A Few Words About A few words about...™ Blow-Up -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Robert Harris]

Possibly you had to be there, when Blow-Up opened in the winter of 1966.

I was firmly ensconced in college / film school, and viewing the film was as if a door was opening. After being weaned on the works of Bergman, and the earlier works of Antonioni, Blow-Up was a natural extension.

It's a film about a photographer, who sees or possibly doesn't, photographs, and searches for the truth in super hip London of the '60s.

It's a film of gorgeous imagery, color, and very specific sound, especially the wind through the trees and bushes in the park.

And it needs to be presented correctly.

Fortunately, as a part of the WB/Criterion deal, access was provided to the original negative, as well as an IP, and the resultant 4k scan is almost never less than gorgeous. I use the word "almost," as the main title sequence is a bit soft, but a dupe is a dupe.

Color is superb, along with a magnificent original patina of grain.

Audio is what it was, and is accurately represented.

A major plus here, as if it was needed, is a superb collection of extras, inclusive of interviews and films on the film. And I'm not referencing sweet little 2-3 minute pieces here. These are serious featurettes.

For those who have never seen this film, I'm jealous at thought of your initial experience.

For those who have, your memories are safe with this Blu-ray.

"I thought you were going to Paris."

"I am in Paris."

Image - 5

Audio -5

4k Up-rez - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Highly Recommended

RAH

 

[Charles Smith]

Music to my ears.

 

[Alan Tully]

I was 15 when I first saw this in 1966, & I loved it (so girls had pubic hair too, who knew!). I'd already left school & was working at a company that sold 8mm cut-down feature films (all we had in those far off days) in Shepherds Bush, less that 20 minutes walk from where they filmed the photographic studio stuff in Holland Park. I've just been flicking through David Hemmings very amusing autobiography, Blow-Up & Other Exaggerations, he writes about getting the part, making the film & about working with Antonioni, but he does say (quote): "There's no question that it has found a certain resonance with several generations & still stands as a cult strip of celluloid that is forever part of sixties folklore.
But why? It is not, in my view, such a great movie; perhaps not even a good one"

I don't agree, but to new viewers I'd say, don't worry too much about the plot, it's pure Mcguffin, it's the sixties vibe of the whole thing that I find magical. I hope there's a region B release coming (I have bought a multi-region player, but would rather support a UK release if there is one).

 

[Richard Gallagher]

I was in Navy boot camp at Great Lakes, Illinois in January and February 1967 and our first liberty day involved a trip to Chicago. At some point a few of us decided to see a matinee of Blow Up. I didn't quite know what to make of it, but I never forgot it. I feel the need to see it again.

 

[Angelo Colombus]

I did read somewhere about the framing of the topless scene with Vanessa Redgrave where on the old vhs pan & scan tape you can see her topless but on the dvd it is cut off at the bottom of the screen? A big fan of Antonioni and this film has escaped my viewing but not for long as I will check this new release out.

 

[david hare]

There used to be some controversy about the aspect ratio back during the early days of TV and VHS reissues. It was shot open matte and I certainly recall the notorious scene in which, if the projectionist had the wit to rake the frame up from the bottom mask you could see la Redgrave's nipples. (You can also see Jeanne Moreau's nipples briefly in footroom in La Notte from 1963 without changing the mask). So ensued some argument that it was meant to be masked to 1.66. It never was - I remember seeing it in Paris in late 1967 and it was very definitely projected in 1:85. Antonioni started shooting for 1.85 international widescreen ratio with L'Avventura in 1960. He loved the wide frame and rethought his entire mise en scene to take advantage of it. The only work later presented in 4:3 was his documentary China which was originally shot for television and hardly shown theatrically. But even China can be matted for wide without losing vital picture information or composition.

 

[bujaki]

Here I go with another Puerto Rican story. Nothing was ever projected in the 1:66 ratio in a small-town theater. Therefore I'm sure that Blow Up was screened in 1:85 and Ms. Redgrave's breasts were never obscured by the bottom masking when I saw the film. They were there for my mother and me (the embarrassment!) to see quite large and clear. Of course, we also received international cut of films and maybe there was a different cut prepared for the US market. Who knows...

 

[haineshisway]

1.85 all the way and no you weren't meant to see Ms. Redgrave's breasts - the other issue is so quick you barely see it - of course everyone likes to freeze frame now but we couldn't do that in, you know, a movie theater. If one saw Ms. Redgrave's nipples the projectionist should have been fired.

 

[bujaki]

1.85 all the way and no you weren't meant to see Ms. Redgrave's breasts - the other issue is so quick you barely see it - of course everyone likes to freeze frame now but we couldn't do that in, you know, a movie theater. If one saw Ms. Redgrave's nipples the projectionist should have been fired.

As I said, Bruce, PR was considered an international market and received prints not shown in the US. I haven't seen the film seen I saw it then, so I haven't frozen any frames. Spanish subtitles were firmly in place so the projectionist would rack for them, not for the nipples.

 

[haineshisway]

I should think Ms. Redgrave would have been told quite firmly that no one would actually see the nipples, but who knows?

 

[Alan Tully]

Unmatted prints were a boon to telecine operators back in the day, no pan & scan required, & if there was the occasional mike boom, edge of set, a nipple, in shot, there were no sites like this to complain about it, well no internet in the early days.

 

[Douglas R]

M-G-M Boreham Wood studio didn't provide aspect ratios of films around the 1960s so Kine Weekly only listed it as "wide screen" under the production title "The Blow Up." Most films seem to have been shown at 1.75:1 in the UK in 1966 and when I saw the film when it premiered at M-G-M's flagship London cinema Ms Redgrave's breasts were on full display - much to my surprise at the time!

 

[AnthonyClarke]

My partner Robyn and I lived in the late 1960s in Holland Road (that's the era of the pic of us on the left, as you could probably guess) just one minute from Holland Park, so this film has always had a special resonance. It will be ordered asap......

 

[david hare]

1.85 all the way and no you weren't meant to see Ms. Redgrave's breasts - the other issue is so quick you barely see it - of course everyone likes to freeze frame now but we couldn't do that in, you know, a movie theater. If one saw Ms. Redgrave's nipples the projectionist should have been fired.

Bruce the projectionist did it because he could.

 

[Robert Harris]

If one views the extensive interview information on the new disc, you'll learn that Ms Redgrave agreed to do as the filmmaker requested, but did not feel that (after having, and nursing, two children) she was in shape for nudity.

Regardless, of what was exposed to the negative.

I would respect her wishes, the fact aside that many of us originally saw the film framed low.

I'm in agreement, regardless of how the film presented fifty years ago, with the manner in which this was handled by Criterion.

One needs full facts.

 

[rsmithjr]

The scene everyone is talking about was very difficult to keep in the prints. The film depot had a reel of extra copies of that scene. The film would be inspected when returned to the depot and the scene would be replaced if necessary. (Odd that that scene kept getting eaten by the projectors.)

Having replacement segments was a standard practice with many films.

 

[Alan Tully]

Getting away from Vanessa Redgrave's nipples for a moment. I had the idea that Warner just gave Criterion a finished master to release, like other studios do when they license out films, but looking at the Mildred Pierce restoration featurette, it looks like Warner do the scans, but all the other work, picking the best element, grading/clean-up ect. is done by Criterion. I suppose it was the same with Blow-Up.

...& a UK release please!

 

[JoeDoakes]

This is a major title that has been missing too long on blu-ray. I'm so pleased Criterion released it. Maybe Ambersons will be next.

 

[commander richardson]

Possibly you had to be there, when Blow-Up opened in the winter of 1966.

I was firmly ensconced in college / film school, and viewing the film was as if a door was opening. After being weaned on the works of Bergman, and the earlier works of Antonioni, Blow-Up was a natural extension.

It's a film about a photographer, who sees or possibly doesn't, photographs, and searches for the truth in super hip London of the '60s.

It's a film of gorgeous imagery, color, and very specific sound, especially the wind through the trees and bushes in the park.

And it needs to be presented correctly.

Fortunately, as a part of the WB/Criterion deal, access was provided to the original negative, as well as an IP, and the resultant 4k scan is almost never less than gorgeous. I use the word "almost," as the main title sequence is a bit soft, but a dupe is a dupe.

Color is superb, along with a magnificent original patina of grain.

Audio is what it was, and is accurately represented.

A major plus here, as if it was needed, is a superb collection of extras, inclusive of interviews and films on the film. And I'm not referencing sweet little 2-3 minute pieces here. These are serious featurettes.

For those who have never seen this film, I'm jealous at thought of your initial experience.

For those who have, your memories are safe with this Blu-ray.

"I thought you were going to Paris."

"I am in Paris."

Image - 5

Audio -5

4k Up-rez - 5

Pass / Fail - Pass

Highly Recommended

RAH

Can someone explain please .......WHY.......... Criterian have not so far announced a release date for this great movie in the UK..........????????????? .........if Criterian want to release other lesser movies on BD that are not selling well in UK ......why not release BLOW UP which would sell pretty well.......the DVD was released in the UK like USA by Warner ..............so what is the problem ???????????????????

 

[Alan Tully]

Can someone explain please .......WHY.......... Criterian have not so far announced a release date for this great movie in the UK..........????????????? .........if Criterian want to release other lesser movies on BD that are not selling well in UK ......why not release BLOW UP which would sell pretty well.......the DVD was released in the UK like USA by Warner ..............so what is the problem ???????????????????

Yup, seconded! Criterion UK drip feeds a few titles in the UK. I want Blow-Up & One-Eyed Jacks, but I don't know if Criterion even has the world rights to these, or if they can only release them in America. I'd really hoped that Blow-Up would be an Archive release, no extras, but I'm not that bothered about extras these days, just a great looking transfer.