Blow Up. Michelangelo Antonioni. 1966. ⚄
Whu uh. I thought I had seen this movie before, but in my mind it’s in black and white, and it’s set in Italy. This is in colour and is set in the UK. From the first five minutes, I would have guessed that this was a Nick Roeg movie.
Ok. *reset brain*
This movie would have been more enjoyable to watch if the lead hadn’t looked like consumptive Dickens urchin gone to weed. Uhm… David Hemmings.
OK, I’m shallow, but that’s basically the problem I have with this movie. I can watch endless scenes of 60s ennui: Vanessa Redgrave is great here, and the cinematography is fun and 60s and pop-art-ey, but it really comes down to me not liking Hemmings on the screen, I think.
But… despite that, this is really watchable. The centrepiece of the movie is a very nerdy “ENHANCE! ENHANCE!” sequence, and it’s kinda gripping. Very analogue, and somewhat paranoid. It’s like an action movie without much action. I’m not surprised that De Palma remade this with more photogenic actors.
Love the ending.
This uses more Benedictine, so that’s a good thing. Bobby Burns cocktail (Craddock’s recipe) calls for Dewar’s, but I substituted with Chivas. *gasp*
And I didn’t have shortbread, so I substituted with an oatmeal cookie.
Delicious!
This blog post is part of the Officially The Best series.