Blow-Up (1966)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Genres - Drama, Romance, Mystery, Crime, Thriller, Sports & Recreation |
Sub-Genres - Psychological Thriller |
Release Date - Dec 18, 1966 (USA - Limited), Dec 18, 1966 (USA) |
Run Time - 111 min. |
Countries - United Kingdom, Italy, United States |
MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Karl Williams
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 nihilistic, 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.
Characteristics
Moods
Keywords
murder, witness, amateur-detective, photography, fashion-industry, swinging-single
Attributes
High Artistic Quality, High Historical Importance, High Production Values