Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Blow-Up Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 27, 2017

Winner of the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Michelangelo Antonioni's "Blow-Up" (1966) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include original trailers for the film; new filmed conversation with actress Vanessa Redgrave; excerpt from an archival interview with actress Jane Birkin; new documentary film directed by Valentina Agostinis; archival interviews with David Hemmings; and a lot more. The release also arrives with an illustrated book featuring an essay by film scholar David Forgacs and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The photographer

There are a couple of different ways to deconstruct Italian master Michaleangelo Antonioni’s first English-language film and below I will present two that should make the most sense to first-time viewers. Like the majority of Antonioni’s films, however, Blow-Up allows for multiple interpretations, so after repeated viewings you will almost certainly discover a lot more that is worth analyzing and discussing.

The film is set in London during the ‘Swinging Sixties’ at a very precise time when a lot is happening too quickly. There are artists, designers, and musicians that are changing the city’s socio-cultural scene at such a frenetic pace that it is virtually impossible to keep track of everything that excites the people. There are too many big parties and too many important concerts to attend, too many new boutique stores and art exhibitions to see.

But one man believes that he is a few steps ahead of everyone else and is trying to do precisely that. His name is Thomas (David Hemmings) and he is a fashion photographer with incredible instincts that allow him to ‘see’ with his camera what everyone else ignores. He is always on the move and rarely has time to engage in conversations, which is why from afar he routinely looks like an eccentric loner on a mission to offend anyone that dares to speak to him.

In a key segment of the film Thomas is approached by a young woman (Vanessa Redgrave) after he photographs her with a stranger in a secluded area of a beautiful park. The woman begs him to give her the negative and after he refuses she follows him back to his chic apartment, where she attempts to seduce him and steal the negative but gets caught on the way out. The short but intellectually stimulating seduction game inspires Thomas to find out why the woman is obsessed with his photographs, and later on, while examining a stack of large blow-ups, he discovers that he might have accidentally captured the murder of the man that was accompanying the woman in the park.

Here’s what Antonioni does with the narrative and how this provides his film with multiple identities: The murder is the crucial element that gives the narrative its structure, but it is essentially a brilliant distraction. Indeed, even though for a long time it appears that the focus of attention is on Thomas and his maddening struggle to solve the murder mystery, eventually the film veers off in a different direction and it becomes quite clear that he will not emerge as a surprisingly clever detective. So the film can certainly function as a crime thriller, but if viewed as such it is rather underwhelming.

Now here’s what makes this film special: If you flip the narrative and pay close attention to how the entire film is shot, you will realize that for its duration Thomas essentially becomes Antonioni’s alter ego. While Thomas is studying the blow-ups and looking for clues, Antonioni begins exploring a very busy London from the ‘Swinging Sixties’ era and captures it in the same way Thomas does when he discovers the seemingly invisible beauty and elegance of his models -- by 'seeing' from a completely different angle that is accessible only trough his camera. As such, the film very quickly evolves into a fascinating period trip that only an outsider and visionary like Antonioni could have mapped out.

The soundtrack features a number of excellent original tracks by American jazz legend Herbie Hancock and English rockers The Yardbrids.

Blow-Up Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-Up arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the book provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 4K resolution on a Director film scanner from the 35mm original camera negative and a 35mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS. while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for small dirt, grain, noise management,jitter, and flicker. The monaural soundtrack was remastered from the original magnetic 2-inch 24-track DME/MFX track. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

Transfer supervisor and colorist: Lee Kline/Criterion Collection."

The Blu-ray release is sourced from a very strong new 4K master. I did some direct comparisons with my R1 DVD release and the improvements in terms of detail, clarity, depth and fluidity are quite remarkable. In fact, I believe that even on mid-size monitors the difference in quality can be striking because there are shadow nuances, fine details and highlights that are not present on the DVD release. The film's precise color scheme is also a lot more effective now because saturation levels are improved and there are entire ranges of new and expanded nuances. Some minor density fluctuations remain, but they are not introduced by questionable digital adjustments. I specifically want to mention that some are part of the original cinematography, while a few are inherited from the elements that were accessed during the restoration process. (In screencapture #14 you can even see some light chemical stains that appear to have been minimized but are not fully removed. These also contribute to some of the density fluctuations that you may notice). There are no conventional stability issues. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order order to access its content).

