April 18, 2010

Blowup

Data
Title: Blowup
Year: 1966
Length: 111 minutes
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writer: Michelangelo Antonioni & Tonino Guerra, with Edward Bond; "inspired by" a short story by Julio Cortázar
Starring: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave
Music: Herbie Hancock (and The Yardbirds)
Distinctions: Oscar nominations for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay

My reaction
Synopsis: a mod London photographer finds something sinister when he blows up his latest shots
How I saw it: in the theater, yesterday
Concept: Good.
Story: Bad. I get the impression that Antonioni's the kind of guy who would be offended at the suggestion that a movie should have a story, much less a good one. There is the material here to make an interesting plot, but it's deliberately avoided.
Characters: Indifferent. Meh.
Dialog: Indifferent. Some is very good. Elsewhere it's unintentionally funny (at least I think it's unintentional).
Pacing: Good. It's very slow and frustratingly short on narrative, but I wasn't actually bored.
Cinematography: Good.
Special effects/design: Good.
Acting: Good.
Music: Good.
Subjective Rating: 6/10 (Okay). It's alright, but I don't see what all the fuss is about. It probably has something to do with sex and nudity in an English-language film in the mid sixties. It was pretty cool to see it in the theater, though; I would have liked it much less if I'd seen it on DVD.
Objective Rating: 2.5/4 (Okay).

No comments:

Post a Comment