Blowup

1966 film by Michelangelo Antonioni

This article is about the 1966 film. For the mathematical operation, see Blowing up. For other uses, see Blow up.

Blowup

Theatrical release poster

Directed by| Michelangelo Antonioni
Screenplay by|

* Michelangelo Antonioni
* Tonino Guerra

Dialogue by| Edward Bond
Story by| Michelangelo Antonioni
Based on| "Las babas del diablo"
(1959 short story)
by Julio Cortázar
Produced by| Carlo Ponti
Starring|

* Vanessa Redgrave
* David Hemmings
* Sarah Miles

Cinematography| Carlo Di Palma
Edited by| Frank Clarke
Music by| Herbie Hancock
The Yardbirds

Production
companies

* Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
* Carlo Ponti Productions
* Bridge Films

Distributed by| Premier Productions (United States)
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (worldwide)

Release dates

* 18 December 1966 (1966-12-18) (United States)
* 16 March 1967 (1967-03-16) (United Kingdom)
* 27 September 1967 (1967-09-27) (Italy)

Running time

| 111 minutes
Countries|

* United Kingdom[1]
* Italy[1]

Language| English
Budget| $1.8 million[2]
Box office| $20 million[2]

Blowup (also styled Blow-Up) is a 1966 psychological mystery[3] film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni, co-written by Antonioni, Tonino Guerra and Edward Bond[4] and produced by Carlo Ponti. It is Antonioni's first entirely English-language film and stars David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave and Sarah Miles. Model Veruschka von Lehndorff is featured as herself, and Jane Birkin makes her first film appearance. The film's non-diegetic music was scored by American jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and the English rock group The Yardbirds are seen performing "Stroll On". The cinematographer was Carlo di Palma.

The plot was inspired by Argentine-French writer Julio Cortázar's 1959 short story "Las babas del diablo", which was later retitled "Blow-Up" to tie in with the film.[5] Set within the contemporary mod subculture of Swinging London, the film follows a fashion photographer (Hemmings) who believes he has unwittingly captured a murder on film.[6]

In the main competition of the 1967 Cannes Film Festival, Blowup won the Palme d'Or, the festival's highest honour. The American release of the counterculture-era film[7] with its explicit sexual content defied Hollywood's Production Code, and its subsequent critical and commercial success influenced the abandonment of the code in 1968 in favour of the MPAA film rating system.[8] At the 39th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. The film was also nominated for three BAFTA Awards, including Outstanding British Film.

Blowup has influenced subsequent films including Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974) and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981).[9] In 2012, it was ranked No. 144 in the Sight and Sound critics' poll of the greatest films of all time and No. 59 in the directors' poll.[10]

## Plot

[edit]

After spending the night at a doss house, where he has taken pictures for a book of art photographs, photographer Thomas is late for a photo shoot with model Veruschka at his studio, which in turn makes him late for a shoot with other models later in the morning. He grows bored and frustrated with the models and walks off, leaving them and the production staff in the lurch. As he leaves the studio, two teenage aspiring models ask to speak to him, but he brushes them off and drives off to visit an antique shop near Maryon Park.

Wandering into the park, Thomas furtively takes photographs of two lovers, an older man in his 60s and a lady in her 30s. He follows them in a secluded area in the park. Then, he leaves, but the woman, Jane, is furious at being photographed and pursues Thomas, demanding his film and attempting to take his camera. He refuses, and continues to photograph her as she runs away. Thomas then meets his agent Ron for lunch and notices a man following him and looking into his car. Thomas returns to his studio to find Jane, who asks desperately for the film. They have a conversation and flirt, but he deliberately hands her a different roll of film. She, in turn, gives him a false telephone number.

Thomas makes several blow-ups of the film of Jane and her lover, which reveal Jane appearing to look worriedly at a person lurking in the trees with a pistol. Thomas excitedly calls Ron, claiming that his impromptu photo session may have saved a man's life. He is then disturbed by a knock on the door from the teenage girls. They have a sexual encounter in the studio before he falls asleep. After awakening, he learns that the girls hope he will photograph them, but is distracted by a detail in one of his blow-ups. He tells them to leave, saying, "Tomorrow! Tomorrow!"

