FILM · 1981 · USA
Blow Out
32 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (32)
- #001
While heading to the airport, the driver of the van carrying two reels of footage from the Liberty Day Parade scene stopped at a Dunkin' Donuts and left the van unattended. It was stolen while he was inside, and the footage was never seen again. The crew had to return to Philadelphia to reshoot the entire scene at a cost of $750,000. Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond was no longer available, so László Kovács was brought in to replace him.
- #002
John Travolta was suffering from insomnia during the shoot. His insomnia helped him create a very bleak performance, which is why his character appears so beaten down throughout the film.
- #003
In an interview, Quentin Tarantino stated that this was his favorite Brian De Palma film. In fact, Tarantino cast John Travolta in Pulp Fiction (1994) because he admired his performance in this film so much.
- #004
The underwater components of the car crash on the bridge set were shot in a massive tank in California. Nancy Allen suffers from claustrophobia, so being trapped inside the car during the underwater scenes was difficult for her.
- #005
Al Pacino was Brian De Palma's first choice for the role of Jack Terry. When it turned out he was unavailable, John Travolta was signed, which led at least one studio executive to suggest casting Travolta's Grease (1978) co-star Dame Olivia Newton-John as Sally, but De Palma rejected the idea. De Palma and Pacino went on to work together on Scarface (1983) and Carlito's Way (1993).
- #006
The film's commercial failure damaged John Travolta's career, particularly his chances at more serious roles. Ironically, Quentin Tarantino's love for this film led him to cast Travolta in a major role in Pulp Fiction (1994), which gave him a significant career comeback.
- #007
At a Q&A held at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles in January 2019, Nancy Allen stated that Quentin Tarantino's much-quoted love for the film helped bring about a critical reevaluation in the '90s. She said that over the years many writers began calling it Brian De Palma's masterpiece, which culminated in the well-received release of its Criterion Collection disc in 2011.
- #008
Brian De Palma came up with the story idea while doing the sound mix for his previous film, Dressed to Kill (1980).
- #009
The use of the split-focus diopter is clearly visible in many scenes, particularly the sound recording scene and the hospital scene. The split-focus diopter is attached to the main lens and affects only the left or right portion of the main lens's view. This changes the focal distance of one part of the image, keeping objects at two distances (foreground and background) in sharp focus. Brian De Palma first used split focus in Carrie (1976).
- #010
The scene in which the car enters the water required building a dam 15 meters long and 15 meters high to raise the water level sufficiently. Shooting that scene took seven days. With environmentalists watching, the producers had to ensure the creek was restored to its natural state.
- #011
The slasher film sequence, which was initially dubbed, was shot by Garrett Brown using his invention, the Steadicam. He was so skilled and fast with the equipment that the crew, including the focus puller, struggled to keep up with him. When the "slasher" raised the knife in front of the camera and stabbed the security guard, Garrett Brown was also holding the knife, because that was the only way to make the shot work.
- #012
Brian De Palma married Nancy Allen in 1981 during the production of this film. They divorced in 1984.
- #013
Brian De Palma envisioned the project with a low budget of $3 million. When John Travolta signed on for the lead role, the budget rose to six times that amount.
- #014
Brian De Palma said that the music Pino Donaggio wrote is among his favorite scores from any of his own films.
- #015
The television anchorman is played by Dave Roberts. He was a longtime weatherman for Action News (1970) on WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and retired in 2009. He is the father of actor David Boreanaz.
- #016
Before Manny visits Sally's apartment, he is watching Brian De Palma's Murder à la Mod (1968) on television.
- #017
The Liberty Day Parade was shot using 11 cameras, 1,000 extras, 25 stunt drivers, vehicles from the Philadelphia Fire and Police Departments, and special helicopter-mounted camera equipment brought in from Norway.
- #018
The recorded scream related to Sally's murder can be heard during the opening title sequence, foreshadowing Nancy Allen's death and the film's bleak ending.
- #019
Deborah Everton, who plays the prostitute at the train station, worked mainly in costume and wardrobe. This is her only acting credit.
- #020
Missy Cleveland, the actress whose scream was initially deemed inadequate in the shower scene, was Playboy's Playmate of the Month in the April 1979 issue.
- #021
Burke was modeled on G. Gordon Liddy, leader of the "White House Plumbers," who became a central figure in the Watergate scandal.
- #022
Nancy Allen imagined the character of Sally as a small rag doll.
- #023
In the French version, John Travolta's voice was dubbed by Gérard Depardieu.
- #024
The Liberty Day celebrations are based on the United States Bicentennial celebrations of 1976.
- #025
The accident at the start of the film references Kennedy's Chappaquiddick scandal, but the details are reversed. In real life, Senator Edward M. Kennedy fled after crashing his car, leaving his passenger Mary Jo Kopechne to die in the submerged vehicle; in De Palma's film the male driver is killed and the female passenger survives.
- #026
This was Nancy Allen's fourth and final film with Brian De Palma, released over a span of five years.
- #027
After Carrie (1976), this is the second Brian De Palma film in which John Travolta and Nancy Allen play a couple.
- #028
In an earlier draft of the screenplay, the two main characters were much older and more cynical.
- #029
The 30th Street Station in Pennsylvania, where Burke kills a prostitute in the bathroom, would later be used as the setting and crime scene of Witness (1985).
- #030
Personal Effects was the film's original title.
- #031
Brian De Palma said the first scenes shot were the ones set at Penn Station.
- #032
Quentin Tarantino consistently cites Blow Out (1981), along with John Travolta's performance, as one of his favorite films of all time.
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