Blow Out
1981
While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally from the car, but the other passenger is already dead — a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.
Genres:
My notes
Finally got around to watching this underrated spy conspiracy thriller, and as a guy who’s got a wall of headphones, I feel seen.
This was De Palma and Travolta both with something to prove, and it shows in both the direction and the acting. Tightly plotted, well-paced. Does a fantastic job of unfolding the plot, keeping the audience firmly in Jack’s shoes. John Lithgow’s take on a hired gun who is secretly just a serial killer was A+.
The one thing I can’t figure out is—why the 4K was only remastered in stereo. I can understand the diegetic use of stereo, but it would have been nice for the rest of the film to be in surround.