Thomas examines a blurred figure on the ground under a bush in the blow-up, which he suspects is the dead body of a man shot by the gunman. As evening falls, he goes back to the park without his camera and finds the body, but is scared off by the sound of a twig breaking. He returns to his studio to find it ransacked, with all of the negatives and prints gone except for one very grainy blow-up of what is possibly the body.

After driving into town, he sees Jane and follows her into the Ricky-Tick club, where the Yardbirds are performing the song "Stroll On". A buzzing noise in guitarist Jeff Beck's amplifier angers him so much that he smashes his guitar and throws its neck into the crowd. The crowd, previously disengaged, fights over the guitar neck. Thomas grabs the neck and runs out of the club, with much of the crowd chasing after him; once he is away from the crowd, he tosses the neck away and walks on. A passer-by picks up the neck and examines it, but also discards it.

At a drug-drenched party in a house on the Thames, Thomas asks a cannabis-addled Ron to come to the park as a witness, but cannot convince him of what has happened. Instead, Thomas joins the party at Ron's insistence and wakes up in the house at sunrise. He then returns to the park alone, only to find that the body is gone.

Thomas watches a mime troupe perform a mock-tennis match at the park, and picks up the imaginary ball and throws it back to the two players when asked. As he watches the mimes continue to play, the sound of the ball being played is heard. His image then fades away, leaving only the grass.

## Cast

[edit]

* David Hemmings as Thomas
* Vanessa Redgrave as Jane
* Sarah Miles as Patricia
* John Castle as Bill
* Jane Birkin as blonde girl
* Gillian Hills as brunette girl
* Peter Bowles as Ron, Thomas's agent
* Veruschka von Lehndorff as herself
* Julian and Claude Chagrin as mimes

Uncredited members of the cast include Tsai Chin as Thomas's receptionist, Susan Brodrick as the antiquarian, Ronan O'Casey as Jane’s lover/victim in park. Jill Kennington, Peggy Moffitt and Donyale Luna appear as Thomas’ models. The Yardbirds (Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Chris Dreja, Jim McCarty, and Keith Relf) appear as themselves.

Piers Gough and Janet Street-Porter appear as uncredited extras in the nightclub sequence. Julio Cortázar, the author of the source short story, makes a cameo appearance as a homeless man. Real-life photographer Reg Wilkins, who was one of the inspirations for Thomas’ character, appears as his assistant.[11]

## Themes

[edit]

Antonioni's screenplay for Blowup is a "thriller-suspense" story revolving around the efforts of a young and successful fashion photographer in his struggle to determine whether a series of photographs he takes at a public park contain evidence of a murder. As Thomas persists, his quest leads him initially to question his technical mastery over the "hidden truth" recorded by his camera, then toward a confrontation with the realities of his life of "material advantages, gained at the expense of ideals". Finally, he questions the reality of his own existence.[12] Film historian Gordon Gow identifies the object in Antonioni's use of suspense:

> In the case of Blow-up, the mystery [i.e. whether a murder took place] is relevant to the film, but the solution of it is not. Indeed, the absence of a solution is part of the point: life's uncertainty ... the true suspense resides not in the mystery of the photographic blow-ups, but in the instability of Thomas himself.[13]

In an interview at the time of the film's release, Antonioni stated that the film "is not about man's relationship with man, it is about man's relationship with reality".[14] According to Gow, "a mystery without a solution is instrumental to the theme of disorientation" which is sustained until the final moments of the film, in which Thomas fails to resolve the contradictions and ambiguities that arise from his investigations and his own life.[15][16] Thomas' fate is known and the audience's suspense is resolved, but Antonioni leaves the meaning of the film open to speculation.[17]

Gow considers two interpretations for the ending:

> Since Blow-Up is not resolved happily, but rather in a total surrender to fantasy and consequently to oblivion, we can take it either as an exhortation to come to terms with reality, or as a cautionary tale in which the pursuit of material gain is a threat to humanity.[18]

## Production

[edit]

### Inspirations and influences

[edit]

