Blow-Up (1966) [Criterion Collection]

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Writers: Michelangelo Antonioni, Julio Cortázar
Stars: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles

In 1966, Michelangelo Antonioni transplanted his existentialist ennui to the streets of swinging London for this international sensation, the Italian filmmaker’s first English-language feature. A countercultural masterpiece about the act of seeing and the art of image making, Blow-Up takes the form of a psychological mystery, starring David Hemmings as a fashion photographer who unknowingly captures a death on film after following two lovers in a park. Antonioni’s meticulous aesthetic control and intoxicating color palette breathe life into every frame, and the jazzy sounds of Herbie Hancock, a beautifully evasive performance by Vanessa Redgrave, and a cameo by the Yardbirds make the film a transporting time capsule from a bygone era. Blow-Up is a seductive immersion into creative passion, and a brilliant film by one of cinema’s greatest artists.





Extras DVD1:
- Michelangelo Antonioni - presented here is an excerpt from the documentary Michelangelo Antonioni: The Eye That Changed Cinema, (2001) which contains archival footage from interviews with the Italian director and producer Carlo Ponti that were conducted after Blow-Up won the prestigious Palme d'Or Award at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967. The entire documentary appears on Criterion's Blu-ray release of L'Eclisse.
- Blow Up of "Blow Up" (2016) - documentary film directed by Valentina Agostinis that examines the aesthetic and visual style of Blow-Up, Michelangelo Antonioni's working methods, the climate of 'swinging' London and the impact it had on the director, and some of the key locations seen in the film. Included in it are new interviews with photographer David Montgomery, writer Barry Miles (founder of Indica and International Times), Simon Napier-Bell (ex-manager of The Yardbirds), art historian David Alan Mellor, director and scriptwriter Clare Peploe, photography expert Philippe Garner, and writer and literary critic Andrew Sinclair, amongst others.
- Teaser - original teaser for Blow-Up.
- Trailer - original trailer for Blow-Up.






Extras DVD2:
- David Hemmings - presented here are two excerpts from archival interviews with actor David Hemmings.
- Vanessa Redgrave - this conversation between actress Vanessa Redgrave and photography historian Philippe Garner was filmed in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Blow-Up. Vanessa Redgrave recalls how she was cast to play Jane in Blow-Up, and discusses Michelangelo Antonioni's working methods (with some great comments about his precise treatment of color and light), the importance of body language in the director's work, her collaborations with other Italian masters such as Elio Petri (Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion and the 'rebel' Tinto Brass (Black Angel), new trends in contemporary cinema, etc. The interview was posted by SHOWstudio on June 29, 2016, as part of the series In Conversation.
- Jane Birkin - presented here is an excerpt from an archival interview with Jane Birkin in which the actress recalls how she was cast to play the blonde in Blow-Up, and discusses her interactions with Michelangelo Antonioni and the important role fashion and style have in the film. The interview was conducted in 1989.
- Antonioni's Hypnotic Vision - presented here are two new featurettes that were produced by Criterion in 2016.