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David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, Peter Bowles, John Castle ... see more see more... , Jane Birkin , Gillian Hills , Julian Chagrin , Tsai Chin , Harry Hutchinson , Jill Kennington , Ronan O'Casey , Veruschka von Lehndorff , Jeff Beck , Jimmy Page , The Yardbirds , Susan Broderick , Peggy Moffitt , Ann Norman

Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni's first English-language production was also his only box office hit, widely considered one of the seminal films of the 1960s. Thomas (David Hemmings) is a nihi... read more read more...listic, wealthy fashion photographer in mod "Swinging London." Filled with ennui, bored with his "fab" but oddly-lifeless existence of casual sex and drug use, Thomas comes alive when he wanders through a park, stops to take pictures of a couple embracing, and upon developing the images, believes that he has photographed a murder. Pursued by Jane (Vanessa Redgrave), the woman who is in the photos, Thomas pretends to give her the pictures, but in reality, he passes off a different roll of film to her. Thomas returns to the park and discovers that there is, indeed, a dead body lying in the shrubbery: the gray-haired man who was embracing Jane. Has she murdered him, or does Thomas' photo reveal a man with a gun hiding nearby? Antonioni's thriller is a puzzling, existential, adroitly-assembled masterpiece. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

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Unrated, 1 hr. 51 min.

Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni

Release Date: December 18, 1966

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DVD Release Date: February 17, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (1,569)

  • brooklynspo
    July 31, 2007
    brooklynspo
    There is this one camera sequence that I love. Towards the end of the film the David Hemmings character goes back to the park to find the body gone. From his knees he looks up to the rustling leaves and the camera cuts to a shot of the leaves, apparently from his perspective bu... read moret then the camera slowly pans down to Hemmings now standing in completely different spot. Gives me the willies every time.
  • ythelastman89
    March 22, 2011
    ythelastman89
    A lot of people say that this is Michelangelo Antonioni's best movie and also far superior to Brian DePalma's semi re-imagining. I would have to say that I disagree severely on both accounts. While this has an interesting basic concept and some of those great longshots that Anton... read moreioni is famous for, the overall execution and plot doesn't really go anywhere and the characters are anything but interesting to watch. If you love sleazy/cocky British photographers, then you'd be in heaven. However, I found no interest in his conflict. I would say that by far my favorite part about the movie is the fact that you see the attempted murder without even knowing you do, that is pretty clever.
    Now Brian DePalma took this idea and perfected it, while also putting his spin on it. Blow Out is by far the better work here in just about every way possible. Better acting and characters, imagery and shot technique that is completely revolutionary and memorable to say the least, but most importantly it has one of the greatest plot structures of any thriller. This movie is all over the place and ultimately blocks itself in.
  • matertenebraum
    February 10, 2011
    matertenebraum
    Antonioni's Blow-Up was the biggest hit of the Italian director's career, the superficial elements of the fashion world, Swinging London and orgies on purple paper ensuring its commercial success.

    Models such as Veruschka (who appears in the film), Twiggy and fashion photographe... read morers at the time have complained about its unrealistic depiction of the industry and claimed that its central character, Thomas (played by the late David Hemmings) was clearly based on David Bailey.

    To look at Blow-Up as an analysis of the fashion business in the Sixties is to misunderstand the film's intentions. In any case, when watching this film it may be difficult to tell what its all about if you're unfamiliar with Antonioni's films but it obviously has little to do with the fashion world which is merely the setting for the story and nothing more.

    Antonioni made the clearest statement of his motivation as a filmmaker at the end of Beyond the Clouds when he talked about his belief that reality is unattainable as it is submerged by layers of images which are only versions of reality.

    This is a rather pretentious way of saying that everyone perceives reality in their own way and ultimately see only what they want to see.

    With this philosophy in mind, Blow-Up is probably Antonioni's most personal film.

    Thomas' hollow, self-obsessed world is shattered when he discovers that he may have photographed a murder when casually taking pictures in a park. He encounters a mysterious woman, Jane (Vanessa Redgrave) who demands he hand over the film and when he refuses she appears at his studio, although Thomas never told her his address.

    When the evidence disappears shortly afterwards, Blow-Up seems to deal in riddles that have no solution. Redgrave re-appears and then vanishes before the photographer's eyes, Thomas returns to the park without his camera and sees the body. The film concludes with Thomas, having discovered the body has disappeared, watching a group of mimes playing tennis without a ball or rackets in the park where the murder may have taken place.

    It is only in the final scene of the film where the riddle is solved. Thomas throws the imaginary ball back into the court and watches the game resume. The look of realisation on his face is all too apparent as the game CAN BE HEARD taking place out of shot.

    There is a ball, there are rackets and this is a real game of tennis. What we have seen up until this point is the photographer's perception of reality: the murder, the mysterious woman in the park, the photographic evidence and the body.

    The following exchange between Hemmings and Redgrave is the key to the film:

    Thomas: Don't let's spoil everything, we've only just met.

    Jane: No, we haven't met. You've never seen me.
  • ajv2688
    December 9, 2010
    ajv2688
    I was so confused by this movie. I know it has to do with a photographer who thinks he's taken a picture of a murder, but after that, I get lost. Antonioni has a good style, but he needs to work on the story more in this one.
  • bookmunki
    November 8, 2010
    bookmunki
    Bravo!!! A portrait of the disengaged, nameless, fashionable scene in 1960's London. Antonioni is one of the few directors that creates compelling narrative from the environment, structure, framing and color. The photographer is the ultimate voyeur. The montage is disconcertin... read moreg, forcing reorientation and reinterpretation, underscoring further questioning of reality. The final images linger in my imagination, becoming embedded in consciousness, defying conceptions and redefining reality.
  • jjnxn
    September 21, 2010
    jjnxn
    Existential hogwash. Vanessa's part is small. The most notable thing about it is the absence of a music score which adds a certain uniqueness to it but not enough to make it tolerable.
  • bottcorecords1
    March 6, 2010
    bottcorecords1
    Writer/Director Michelangelo Antonioni tells the story of a disaffected young photographer in "swinging sixties" London who believes he's witnessed a murder, only by the time he actually begins to care about the crime he's witnessed, it seems to evaporate from existence right bef... read moreore his eyes. The photographer is a self-absorbed character who can't seem to relate to anyone on a personal level. He treats women like objects, and he becomes fascinated with shiny objects that catch his eye, only to disregard them later. But it's not just him. When he attends a Yardbirds concert, the audience in attendance is completely unmoved by the music, neither dancing nor even nodding their heads in time. It's not until guitarist Jeff Beck smashes his guitar in a fit of anger over the malfunctioning instrument that the crowd erupts, spurned on perhaps by the violence only. The photographer gets a piece of the guitar, fighting off scores of London hipsters, and yet, once outside the frenzy of the club, he tosses it aside indifferently, the guitar only had meaning in the context of the club. It's one of many scenes that demonstrate either the photographer's lack of connection to the human experience, or a lack of a human experience to connect to. Don't be mislead by the murder aspect or the gruesome dead body, this is no thriller or mystery. It's more like an indictment. The way the group of traveling mimes bookends the movie only seems to heighten the sense of triviality to life, and gives us cause to question reality versus point-of-view. The mimes play tennis with an invisible ball, but whether the ball is there or not, they're still playing the game.
  • smith44
    March 2, 2010
    smith44
    Antonioni's greatest work. His amazing visual and verbal emphasis on the environment surrounding Thomas, Without a great deal of action, mystery, or explosive dialogue, this film is riveting and fascinating. A must see.
  • SirPant
    September 25, 2009
    SirPant
    Most overrated film of all time. I found it dull beyond belief with the only good bit being the photo scene!
  • flixsterman
    April 22, 2009
    flixsterman
    I enjoyed this considerably, but did anyone else get the impression that director Michelangelo Antonioni suffers from attention deficit disorder? His style of editing, with short sequences and quick cuts, seems better suited for an MTV music video than a feature film. Perhaps t... read morehat's part of Antonioni's genius, that (for 1966) he was way ahead of his time. (?)

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
July 31, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

This is so ravishing to look at (the colors all seem newly minted) and pleasurable to follow (the enigmas are usually more teasing than worrying) that you're likely to excuse the metaphysical pretensi... Full Review

Variety Staff
July 31, 2007
Variety Staff, Variety

There may be some meaning, some commentary about life being a game, beyond what remains locked in the mind of film's creator, Italian director-writer Michelangelo Antonioni. But it is doubtful that th... Full Review

Andrew Sarris
June 7, 2006
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

The natural world is arrayed against the artificial scene; conscience is deployed against convention. If you've never seen Blow-Up, see it now, if only to see what part of the world was like 40 years ... Full Review

Roger Ebert
January 20, 2006
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Whether there was a murder isn't the point. The film is about a character mired in ennui and distaste, who is roused by his photographs into something approaching passion. Full Review

Bosley Crowther
May 20, 2003
Bosley Crowther, New York Times

This is a fascinating picture, which has something real to say about the matter of personal involvement and emotional commitment in a jazzed-up, media-hooked-in world so cluttered with synthetic stimu... Full Review

Emanuel Levy
March 29, 2011
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

Antonioni's first English-speaking film is a seminal work of the 1960s, reflecting swinging London as well as dealing with voyeurism, artists' social responsbilities and other relevant issues. Full Review

Pablo Villaca
April 10, 2009
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena

O rigor estético aqui exibido por Antonioni, somado à excepcional montagem de Frank Clarke, à bela fotografia de Carlo Di Palma e à atuação inspirada de Hemming, garante ao filme um vigor e um charme ...

Steve Crum
July 13, 2007
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com

Still thought provoking, fascinating film making.

Michael E. Grost
August 31, 2006
Michael E. Grost, Classic Film and Television

Inventive, richly styled film, a visual classic. Full Review

August 29, 2006
TV Guide's Movie Guide

Pop-culture icon that has become a cult classic. Full Review

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