The plot of Blowup was inspired by Argentine-French writer Julio Cortázar's 1959 short story "Las babas del diablo", collected in End of the Game and Other Stories, which in turn was based on a story told to Cortázar by photographer Sergio Larraín.[19] The short story was subsequently retitled "Blow-up" to connect it with the film.[5] The life of Swinging London photographer David Bailey was also an influence on the plot.[20]

### Casting

[edit]

Several people were offered the role of the protagonist, including Sean Connery (who declined when Antonioni refused to show him the script), David Bailey, and Terence Stamp, who was replaced shortly before filming began after Antonioni saw David Hemmings in a stage production of Dylan Thomas' Adventures in the Skin Trade.[21]

Jane Birkin made her film debut as the blond girl.[22]

### Filming

[edit]

Maryon Park

Most of Blowup was shot on location throughout London. The film's opening scene was filmed on the Plaza of The Economist Building in St. James's Street, Westminster, a project by 'New Brutalist' architects Alison and Peter Smithson that was constructed between 1959 and 1964.[23] The park scenes were filmed at Maryon Park in Charlton; the park has changed little since the film was shot, although Antonioni painted the grass green to meet his requirements.[24][25] Photographer John Cowan leased his studio at 39 Princes Place in Notting Hill to Antonioni for much of the interior and exterior filming, and Cowan's own photographic murals are featured in the film.[26][27][self-published source?] Other locations included Heddon Street[28] (where the cover of David Bowie's album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars would later be photographed)[29] and Cheyne Walk in Chelsea.[citation needed]

The scene in which the Yardbirds perform "Stroll On" – a modified version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" with new lyrics – was filmed in a replica of the Ricky-Tick club at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire from 12 to 14 October 1966.[30] Janet Street-Porter appears in the scene as an extra.[citation needed]

An example of a rare 'Chinese Eye' Silver Cloud III DHC as used in the film

Actor Ronan O'Casey claimed that the film's mysterious nature is the product of an "unfinished" production. In a 1999 letter to Roger Ebert, O'Casey wrote that scenes that would have "depict[ed] the planning of the murder and its aftermath – scenes with Vanessa, Sarah Miles, and Jeremy Glover, Vanessa's new young lover who plots with her to murder me – were never shot because the film went seriously over budget."[31] O'Casey had previously told this story to Der Spiegel in 1967, where he stated that Dyson Lovell played the part of the murderous lover.[32] Two scenes appear to give credence to this: first when Lovell is seen apparently tampering with Thomas' car, and later when he and Jane are seen following Thomas in a Rover 2000.[33]

### Thomas' car

[edit]

Thomas drives a Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud III 'Chinese Eye' Mulliner Park Ward Drophead Coupé owned by DJ and television presenter Jimmy Savile. The car was originally painted white, then painted black by the production. Only about one hundred coach built Silver Clouds IIIs were made with the unique slanted headlights, and it remains an iconic element of the film.[34][35]

## Release and reception

[edit]

Blowup premiered at the Coronet Theater on Third Avenue in New York City on 18 December 1966.[36]

MGM did not gain approval for the film under the MPAA's Production Code in the United States.[6] The film was condemned by the National Legion of Decency. MGM released the film through a subsidiary distributor, Premier Productions, and it was shown widely in North American cinemas. The film's critical and commercial success played a major role in the abolition of the Production Code and its replacement with the MPAA rating system shortly thereafter.[8]

### Box office

[edit]

Film writer Richard Corliss stated in 2007 that the film grossed $20 million (about $139 million in 2023) on a $1.8 million budget and "helped liberate Hollywood from its puritanical prurience" in the process.[2]

The film earned $5.9 million (about $41.2 million in 2023) in the United States and Canada in 1967.[37]

### Critical reception

[edit]

Critic Andrew Sarris called the film "a mod masterpiece". In Playboy magazine, film critic Arthur Knight wrote that Blowup would come to be considered "as important and seminal a film as Citizen Kane, Open City, and Hiroshima, Mon Amour – perhaps even more so".[38] Time magazine called the film a "far-out, uptight and vibrantly exciting picture" that represented a "screeching change of creative direction" for Antonioni; the magazine predicted it would "undoubtedly be by far the most popular movie Antonioni has ever made".[39]

