Arrow Video is pleased to confirm the highly anticipated UK Blu-ray & Blu-ray Steelbook release of Brian De Palma’s 1981 classic BLOW OUT on May 27th.
The UK Blu-ray premiere of BLOW OUT features a newly restored digital transfer of the film, a process which was supervised and approved by De Palma himself.
The super-deluxe package, which is available both as a standard Blu-ray and as a limited edition Blu-ray steelbook, is LOADED with special features and bonus material. Highlights include a selection of newly created video interviews with starlet Nancy Allen, producer George Litto, cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond and composer Pino Donaggio, original theatrical trailer, photo gallery and a stunning 40-page collector’s booklet. The booklet features an exclusive and revealing conversation between Quentin Tarantino and Brian De Palma, one of his all-time favourite directors and biggest influences, as well as new writing on the film by critic Michael Atkinson, illustrated with archive movie stills and promotional material.
Keeping with what is a now a fan-favoured tradition of Arrow Video restorations, BLOW OUT will come complete with a reversible sleeve, featuring the original 1981 artwork and a stunning new illustration.
One of the greatest film directors of his generation, Brian De Palma’s inspirational career spans 40 years and includes commercial and critical successes in each decade since the 1970s. Alongside the likes of Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola and Ridley Scott, De Palma was part of the so-called “New Hollywood” movement which ruled tinsel town throughout the ’70s and ‘80s.
Best known for his psychological and often violent thrillers, De Palma’s use of split-screens, slow panning shots and Hitchcockian suspense have made his films instantly recognisable. Alongside 1981’s BLOW OUT, some of De Palma’s most revered works include Scarface, Carrie, Dressed To Kill, The Untouchables and Mission: Impossible.
De Palma has proved hugely influential, inspiring many modern-day film makers to get behind the camera; Quentin Tarantino reveals in BLOW OUT’s collector’s booklet that he views De Palma as the best living American director. Also known for discovering and nurturing new acting talent, De Palma is widely credited with fostering the early careers of Robert De Nero and John C. Reilly.
It has recently been announced that De Palma will once again reunite with Scarface star Al Pacino, when the pair work together on Happy Valley, a biopic about Penn State University’s controversial former American football coach, Joe Paterno, who was forced to retire after a sexual abuse scandal took place on his watch.
BLOW OUT is one of De Palma’s most acclaimed films, a brilliant fusion of the obsessive sleuthing of Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blow-up, and Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation. With themes drawn from real-life political scandals (the JFK assassination, Chappaquiddick, Watergate) BLOW OUT starts with sound technician Jack Terry (John Travolta) accidentally recording what might be explosive evidence of a deadly conspiracy.
Brilliantly shot by the then recent Oscar-winner Vilmos Zsigmond, this terrifically stylish thriller co-stars Nancy Allen as the eyewitness who becomes the unwitting target of a deranged serial killer (John Lithgow), as he ruthlessly attempts to bury all the evidence.
BLOW OUT is also a film about the filmmaking process itself: soundman Terry is originally hired to work on the low-budget slasher film Coed Frenzy, and later puts his technical skills to more serious use as he attempts to reconstruct a political assassination on film, in a way that will stand up in court.
A full list of the special features included on the deluxe Blu-ray edition of BLOW OUT is as follows:
– New, restored digital transfer, supervised and approved by Brian De Palma.
– Original uncompressed 2.0 Stereo PCM audio.
– Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
– Black and White in Colour: An Interview with cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond.
– Rag Doll Memories: Nancy Allen on BLOW OUT.
– Return to Philadelphia: An interview with Producer George Litto.
– Multi-tracking BLOW OUT – An Interview with composer Pino Donaggio about his work with director Brian De Palma.
– A gallery of on-set photos by photographer Louis Goldman.
– Original Theatrical Trailer.
– Collector’s booklet – featuring new writing on the film by Michael Atkinson, and a discussion between Brian De Palma and Quentin Tarantino, illustrated with original archive stills and promotional material.
– Standard Amaray Blu-ray edition features both original and newly commissioned reversible artwork.
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