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Blow Up (1966)


Tania

Posts: 6758

Posted: 11.07.2006 at 08.33
Has anyone seen this movie??

I watched in on the plane as I'd heard it was a bit of a 60s cult classic. It's about a photographer who snaps photos of a couple in the park and notices something strange in the photos... when he blows up the images he finds evidence of a murder...

Ok so from that description there appears to be a storyline... If anyone has seen this can you PLEASE enlighten me as to what this movie is all about as I found it really strange and there seemed to be no resolution to anything...?? Very strange indeed.

Daniel

Posts: 11639

Posted: 12.07.2006 at 01.51
Odd film IMO;

The story concerns a photographer named Thomas (Hemmings) who may or may not have inadvertently preserved evidence of a murder, which may or may not involve a mysterious woman (Redgrave) who visits the photographer in his studio.

As is typical with Antonioni films, the story does not include a great deal of action, mystery, or explosive dialogue. Antonioni's visual and verbal emphasis is on the environment surrounding the principal character and how it affects him or fails to do so.

As a famous fashion photographer, Thomas mixes with the rich and famous. But he is disillusioned with his work and rich lifestyle, where even casual sex is mechanical and contrived. Then one day he secretly takes photos of two lovers in a park. The woman of the couple pursues him; eventually finding his apartment and trying to seduce him for the film. This leads Thomas to investigate the film, making blowups (enlargements) of the photos. This seems to reveal a body, but the director cleverly used the heavy film grain and black & white imagery to obscure the image. This drives Thomas to keep making blowups and try to find the truth.

He does eventually find the body, but it shows no signs of foul play. This isn't important, though. "Inevitably, the cause of the man's death is immaterial. Like many of Antonioni's films, Blowup is a parable of answered prayers: the idea that the distraction of wealth and fame cannot fill the void of loneliness, nor substitute for a soul's unrequited passion"

Mahima

Posts: 263

Posted: 14.07.2006 at 15.35
Surprisingly i have seen this movie!! I dont recall them exposing who the real killer is or what is the real crux of the whole blowing up imagery, but when i questioned my Film appreciation teacher he just smiled and said- not all the questions in this world have answers and all mysterys are not solved thats what life is about!! I was like sure, if ur a coke addict for sure!!

Allan

Posts: 9029

Posted: 16.07.2006 at 23.40
Post by Mahima

Surprisingly i have seen this movie!! I dont recall them exposing who the real killer is or what is the real crux of the whole blowing up imagery, but when i questioned my Film appreciation teacher he just smiled and said- not all the questions in this world have answers and all mysterys are not solved thats what life is about!! I was like sure, if ur a coke addict for sure!!

And then he sneezed and white powder clouded the room!

Tania

Posts: 6758

Posted: 17.07.2006 at 02.42
Post by Mahima

Surprisingly i have seen this movie!! I dont recall them exposing who the real killer is or what is the real crux of the whole blowing up imagery, but when i questioned my Film appreciation teacher he just smiled and said- not all the questions in this world have answers and all mysterys are not solved thats what life is about!! I was like sure, if ur a coke addict for sure!!

I can't even believe you've seen it... but anyway, I like your analysis the best!! Forget all the deep stuff - it seemed pretty drug-induced to me!

kissandmakeup

Posts: 14

Posted: 17.07.2006 at 09.31
It's considered a very relevant film in relation to film theory, as well as art theory.

Blow Up is about the relationship of an individual with reality, ambiguity of "evidence" that is captured and deals with issues of interpretation and perception.

Sounds a bit high culture, but it made sense in art college.


Daniel

Posts: 11639

Posted: 17.07.2006 at 16.52
Well I'm glad to see that the intention behind it was high-culture. It's a lot easier to make sense of with that in mind, when I sat down to watch it I was expecting a murder / mystery.

Tania

Posts: 6758

Posted: 17.07.2006 at 18.50
Yeah I guess expectations can change what you think of things. There were films and books that I watched / read that didn't do much for me, but once I'd studied all the subtleties at uni I really appreciated them more.

Sometimes the problem is you get so used to 'Hollywood' style films with lots of action and straight-forward storylines that anything else seems odd!


Mahima

Posts: 263

Posted: 24.07.2006 at 14.39
the movie has an underlying good plot but all the dramatic drugs and random sex scenes take away from it, but i guess it was only mirroing society at that time,still high class, no class the movie did nothing for me, barring the outfits worn by verushka.

Tania

Posts: 6758

Posted: 24.07.2006 at 22.38
Verushka looked gorgeous. Love the 60s sex kitten look!

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