27 Jun 2012

Blow - Up (1966)


Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1966 film “Blow-Up” has become an iconic portrait of London in the ’60′s. The film follows Thomas,  a self-centered photographer in ’60′s Swinging London, as he inadvertently witnesses a murder. This character was based on the famous photographer David Bailey, brilliantly portrayed by David Hemmings.

(David Bailey, he captured and helped create the 'Swinging London' of the 1960s. He is regarded as one of the best British photographers. He was the main photographer of Vogue, he married Catherine Deneuve, and photographed celebrities and socialites including Terence Stamp, The Beatles, Mick Jagger, Jean Shrimpton and Andy Warhol, among others).

Antonioni gives us an insight look into the lifestyle of young, rich and beautiful people who party all day and all of the night. Thomas drives a Rolls Royce, is surrounded by models, and gives a lesson in style wearing an amazing dark green velvet jacket that looks exactly like the one that Louis Garrel wears in The Dreamers (I bet Bertolucci loves Blow-Up).

(Louis Garrel in The Dreamers)

The film also stars supermodel Veruschka, who looks like some sort of Russian countess while she's inmortalised by Hemming's camera in a really sensual and erotic way; the flawless and stylish Vanessa Redgrave, as a mysterious woman; and the lovely Jane Birkin. This was Birkin's debut, as she plays a young wild girl, some sort of Thomas' groupie, along with Gillian Hills (famous for her Zou bisou bisou, that you can watch by clicking here). The two girls get into a naive ménage à trois with Hemming's character, and the result is one of the funniest scenes of the film:


Blow-Up also has a notable appearance by the Yardbirds: Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck and Keith Relf perform “Stroll On” (a.k.a. Train Kept a Rollin) at a crowded venue, in one of the scenes of the film:


Overall, this is a really great movie. Not the typical thriller you might be expecting, but a beautiful piece magistrally directed by Antonioni where the silences, the gestures and the looks between the characters become the main stars (it's no wonder that Sofia Coppola mentioned Antonioni as one of her influences). He manages to show us a brilliant portrait of London on that era, a remarkable film that won the Grand Prix at the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. 


17 comments:

Anonymous said...

muy buena entrada, solo he visto "The Dreamers", espero en mis vacaciones de invierno ver la restante, los vídeos me parecieron entretenidos, de seguro será un buen panorama.
cuídate mucho, un beso. ^ ^.

Sóley said...

I've heard a lot about this film but never seen it. I love the second video, at the concert, where everyone stands perfectly ridiculously still except for those two people dancing. I need to watch old movies more, I really do.

- Sóley
we are purple

Olivia Lee said...

The Dreamers is a haunting film, and I love it. I had to decide to love it, if that makes any sense. I'll have to see this other one. Beautiful blog, darling.

Anonymous said...

This is my favourite movie!

Laura Sánchez said...

Tras enterarme de que está basada en un relato de Julio Cortázar, creo que ya tardo en verla.
Es la primera vez que veo a Jane Birkin de rubia, pero, tal y como tú has dicho, sale adorable.

Muchas gracias por interesarte por mi blog, bonita; aunque que sepas que no me cabía la menor duda de tu pasión por los idiomas, sobre todo leyendo tu impecable inglés.

Un beso muy, muy fuerte.

ATF said...

te pots creure que vaig veure aquesta peli fa anys i no me va dir res? també la vaig veire amb poques ganes i amb amics així que crec que li he de dónar una altra oportunitat perquè no pot ser que a tothom li flip menys a mí ;) l'estética, això sí, es brutal, i és un clássic així que a veure si la trob i me la baixo per veure una nit d'aquestes.

sobre the avengers, no sñe si t'ho he comentat o no però abans has de veure Thor, que no sé si has vist, però és essencial que la veguis, Capitán américa no fa tanta falta però l'altra sí perquè hi ha molt de la trama de la peli a els vingadors. a més que està dirigida per el kenneth brannagh així que més raons per veurer-la, a mí me va agradar molt aunque es algo hortera :P i sobre les fotos de la scarlett, per suposat que pots agafar totes les que vulguis, per això estàn!
i lo de 50 shades of grey de moment són rumors i no crec que l'arribin a fer el ryan gosling i la scarlett però sigui aquesta o una altre, han de fer peli junts, quina parella!

un petonet Mara!!!!

Saraiba said...

Que buena pinta tiene esta peli....¡Quiero verla! Me la apunto..Preciosa entrada

The Fashion Philosophy said...

How amazing.

ox from NYC!
davie+erica

LPFashionPhilosophy

irene said...

thank u Mara!! siempre es bonito leer tus comentarios. No he visto esta peli así que no puedo opinar mucho... Ahora en verano tendré plenty of time para verla y contarte que tal. Suerte con los exámenes y demás.

have a nice summer!

Irene.

Sofi Mar said...

Hola Mara! Yo quiero verla ya. Que buena reseña! Y si le gusta a Sofia Coppola pues no sé por que no la he visto >.<

Muchas gracias por tu comentario. Viendolo bien, es cierto, también recorde esas imágenes de Virgenes Suicidas ! En realidad, fueron los pensamientos de una tarde en el trabajo :P

Espero poder postear más seguido :c Lo echo muchisimo de menos!

Que tengas un buen fin de semana!

Hasta luego! ;)

discotheque confusion said...

Blow Up is such a classic film and I've STILL never seen it! You've reminded me to add it to my summer watch list. I don't know if you've ever seen The Culture Show before? It's a really fantastic TV programme in the UK and in this week's episode they had a brilliant interview with David Bailey. Again made me think about the wisdom of age and confidence and knowing what works.

I don't know if you're able to watch the programme where you are but if so, try this link, hopefully it works! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006t6c5

discotheque confusion said...

Also, I wanted to say I always really love reading through your comments on my blog, you always have something insightful to say!

Tilly said...

Uhhh this film <3 <3 tis one of my absolute favourites! Jane Birkin is a dream lady O_O

Your blog is beautiful :D xx

de Bardot a Birkin. Firmado: Gainsbourg said...

increíble este blog. i'm in love!! y sólo he visto the dreamers! adoroa eva green y garrel

gracias por compartir con nosotros un trocito de cine!

Nuria Jean said...

Maravillosa, con una fotografía alucinante, tuve que ver esta película hace unas semanas para un trabajo de clase y la verdad que me gusto mucho. La verdad que Antonioni es único para crear historias sorprendentes y llenas de sensualidad.
Que tal le va todo señorita? hacia tiempo que no me pasaba por aquí y ya tenía ganitas ;)

Irene Girona said...

Genial entrada, te dejo mi email para que si tienes alguna idea me la hagas llegar :) irenegironablog@gmail.com

Blonde hair, Blue jeans said...

love blow up, love this post, love your blog