MovieChat Forums > Blow Out (1981) Discussion > What Happened?

What Happened?

posted 15 years ago by pika317-1
6 replies | jump to latest

First of all, not a bad movie
second of all, i did seem like a combination of 'the conversation' and the 'blow-up', the ladder i have never seen
it reminded me of 'enemy of the state' too, and yes i know, that wasnt made until almost 20 years later

BUT
what the *beep* happened to the conspiracy??
the movie was about the murder!!
not about how jack felt about sally
they turned it into a *beep* love story, without EVER explaining what jack did with the film? wtf

the point of the movie was to catch the bad guy, and yes, travolta did kill the assasin guy, but they never exposed the deal!
instead, they show travolta torture himself by using the scream of Sally in the movie
ultimately ending in him losing his mind im sure, or something stupid like that

there were some really great scenes and shots,
but the ending could have been WAY better

[–] bosnian_flatdog 15 years ago

I really like De Palma's bizarre mix themes. He really proves himself here as the master of the macabre. I find it way more intresting the way it is than the way it would have been if every piece fell to it's place - the conspiracy being exposed, Sally and Jack ending up together, all strings tied.

It kicks off as a conspiracy theory, but Jack falls in love with Sally, she is murdered and the tapes are lost. In the end the conspiracy theory only exists in his head, as do the screams of his love, keeping him awake at nights. To me that was the point of the film, and makes it one of the most intresting conspiracy movies ever as far as the ending is concerned.

[–] robbievogue 15 years ago

Why does this music get to me so much? It even is reminiscent of "The Young and the Restless" piano..It's just the unnerving string arrangement.. Donaggio delivers here and he delivers good.
Much more interesting this cold, distant, eerie music than the semi-romantic crap a lot of films have under them nowadays!!

tempering extremities with extreme sweet

[–] petermbracke 15 years ago

I thought they explained what happened to the film. Burke threw it over the side of the bridge into the river, before he attempts to kill Sally. ("What are ya doin'? Wrappin' it up?")

It's a very bleak ending. Though Burke is killed, he is thought to be the Liberty Bell Strangler, so the murderer is never brought to justice. The conspiracy is also never exposed. The governor becomes an unworthy martyr. Jack is destined to be considered a crackpot if he ever attempts talk of it all again. And -- icing on the cake -- Sally is dead, eulogized only as a scream in a cheap slasher movie.

De Palma certainly had a dim, dark view of culture and politics in the late '70s...

[–] luke19 15 years ago

I thought Jack had an extra copy of the tapes? Did I miss something? I remember him saying something like that to Sally before she met up with Burke.

[–] fuzzout987 15 years ago

I thought the conspiracy in the movie was an accidental one, Burke, according to his superior was only supposed to get photos of the governor and Sally together to disgrace the governor and get him out of the race but Burke being the right wing psycho that he is went overboard and killed the governor. Burke's superior says, I don't know you Burke I don't want to know you. Disavowing all knowledge of him. After Burke is killed his superiors pull strings to get him labelled a John Doe to protect themselves. I agree with whoever it was that said it is dark movie and no wonder it didn't do well when it was first released, the message was that Americans were forgetting the lessons of the recent past and letting themselves be manipulated by optimistic patriotic fervor. Something people probably didn't want to here after Reagan had just been elected.

[–] morganseer 7 years ago

Jack had a copy of the sound tape, not the video tape. The sound tape wasn't a proof, just some sounds that could have been made up by him to cover up his own complicity, as far as the police would have been concerned. I don't think he would have gotten far with his strange story, and might have ended up implicated in one or both murders.

BBL