What do you think of Blow Up (1966)?

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It's a hard movie for me to judge cause I read the premise online which it said was about a photographer who thinks he may have photographed a murder, and that is what the DVD cover describes as well.

So naturally I felt that that was was the premise and that a lot of the plot was going to come out of that possible murder he saw.

But then I find out that the actual possible murder he photographed, takes up really only about 20% of the movie tops, and the majority of the movie is him just being frustrated with is life, and becoming sexually frustrated by the models he photographs. So I feel that the premise I read both online, and on the DVD cover, should have said it was about that, rather than say it was about a possible murder that only takes up about 20% of the plot.

What do you think, was I mis-sold on the movie, and that is perhaps hindering my judgment of it, maybe?



I can't remember much about it other than liking it and the way it was shot. It came to mind recently because I'm convinced it influenced a sequence in Una (2016), taking place in a park with trees.



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Like Ebert said, it's not what a movie's about but how it's about it. You compare it against something like Rear Window to see how both films have virtually identical premises but one plays the situation for immediate and unambiguous thrills while the other commits to a more drawn-out and artistically ambiguous approach. For that reason, I don't know how much of what you specified can (or even should) be communicated via DVD blurbs.
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I can't remember much about it other than liking it and the way it was shot. It came to mind recently because I'm convinced it influenced a sequence in Una (2016), taking place in a park with trees.
It very likely did, although I've not seen Una. Blowup shows its influence in dozens of films, and you can be sure it is still deeply studied in film schools.

The park scenes in particular, with no dialogue, and continuous wind driven rustling of the trees, invoke such an atmospheric feel that the experience stayed with me for months after first viewing the film in 1966.

Antonioni's film is a masterpiece. He was able to create a consuming mood that few others besides Coppola's The Conversation have been able to do.

The picture came out at the perfect point in time, which reflected both the youthful "Turn on, tune in, drop out" sentiment along a nod to the Brit swinging '60s mentality.

It portrayed a slice of time in the life of a bored existential hip photographer whose routine was briefly interrupted and heightened by his accidental discovery of an unsolved murder that resulted the theft of his equipment and library, only to return him back to his unrewarding life.

It was not a murder mystery, but a very absorbing reflection on the age old questions of who are we, and why are we here.

~Doc



Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Okay thanks, but it does really get that philosophical. I mean the guy is just frustrated with his life it seems, including sexual frustration or so that is how I saw it, but I didn't think it was a why we are here type of movie, but just one guy having his own frustrations.



It very likely did, although I've not seen Una. Blowup shows its influence in dozens of films, and you can be sure it is still deeply studied in film schools.

The park scenes in particular, with no dialogue, and continuous wind driven rustling of the trees, invoke such an atmospheric feel that the experience stayed with me for months after first viewing the film in 1966.
It must have stayed with me too – it must be twenty years ago that I saw it, and only once. Una 's subject matter is far darker of course, and highly subliminal.

WARNING: spoilers below
Also in Blow-Up I think it's the aftermath we're seeing whereas in Una we're party to an event, albeit at a distance.



Insightful review @GulfportDoc. I don't remember the film all that well; like the previous poster , saw it about 20 years ago, well after its release. I do recall feeling a bit bogged down by the sense of alienation you described in the movie. And I DO remember that mesmerizing tennis match.



I try not to.

That said, I kind of agree with your view of the film, though you can't really say the blurb on the DVD is misleading, as that is what the plot is.

Of course, it could be more honest and say something like 'For the vast majority of you, this will be pretentious arty wank, made at the height of swinging London cool capturing a brief moment in time which, while mythologised, barely existed for more than about 40 people in London. Unless you want to see some nudity or a live performance by The Yardbirds, just jump forward to the hour mark.' But then, when does honesty sell?
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Movie Forums Squirrel Jumper
Oh okay. And Blow UP is a good movie for what it is, I just had a different very impression of what it was going to be. I should check out Una maybe then.