Rotten Tomatoes
Suggestions will appear as you start typing. Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Blow Out

Play trailer Poster for Blow Out R 1981 1h 48m Mystery & Thriller Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
89% Tomatometer 56 Reviews 81% Popcornmeter 10,000+ Ratings
While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry (John Travolta) stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally (Nancy Allen) from the car, but the other passenger is already dead -- a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

Blow Out

Blow Out

What to Know

Critics Consensus

With a story inspired by Antonioni's Blow Up and a style informed by the high-gloss suspense of Hitchcock, DePalma's Blow Out is raw, politically informed, and littered with film references.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More
Eric Henderson Slant Magazine Sep 9, 2022
It’s the death of the ‘60s and ‘70s that haunts Blow Out and has arguably inflated its reputation among those incapable of recognizing anything good in, say, The Fury. Go to Full Review
Kevin Maher The Times (UK) May 21, 2021
5/5
A horror movie, a paranoid political drama and a serial killer flick all at once. Go to Full Review
Bruce McCabe Boston Globe Apr 27, 2018
It's a Xerox of a movie that's nowhere near as indelible as the originals it purports to emulate. Go to Full Review
Alan Jones Radio Times Jul 2, 2025
4/5
Nothing is what it seems in a paranoid mystery that's overflowing with De Palma's trademark high style and cinematic technique right up until the knockout, downbeat ending. Go to Full Review
Noah Berlatsky Splice Today Feb 27, 2025
In Blow Out, the beauty of the movie, as perhaps the beauty of life, is in its failures. Go to Full Review
Brian Susbielles InSession Film Feb 14, 2023
Blow Out is among the top movies about moviemaking because it uses sound so cleverly and as the driving force to investigating what happened and the danger the lurks for his snooping. Go to Full Review
Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Teddy S @Teddy_S 1 day ago A truly awful piece of cinema. It looks nice enough but the characters are insufferable halfwits, key sequences make no sense, the music is grating beyond belief and the ending is offensive and idiotic. So bad it makes you question why you bother watching films at all. See more Mate P @matepolcz 5 days ago Blow Out is my kind of film. I think Brian De Palma has a thing for women. I think I have a thing for Brian De Palma. I've seen 3 films from him so far and rated all three 9/10. The characters are likeable, their dialogue fits perfectly. The story of the past mirrors the present beautifully. The last scene is perfect, it made the movie work on another level for me. The themes are not in the front and center, but I think this film is very much about truth. What good does truth do us when it doesn't change (almost) anything? The directing is phenomenal, the cinematography always perfectly communicates what the De Palma wants the audience to feel. The spinning shot, the one where we see what Jack's doing from outside, like we're spying on him. The editing plays heavily into this especially with Liberty Day sequence. The performances rock, especially the two leads. Blow Out is underrated in my opinion. See more J H @UpstateNYThriller Oct 13, 2026 8.2/10 80s, Mystery, Scandal John Travolta plays a sound guy who witnesses a staged murder. John Lithgow is a fixer / assassin who kills a presidential candidate and the car drives off the road. John Travolta saves the female accomplice and attempts to go on the news See more MariofanAlex445 T @RT47678067 Oct 10, 2026 Was an awesome movie, I’m not sure why at the end he did what he did but whatever. 3.5/5 stars. See more Robert P @Superbad Oct 4, 2026 Blow Out is a *4* star Movie! See more Danny K @king3107 Jun 15, 2026 Such a shame. Brian de Palma built tension really well and we get a classic De Palma train station jeopardy scene near the end. But in the end, too many plot holes, and a really disappointing ending. The making of the 'film' of the car crash was quite clever, but obviously flawed. Then using the actual photo's was also clever (but are we to really believe that the photographer took a stream of photo's?). The building of the tension, especially with Lithgow's character was quite nice if a little hurried. But the last 20 minutes was really rushed, and are we really to believe that Travolta can drive through the middle of a city, not be arrested, with a wire, and be left alone asleep in the back of an ambulance? And he killed someone, where did the body go? And no arrest for that? And the whole film was just for a recording of a scream. Massive wasted opportunity for a potentially brilliant film ending. See more Read all reviews
Blow Out

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING
Dressed to Kill 84% 74% Dressed to Kill Watchlist What's the Matter With Helen? 55% 42% What's the Matter With Helen? Watchlist Body Double 79% 65% Body Double Watchlist The Formula 22% 23% The Formula Watchlist Eye of the Needle 85% 74% Eye of the Needle Watchlist Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis While recording sound effects for a slasher flick, Jack Terry (John Travolta) stumbles upon a real-life horror: a car careening off a bridge and into a river. Jack jumps into the water and fishes out Sally (Nancy Allen) from the car, but the other passenger is already dead -- a governor intending to run for president. As Jack does some investigating of his tapes, and starts a perilous romance with Sally, he enters a tangled web of conspiracy that might leave him dead.
Director
Brian De Palma
Producer
George Litto
Screenwriter
Brian De Palma
Production Co
Filmways Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 24, 1981, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Jun 1, 2017
Runtime
1h 48m
Sound Mix
Surround
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings