gunshot" seconds before a tire blow-out. He begins reconstructing the "freak accident" and eventually concludes that what he witnessed is a brilliantly staged political assassination.

Soon after, Jack meets Sally and warns her that unless she helps him expose the people behind Governor McRyan’s assassination she is guaranteed to end up like him - in a body bag. The warning produces the desired result and Sally unenthusiastically confesses to Jack that she was part of a blackmail stunt against Governor McRyan put together by a shady photographer with a serious drinking problem named Manny (Dennis Franz, City of Angels).

But Jack isn’t fully convinced that Manny’s stunt was all about money -- which is why he decides to put together the scattered pieces of what he is convinced is a much more elaborate plan to eliminate Governor McRyan designed by a brilliant mind. Shortly after, a man with many skills (John Lithgow, Terms of Endearment) goes after him and Sally.

Brian De Palma’s Blow Out is a fascinating film that works on multiple levels for multiple reasons. It effectively builds its plot around different themes which continue to evolve right until the dramatic finale. Like Jack, the viewer gradually begins to realize the significance of the information the main protagonists convey.

There are many important clues and twice as many false leads. Naturally, separating the two isn’t easy. De Palma is so good at misdirecting that even the obvious becomes incredibly difficult to see unless he points it out. And he doesn’t, not until the very end.

Blow Out also works exceptionally well as a process study. Jack’s analysis of the recordings and the detailed reconstruction of the "freak accident" might look somewhat dated -- because of the specific equipment he uses - but his thought process most certainly isn’t. On the contrary, his rationalizations are absolutely brilliant.

The cast is outstanding. Travolta is terrific as the sound-effects specialist who becomes suspicious of everyone and everything around him. Allen is just as impressive as the naive and unstable blonde who suddenly finds herself surrounded by people she cannot trust. Franz’s time in front of the camera is limited, but it is more than enough to for the viewer to develop a genuine dislike for his dishonest character.

Legendary cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond’s (The Deer Hunter) lensing is excellent, while Pino Donaggio’s (Don't Look Now) wonderful music score greatly enhances the sense of paranoia that permeates the film.

Blow Out 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

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").

Blow Out 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

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.

Blow Out 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Bonus Features - there are no bonus features on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Blow Out. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Murder a la Mod (1967) - director Brian De Palma's experimental feature about a man who tries to track down the killer of his girlfriend. In English, not subtitled. (81 min, 1080p).

• Louis Goldman Photographs - a collection of images taken on the set of Blow Out by the late still photographer Louis Goldman.

• Garret Brown Interview - cameraman Garret Brown, the inventor of the Steadicam system, recalls the shooting of Co-ed Frenzy, portions of which appear in the beginning of Blow Out. The gentleman also demonstrates how the Steadicam is used. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 1080p).

• Nancy Allen Interview - actress Nancy Allen recalls her first encounter with John Travolta, the character she plays in Blow Out, the rehearsal process, how various scenes were shot, etc. The interview was conducted in Los Angeles in January 2011. In English, not subtitled. (26 min, 1080p).

• Noah Baumbach Interviews Brian De Palma - in this long and very informative interview director Brian De Palma discusses the production history of Blow Out, its characters, how and why certain sequences were shot (for example, the film's unique prologue), other films he made before and after Blow Out, etc. The interview was conducted in New York City in October 2010. In English, not subtitled. (58 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring an essay by critic Michael Sragow and Pauline Kael's original New Yorker interview.

Blow Out 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

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.