Bosley Crowther, film critic of The New York Times, called it a "fascinating picture",[6] but expressed reservations, describing the "usual Antonioni passages of seemingly endless wanderings" as "redundant and long"; nevertheless, he called Blowup a "stunning picture – beautifully built up with glowing images and color compositions that get us into the feelings of our man and into the characteristics of the mod world in which he dwells".[6] Even director Ingmar Bergman, who generally disliked Antonioni's work, called the film a masterpiece.[40]

> The conscience of Thomas in Blow-Up is not troubled by any sense of obligation or responsibility to the girl [Vanessa Redgrave as Jane] he has photographed in the park. Human relationships do not go very deep with Thomas. Selfish and self-tormented, he draws what confidence he can from the mastery he has over his camera. Yet his blow-ups of the pictures from the park disclose that the camera has possibly functioned independently [of him], in the sense that there is more in the photographs than Thomas realized when he took them. Thus his mastery is called into question.

—Film historian Gordon Gow, Suspense in the Cinema (1968)[41]

Anthony Quinn, writing for The Guardian in 2017 for the film's fiftieth anniversary, described Blowup as "a picture about perception and ambiguity", suggesting an association between elements of the film and the Zapruder film capturing the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy.[14]

According to author Thomas Beltzer, the film explores the "inherently alienating" qualities of mass media, where "the camera has turned us into passive voyeurs, programmable for predictable responses, ultimately helpless and even inhumanly dead".[5] Bilge Eberi of Houston Press notes the contrast between "the sinewy movements of the girls, their psychedelic jumpsuits and slinky dresses and multicolored minis", and "the blurred, frozen, inchoate unknowability of the death contained within [Thomas'] image", which "is a glimpse of the eternal and elemental ... that completely reorders, or rather disorders, Thomas's world. As an artist, he can't capture it or understand it or do anything with it. As an individual, he can't possess it or consume it."[9]

Roger Ebert described the film as "a hypnotic conjuring act, in which a character is awakened briefly from a deep sleep of bored alienation and then drifts away again. This is the arc of the film. Not 'Swinging London.' Not existential mystery. Not the parallels between what Hemmings does with his photos and what Antonioni does with Hemmings. But simply the observations that we are happy when we are doing what we do well, and unhappy seeking pleasure elsewhere. I imagine Antonioni was happy when he was making this film."[42]

In his commentary for the DVD edition of the film, Peter Brunette connects it to the existentialist tenet that actions and experiences have no inherent meaning, but are given a meaning within a particular context. According to Brunette, this is demonstrated by the scene in which Thomas takes Jeff Beck's guitar neck out onto the street: "He's rescued the object, this intensely meaningful object. Yet, out of the context, it's just a broken piece of a guitar [...] the important point here being that meaning, and the construction we put on reality, is always a group social function. And it's contextual."[43]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an 87% approval rating based on 54 reviews from film critics, with an average rating of 8.3/10.[44] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on reviews from 15 critics.[45]

American director Martin Scorsese included Blowup on his list of "39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker".[46]

Films such as The Conversation, Deep Red, Blow Out, Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Enemy of the State have been inspired by Blowup.[9]

### Awards and honours

[edit]

Institution  | Year  | Category  | Recipient(s)  | Result  | Ref(s)

|
|
|
|
|

Academy Awards | 1967 | Best Director | Michelangelo Antonioni | Nominated  | [47]
Best Original Screenplay | Michelangelo Antonioni, Tonino Guerra, Edward Bond | Nominated
British Academy Film Awards | 1968 | Best British Film | Michelangelo Antonioni  | Nominated  | [48]
Best Cinematography, Colour | Carlo Di Palma | Nominated
Best Art Direction, Colour | Assheton Gorton | Nominated
Cannes Film Festival | 1967 | Grand Prix du Festival International du Film | Michelangelo Antonioni  | Won  | [49][50]
French Syndicate of Cinema Critics | 1968  | Best Foreign Film  | Won  | [51]
Golden Globes | 1967 | Best English-Language Foreign Film | Blowup | Nominated  | [52]
Nastro d'Argento | 1968  | Best Foreign Director  | Michelangelo Antonioni  | Won  | [51]
National Society of Film Critics | 1967 | Best Film | Blowup | Won  | [53]
Best Director | Michelangelo Antonioni  | Won

