Variety
There may be some meaning, some commentary about life being a game, beyond what remains locked in the mind of film's creator... it is doubtful that the general public will get the 'message' of this film.
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Blow-Up
Michelangelo Antonioni's first English-language film. A portrait of swinging '60s London under the guise of a thriller, it follows a fashion photographer (David Hemmings) who unwittingly takes a photograph of a murder. Co-stars Vanessa Redgrave. Winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes 1967, time has only raised Blow-Up's stature as a cinema classic.
The movie's counterculture themes and explicit content were in defiance of America's moral censorship guidelines (the Hays Code), and its success was a major factor in its downfall. The Hays Code was abandoned in 1968 and replaced with today's MPAA ratings.
Less1966Rating: M107 minsUK, Italy, USA
DramaMysteryClassic
- Director:
- Michelangelo Antonioni ('L'avventura', 'La notte', 'Zabriskie Point')
- Writer:
- Michelangelo AntonioniTonino Guerra
- Cast:
- Vanessa RedgraveSarah MilesDavid HemmingsJohn CastleJane BirkinPeter BowlesJeff BeckJimmy Page
Blow-Up | Awards
Palme d'Or winner at Cannes Film Festival 1967
Blow-Up | Reviews
88%50 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® Score
All reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Time Out
As often with Antonioni, a film riddled with moments of brilliance and scuppered by infuriating pretensions.
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The New York Times
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 stimulations that natural feelings are overwhelmed.
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Roger Ebert
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.
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Empire Magazine
Despite its thriller hook, Blow-Up is less a mystery than a portrait of swinging alienation.
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