Classic 60s Movie: “Blow Up”

January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Lisa Hunter.

Movie Title: Blow-Up

Year: 1966

Writers: Screenplay by Michelangelo Antonioni and Tonino Guerra, story by Michelangelo Antonioni, short story by Julio Cortázar, English dialogue by Edward Bond.

Lead Actors: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles

Director: Michelangelo Antonioni

IMDB Plot Summary: A mod London photographer seems to find something very suspicious in the shots he has taken of a mysterious beauty in a desolate park.

Why I Think This Is A Classic 60s Movie: Blow-Up is the quintessential vision of Swinging 60s London: fashion models, rock music, psychedelic drugs, the works. It’s so iconic — and so often parodied (most brilliantly in Austin Powers) — that when you watch the film for the first time, you can’t help thinking, “Oh, so THAT’S where that image comes from.”

But behind the groovy-baby glamor, Blow-Up is a creepy, existential mystery that’s inspired auteur films from The Conversation to Mulholland Drive. Once you’ve seen it, you’ll notice Blow-Up’s influence everywhere.

My Favorite Moment In The Movie: In an oft-parodied scene, photographer Thomas straddles a fashion model, clicking away, urging her to “bring it.” The photoshoot simulates a hot sexual encounter, then ends abruptly and hilariously once he has what he needs.

My Favorite Dialog In The Movie: At a druggy London party, Thomas sees Verushka, a model who had previously told him she would be in Paris:

THOMAS: I thought you were in Paris.
VERUSHKA (completely stoned): I am in Paris.

Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie: Every scene is either about voyeurism or something not being what it seems to be. It’s a master class in how to construct a screenplay by theme.

Bonus for fashionistas: When two groupie girls annoy Thomas, he tells them, “Your purse is disgusting.” One of those groupies is played by Jane Birkin, the fashion icon for whom Hermes’s Birkin bag is named.

Thanks, Lisa! To show our gratitude for your guest post, here’s a dash of creative juju for you. Whoosh!

We already have a set of classic 70s movies, 80s Movies and 90s Movies. This month, we’re working on 60s Movies.

We have 28 volunteers. I have put in bold those who have already sent their guest post to me.

Ipsita Barik — Rosemary’s Baby
Ipsita Barik — Bonnie and Clyde
Bookman Film — The Sound of Music
Brandnewusedcar — Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Markham Cook — Jules et Jim
Steve Cook — The Blue Max
JasperLamarCrab — 2001: A Space Odyssey
N D — Lonely are the Brave
Drew Dorenfest — Easy Rider
Rick Dyke — Fail Safe
Felicity Flesher — The Music Man
PaulG — Lawrence of Arabia
D.L. Gill — Zulu
Jeff Guenther — Cool Hand Luke
Kate Hagen — Repulsion
John Henderson — Night of the Living Dead
John Henderson — The Odd Couple
John Hörnschemeyer — The Graduate
Zach Jansen — They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?
Will King — The Pink Panther
Lisaisfunny — Blow Up
Jack McDonald — Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Daryl Powell — The Apartment
jprichard — Persona
Ally Shina — The Jungle Book
Mark Twain — The Loved One
Liz Warner — The Manchurian Candidate
Michael Waters — Dr. No

I’m looking for more guest posts to take us through January. Why not pitch in to help add to this online resource to inspire writers to learn about and — most importantly — watch great movies.

If you have a classic 60s movies on which you’d like to do a writeup, please either post in comments or email me.

And for those who have signed up, but have yet to email me your post, please do so ASAP.

Thanks in advance!

For the original post explaining the series, go here.