### Home media release

[edit]

Warner Home Video released a Region 1 DVD of the film in 2004.[54] In 2017, the Criterion Collection issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD, featuring a 4K remaster from the original camera negatives, in addition to new bonus materials.[55]

## See also

[edit]

* 1960s portal
* Film portal
* London portal

* Blow-Up (soundtrack)
* 1966 in film
* List of cult films
* List of films featuring surveillance
* Mod (subculture)
* Swinging Sixties
* BFI Top 100 British films

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Several people known in 1966 are in the film; others became famous later. The most widely noted cameo was by The Yardbirds who perform "Stroll On" in the last third. Michelangelo Antonioni first asked Eric Burdon to play that scene, but he turned it down. In an interview Sterling Morrison of The Velvet Underground claimed that Antonioni had also asked the Velvet Underground to appear in the film, and the band members were "more than willing", but due to the expense of flying the Velvets over from the US, Antonioni instead decided on an English group.[56] As Keith Relf sings, Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck play to either side along with Chris Dreja and Jim McCarty.
2. ^ After Jeff Beck's guitar amplifier fails, he bashes his guitar to bits as The Who did at the time. Michelangelo Antonioni had wanted The Who in Blowup as he was fascinated by Pete Townshend's guitar-smashing routine.[57]
3. ^ Steve Howe of Tomorrow recalled and wrote "We went on the set and started preparing for that guitar-smashing scene in the club. They even went as far as making up a bunch of Gibson 175 replicas and then we got dropped for The Yardbirds who were a bigger name. That's why you see Jeff Beck smashing my guitar rather than his!"[58] Michelangelo Antonioni also considered using The Velvet Underground (signed at the time to a division of MGM Records) in the nightclub scene, but according to guitarist Sterling Morrison, "the expense of bringing the whole entourage to England proved too much for him".[59]
4. ^ Janet Street-Porter can be seen dancing in a silver coat and red and yellow striped Carnaby Street trousers during the scene inside the nightclub.[60] A pre-Monty Python Michael Palin can also be seen in the motionless crowd watching The Yardbirds.[61]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Blowup (1967)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 11 February 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2018.
2. ^ a b c Corliss, Richard (5 August 2007). "When Antonioni Blew Up the Movies". Time. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
3. ^ "Blow-Up".
4. ^ "Best of Bond". The Guardian. 21 January 2008. Retrieved 28 October 2018.
5. ^ a b c Beltzer, Thomas (15 April 2005). "La Mano Negra: Julio Cortázar and His Influence on Cinema". Senses of Cinema. Archived from the original on 28 October 2010. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
6. ^ a b c d Crowther, Bosley (19 December 1966). "Blow-Up". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
7. ^ Ryce, Walter (27 November 2013). "Ethan Russell's seminal '60s rock photos dazzle at Winfield Gallery in Carmel". montereycountyweekly.com. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
8. ^ a b vbcsc03l@vax.csun.edu (snopes) (25 May 1993). "Re: The MPAA". The Skeptic Tank. Archived from the original on 18 August 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2012.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
9. ^ a b c Ebiri, Bilge (28 July 2017). "The Mysteries of Antonioni's Blow-Up, a Half Century on". Houston Press. Archived from the original on 28 July 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
10. ^ "Votes for Blowup (1967)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 22 January 2017.
11. ^ "On blowing up, with Reg Wilkins". Darklight Digital. 17 January 2023. Retrieved 24 January 2025.
12. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 100: See here for Gow's profile of the Thomas character both socially and sexually, emphasizing Thomas' cynicism-misanthropy, and "at the same time reaching out rather blindly for toward spiritual fulfillment".
13. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 99
14. ^ a b Quinn, Anthony (10 March 2017). "Freedom, revolt and pubic hair: why Antonioni's Blow-up thrills 50 years on". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 August 2019.
15. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 98
16. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 100: Thomas fails to "redress the [im]balance" And: p. 104: Thomas fails to "maintain equilibrium" between his "creative world" and the "ulcerated area of materialism and fact".
17. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 104: "... as in the case of many films of depth...interpretation rests with the spectator ..."
18. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 104
19. ^ Forn, Juan. "El rectángulo en la mano". Página 12 (in Spanish). Retrieved 11 August 2017.
20. ^ Tast, Brigitte; Tast, Hans-Jürgen (2014). light room – dark room. Antonionis 'Blow-up' und der Traumjob Fotograf. Schellerten: Kulleraugen. ISBN 978-3-88842-044-3.
21. ^ McGlone, Neil McGlone. "Seventy Years of Cannes: Blow-up in 1967". Criterion Collection. Retrieved 15 July 2020.
22. ^ "Mort de Jane Birkin". francetvinfo. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
23. ^ James, Simon R. H. (2007). London Film Location Guide. Batsford (London). p. 87\. ISBN 978-0-7134-9062-6.
24. ^ James (2007) p. 181.
25. ^ "Michelangelo Antonioni's plot development – Film". TLS. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
26. ^ "On the Trail of the Swinging Sixties – 'Blow-up', Antonioni's Cult Film, Hit Our Screens 40 Years Ago. Robert Nurden Goes in Search of the Places Used for Filming, from Notting Hill to a Neglected Park in a Little-Known Corner of South-East London". The Independent. 10 September 2006. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
27. ^ "Blow-up". John Hooton's Photography Blog. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
28. ^ James (2007) p. 38.
29. ^ "Heddon Street, London". The Ziggy Stardust Companion. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
30. ^ Birnbaum, Larry (2012). Before Elvis: The Prehistory of Rock 'n' Roll. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-8629-2.
31. ^ Ebert, Roger (10 February 1999). "Antonioni's Corpse from 'Blow-up' speaks!". Retrieved 8 April 2015.
32. ^ Der Spiegel (July 1967). "Nach der Sinflut". (in German)
33. ^ "Dyson Lovell". Movie-Dude.com
34. ^ Bolton, Ian. "The Car". Blow-up: Then and Now.
35. ^ Baker, Erin. "Step into Rolls‑Royce's 1960s showroom". Goodwood Road and Racing.
36. ^ Sheward, Virgina (19 December 1966). "A Few Friends Take In a Movie". Newsday. Suffolk. pp. 1B. Retrieved 15 January 2025.
37. ^ "Big Rental Films of 1967". Variety. 3 January 1968. p. 25.
38. ^ "Antonioni's Blowup Defines Cool". filminfocus.com. 18 December 2008. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
39. ^ "Cinema: The Things Which Are Not Seen". Time. 30 December 1966. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
40. ^ Interview published in Sydsvenska Dagbladet. "Bergman on Film Directors" Archived 26 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine at zakka.dk. Retrieved 25 December 2009.
41. ^ Gow, 1968 p. 100
42. ^ Ebert, Roger (2002). The Great Movies. Broadway Books. p. 78\. ISBN 0-7679-1038-9.
43. ^ Commentary track by Peter Brunette on the 2005 DVD edition of Blow-up
44. ^ "Blow-up". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
45. ^ "Blow-up Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
46. ^ "Martin Scorsese Creates a List of 39 Essential Foreign Films for a Young Filmmaker". Open Culture. 15 October 2014. Archived from the original on 7 February 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2015.
47. ^ "THE 39TH ACADEMY AWARDS". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 2015. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
48. ^ "Film in 1968". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
49. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Blowup". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 8 March 2009.
50. ^ "People: May 19, 1967". Time. 19 May 1967. Archived from the original on 4 February 2013. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
51. ^ a b Passafiume, Andrea. "Blow-up (1966), AWARDS AND HONORS". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
52. ^ "Blow-up". Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
53. ^ "Past Awards". National Society of Film Critics. 19 December 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
54. ^ Gonzalez, Ed (16 February 2004). "DVD Review: Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-up on Warner Home Video". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020.
55. ^ Bowen, Chuck (30 March 2017). "Review: Michelangelo Antonioni's Blow-up on Criterion Blu-ray". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on 20 December 2020.
56. ^ Bockris, Victor; Malanga, Gerard (2009) [1983]. Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0-85712-003-8
57. ^ Platt, John; Chris Dreja; Jim McCarty (1983). Yardbirds. Sidgwick and Jackson (London). ISBN 978-0-283-98982-7.
58. ^ Frame, Pete (1993). The Complete Rock Family Trees. Omnibus Press (London; New York City). p. 55. ISBN 978-0-711-90465-1.
59. ^ Bockris, Victor and Malanga, Gerard (1983). Uptight – The Velvet Underground Story. Quill (New York). p. 67. ISBN 978-0-688-03906-6.
60. ^ Hemmings, David (2004). Blow-up and other exaggerations. Robson. p. 23\. ISBN 978-1-86105-789-1.
61. ^ Dennis, Jon (24 November 2011). "My favourite film: Blow-up". The Guardian. Retrieved 19 March 2018.