Blow-Up Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

It is easy to tell that the audio has been remastered because stability and balance are outstanding. Also, I specifically tested the park sequence where Thomas listens to the wind/trees on the Blu-ray and the DVD as the sound design there is very delicate and rather predictably the gap in quality is very obvious. Herbie Hancock's jazz themes also easily open add an extra dose of ambient flavor to the desired atmosphere. The dialog is clean, stable, and easy to follow.

Blow-Up Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Blow-Up. In English, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Teaser - original teaser for Blow-Up. In English, not subtitled. (1 min, 1080p).

• Vanessa Redgrave - this conversation between actress Vanessa Redgrave and photography historian Philippe Garner was filmed in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Blow-Up. Vanessa Redgrave recalls how she was cast to play Jane in Blow-Up, and discusses Michelangelo Antonioni's working methods (with some great comments about his precise treatment of color and light), the importance of body language in the director's work, her collaborations with other Italian masters such as Elio Petri (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and the 'rebel' Tinto Brass (Black Angel), new trends in contemporary cinema, etc. The interview was posted by SHOWstudio on June 29, 2016, as part of the series In Conversation. In English, not subtitled. (45 min, 1080p).

• David Hemmings - presented here are two excerpts from archival interviews with actor David Hemmings.
  
  1. 1968 - David Hemmings discusses the special qualities of 'swinging' London, why some people have compared him to James Dean, and the character he plays in Blow-Up. The interview was conducted during the shooting of Basil Dearden's film Only When I Larf. In English, not subtitled. (6 min, 1080p).
  
  2. 1977 - here the actor recalls some interesting experiences he had with Michelangelo Antonioni after Blow-Up was completed, and discusses the unique structure of the film (and why he initially disliked one of its key sequences), the impact the film had on his career, his first visit to Hollywood, the 1960s and his acting choices, etc. The footage is taken from a filmed conversation with Brian Linehan for the TV program City Lights. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080i).

• Jane Birkin - presented here is an excerpt from an archival interview with Jane Birkin in which the actress recalls how she was cast to play the blonde in Blow-Up, and discusses her interactions with Michelangelo Antonioni and the important role fashion and style have in the film. The interview was conducted in 1989. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080i).

• Antonioni's Hypnotic Vision - presented here are two new featurettes that were produced by Criterion in 2016.
  
  1. Modernism - art historian David Alan Mellor discusses the groundbreaking nature of Blow-Up and the modernistic qualities of its visual style, as well as the socio-cultural scene in London during the 1960s. In English, not subtitled. (17 min, 1080p).
  
  2. Photography - historian Philippe Garner and Walter Moser, head of the photographic collection at the Albertina museum in Vienna, discuss the use of still images and fashion photography in Blow-Up, the behavior of David Hemmings' character and the superficiality of his profession, the environment in which the photographer exists, some of the real photographers Michelangelo Antonioni met while preparing to shoot his film, etc. In English and German, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (30 min, 1080p).

• Blow Up of "Blow Up" (2016) - documentary film directed by Valentina Agostinis that examines the aesthetic and visual style of Blow-Up, Michelangelo Antonioni's working methods, the climate of 'swinging' London and the impact it had on the director, and some of the key locations seen in the film. Included in it are new interviews with photographer David Montgomery, writer Barry Miles (founder of Indica and International Times), Simon Napier-Bell (ex-manager of The Yardbirds), art historian David Alan Mellor, director and scriptwriter Clare Peploe, photography expert Philippe Garner, and writer and literary critic Andrew Sinclair, amongst others. In English, not subtitled. (54 min, 1080p).

• Michelangelo Antonioni - presented here is an excerpt from the documentary Michelangelo Antonioni: The Eye That Changed Cinema, (2001) which contains archival footage from interviews with the Italian director and producer Carlo Ponti that were conducted after Blow-Up won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967. The entire documentary appears on Criterion's Blu-ray release of L'Eclisse. In French and Italian, with optional English subtitles. (6 min, 1080p).

• Book - an illustrated book featuring an essay by film scholar David Forgacs and more.

Blow-Up Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blow-Up offers a fascinating trip to London from the 'Swinging Sixties' era envisioned by one of Italian cinema's greatest masters, Michelangelo Antonioni. The film is brilliantly structured and shot with a precision that is truly extraordinary, which is why art and film historians continue to study and reevaluate it. Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release is sourced from an excellent new 4K master and offers a terrific selection of exclusive new and archival supplemental features that examine the film's production history and success. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.