The ’80s weren’t just an era of great music, but also of unforgettable films. John Travolta starred in a Brian De Palma mystery thriller that initially flopped but went on to develop a cult following years later.
Blow Out was ranked on GQ’s list of the “Best American Movies of the 1980s,” with a list of entries that are considered part of the “golden age of studio blockbusters.” GQ’s list has an entry for every year of the decade, based on genre. The 1981 film Blow Out was tagged as the best neo-noir of that year, with James Caan‘s Thief coming in at a close second.
De Palma based the film on Italian film director and writer Michelangelo Antonioni‘s 1966 film Blowup, which in turn was inspired by Argentine-French writer Julio Cortázar‘s 1958 short story “Las babas del diablo.”
Travolta starred as Jack Terry, a sound technician from Philadelphia working on a low-budget slasher film called Co-ed Frenzy. He’s instructed by the film’s producer to obtain more realistic screams and wind sounds, and he ventures to a local park. Things take a turn when Jack believes he’s recorded audio evidence of an assassination.
He starred in the film alongside Nancy Allen as Sally Bedina, with John Lithgow and Dennis Franz in supporting roles. De Palma actually considered Al Pacino for the main role of Jack before it ultimately went to Travolta.
According to reports, Travolta intended to make a different thriller with De Palma about a man trying to steal Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose. When he pitched the idea to the director, he was already working on Blow Out. Travolta read the script and was on board.
“I read Blow Out and it took over my thriller. I abandoned that project, at least for the time being, because I was so pleased with the result of Blow Out,” said Travolta.
The film wasn’t a major success upon its release. It only made $13.8 million against its $18 million budget. While it received little audience interest, it did get positive reviews from critics. Critic Robert Ebert commented that the film “is inhabited by a real cinematic intelligence. The audience isn’t condescended to … we share the excitement of figuring out how things develop and unfold, when so often the movies only need us as passive witnesses.”
The thriller received an 88% score from Rotten Tomatoes and would develop a bigger cult following years after its release.
Related: 1998 Tom Hanks Movie, With a 94% Rotten Tomatoes Score, Ranked as One of the Best Movies of All Time
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