### Bibliography

[edit]

* Brunette, Peter (2005). DVD Audio Commentary (Iconic Films).
* Gow, Gordon. 1968. Suspense in the Cinema. Castle Books, New York. The Tanvity Press and A. S. Barnes & Co. Inc. Library of Congress Catalog Card No: 68-15196.
* Hemmings, David (2004). Blow-up… and Other Exaggerations – The Autobiography of David Hemmings. Robson Books (London). ISBN 978-1-861-05789-1.
* Huss, Roy, ed. (1971). Focus on Blow-up. Film Focus. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. p. 171. ISBN 978-0-13-077776-8. Includes a translation of Cortázar's original short story.

## External links

[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Blow-up.

* Blowup at IMDb
* Blowup at Rotten Tomatoes
* Blowup at the British Film Institute[better source needed]
* Blowup at the TCM Movie Database
* Where Did They Film That? – film entry
* Peter Bowles on making of Blowup
* Blow-up Then & Now website
* On the set of Antonioni's Blow-Up and how this film about a '60s fashion photographer compared to the real thing.
* Blow-up: In the Details – an essay by David Forgacs at The Criterion Collection
* Blowup Comprehensive collection of articles, production information, bibliography, and photo gallery, at Neugraphic.com.
* Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange pays homage to Antonioni on YouTube

Awards for Blowup

* v
* t
* e

Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or

1939–1975|

* Union Pacific (1939)
* No festival held (1940–1945)
* Brief Encounter (1946)
* The Last Chance (1946)
* The Lost Weekend (1946)
* María Candelaria (1946)
* Men Without Wings (1946)
* Neecha Nagar (1946)
* Pastoral Symphony (1946)
* The Red Meadows (1946)
* Rome, Open City (1946)
* Torment (1946)
* The Turning Point (1946)
* Antoine and Antoinette (1947)
* Crossfire (1947)
* The Damned (1947)
* Dumbo (1947)
* Ziegfeld Follies (1947)
* No festival held (1948)
* The Third Man (1949)
* No festival held (1950)
* Miracle in Milan (1951)
* Miss Julie (1951)
* Othello (1951)
* Two Cents Worth of Hope (1952)
* The Wages of Fear (1953)
* Gate of Hell (1954)
* Marty (1955)
* The Silent World (1956)
* Friendly Persuasion (1957)
* The Cranes Are Flying (1958)
* Black Orpheus (1959)
* La Dolce Vita (1960)
* The Long Absence (1961)
* Viridiana (1961)
* O Pagador de Promessas (1962)
* The Leopard (1963)
* The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
* The Knack ...and How to Get It (1965)
* The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (1966)
* A Man and a Woman (1966)
* Blowup (1967)
* Festival cancelled while in progress (1968)
* if.... (1969)
* M*A*S*H (1970)
* The Go-Between (1971)
* The Mattei Affair (1972)
* The Working Class Goes to Heaven (1972)
* The Hireling (1973)
* Scarecrow (1973)
* The Conversation (1974)
* Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975)

