Blow Out

Not De Palma's most famous film, though it has a pretty big cult following. It's a political thriller in the same vein as The Conversation, though a tiny bit more stylish in its execution. It's a far cry from De Palma's best work though, and there were quite a few moments where I lost my interest in the plot.

Jack works as a soundman on B-movies. When he's out in the mountains recording sounds, he witnesses a car crash. The cause of the accident was a blown tire, but Jack's trained ear heard a second bang, right before. When he is interrogated by the police, it's clear they don't want to record his version of the facts.

De Palma's eye for visual splendor breaks through from time to time, but not often enough to save the film. The performances are middling, the plot is pretty dull and the runtime is excessive. I will say that I'm not a big fan of these (slow) political thrillers from the 70s, so Blow Out was fighting an uphill battle from the start.