1976–2000|

* Taxi Driver (1976)
* Padre Padrone (1977)
* The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)
* Apocalypse Now (1979)
* The Tin Drum (1979)
* All That Jazz (1980)
* Kagemusha (1980)
* Man of Iron (1981)
* Missing (1982)
* Yol (1982)
* The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
* Paris, Texas (1984)
* When Father Was Away on Business (1985)
* The Mission (1986)
* Under the Sun of Satan (1987)
* Pelle the Conqueror (1988)
* Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989)
* Wild at Heart (1990)
* Barton Fink (1991)
* The Best Intentions (1992)
* Farewell My Concubine (1993)
* The Piano (1993)
* Pulp Fiction (1994)
* Underground (1995)
* Secrets & Lies (1996)
* The Eel (1997)
* Taste of Cherry (1997)
* Eternity and a Day (1998)
* Rosetta (1999)
* Dancer in the Dark (2000)

2001–present|

* The Son's Room (2001)
* The Pianist (2002)
* Elephant (2003)
* Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
* L'Enfant (2005)
* The Wind That Shakes the Barley (2006)
* 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
* The Class (2008)
* The White Ribbon (2009)
* Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
* The Tree of Life (2011)
* Amour (2012)
* Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2013)
* Winter Sleep (2014)
* Dheepan (2015)
* I, Daniel Blake (2016)
* The Square (2017)
* Shoplifters (2018)
* Parasite (2019)
* No festival held (2020)
* Titane (2021)
* Triangle of Sadness (2022)
* Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
* Anora (2024)
* It Was Just an Accident (2025)

* v
* t
* e

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Film

1966–2000|

* Blowup (1966)
* Persona (1967)
* Shame (1968)
* Z (1969)
* M*A*S*H (1970)
* Claire's Knee (1971)
* The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
* Day for Night (1973)
* Scenes from a Marriage (1974)
* Nashville (1975)
* All the President's Men (1976)
* Annie Hall (1977)
* Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)
* Breaking Away (1979)
* Melvin and Howard (1980)
* Atlantic City (1981)
* Tootsie (1982)
* The Night of the Shooting Stars (1983)
* Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
* Ran (1985)
* Blue Velvet (1986)
* The Dead (1987)
* The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988)
* Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
* Goodfellas (1990)
* Life Is Sweet (1991)
* Unforgiven (1992)
* Schindler's List (1993)
* Pulp Fiction (1994)
* Babe (1995)
* Breaking the Waves (1996)
* L.A. Confidential (1997)
* Out of Sight (1998)
* Being John Malkovich / Topsy-Turvy (1999)
* Yi Yi (2000)

2001–present|

* Mulholland Drive (2001)
* The Pianist (2002)
* American Splendor (2003)
* Million Dollar Baby (2004)
* Capote (2005)
* Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
* There Will Be Blood (2007)
* Waltz with Bashir (2008)
* The Hurt Locker (2009)
* The Social Network (2010)
* Melancholia (2011)
* Amour (2012)
* Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
* Goodbye to Language (2014)
* Spotlight (2015)
* Moonlight (2016)
* Lady Bird (2017)
* The Rider (2018)
* Parasite (2019)
* Nomadland (2020)
* Drive My Car (2021)
* Tár (2022)
* Past Lives (2023)
* Nickel Boys (2024)

* v
* t
* e

Michelangelo Antonioni

Feature films|

* Story of a Love Affair (1950)
* I Vinti (1952)
* The Lady Without Camelias (1953)
* Le Amiche (1955)
* Il Grido (1957)
* L'Avventura (1960)
* La Notte (1961)
* L'Eclisse (1962)
* Red Desert (1964)
* Blowup (1966)
* Zabriskie Point (1970)
* Chung Kuo, Cina (1972)
* The Passenger (1975)
* The Mystery of Oberwald (1980)
* Identification of a Woman (1982)
* Beyond the Clouds (1995)

Short films|

* Gente del Po (1947)
* N.U. (1948)
* Lies of Love (1949)
* The Funicular of Mount Faloria (1950)
* "Attempted Suicide" in Love in the City (1953)
* "The Screen Test" in The Three Faces (1965)
* "The Dangerous Thread of Things" in Eros (2004)

Book|

* That Bowling Alley on the Tiber (1983)

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States
* Israel
* Catalonia

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