History Film / BlowUp

-> ''"My God! I've just seen Michelangelo Antonioni's ''Blowup''. These Italian directors are a century ahead of me in terms of technique. What have I been doing all this time?"''
-->-- '''Creator/AlfredHitchcock'''

-> ''"Some people are bullfighers, some people are politicians. I'm a photographer."''

* HotterAndSexier: As compared to both the prevous films of Antonioni and the cinema of the early 60's in general.

A film with distinctly explicit sexual content for its time, ''Blowup'' was not only a critical and commercial smash hit, even winning the 1967 Palme d'Or, but achieved all of its success after being released in direct defiance to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode by Creator/{{MGM}} creating a subsidiary label to do it. As a result, the Code was all but done for after that and soon replaced by the present MPAA rating system. In short, when it comes to cinematic artistic freedom, this film did for the 1960s what ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' utterly failed to do for the 1990s with its flubbed potential for NC-17 films to gain wide-release success.

* ShesGotLegs: Jane, as played by a 29-year-old Creator/VanessaRedgrave, certainly has them.

One day following a shoot, fashion photographer Thomas (Creator/DavidHemmings) walks through a park taking pictures of people; one person tracks him back to his studio demanding the film. He later discovers what seems to be a mysterious figure in a negative, and the film follows his experiences in searching for answers to these mysteries.

One day following a shoot, fashion photographer Thomas (David Hemmings) walks through a park taking pictures of people; one person tracks him back to his studio demanding the film. He later discovers what seems to be a mysterious figure in a negative, and the film follows his experiences in searching for answers to these mysteries.

* ShesGotLegs: Jane, as played by a 29-year-old Vanessa Redgrave, certainly has them.

* SpiritualSuccessor: Antonioni's next film ''Film/ZabriskiePoint'' dealt with America's counter-culture, featuring PopStarComposer Music/PinkFloyd, ambiguous GainaxEnding, and a much darker tone.

* TheSixties: Specifically, the mid-decade Swinging London/Mod scene. The music, the clothes, the dancing, the apartment, everything.

* WavingSignsAround: A tiny anti-military rally where participants carry antiwar signs crosses the street when Thomas stops at the trafic lights. Inexplicably, one girl puts her sign in his car, and he accepts it.

A film with distinctly explicit sexual content for its time, ''Blowup'' was not only a critical and commercial smash hit, even winning the 1967 Palme d'Or, but achieved all of its success after being released in direct defiance to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode by Creator/{{MGM}} creating a subsidiary label to do it. As a result, the Code was all but done for after that and soon replaced by the present MPAA rating system. In short, when it comes to cinematic artistic freedom, this film did for the 1960s what ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' utterly failed to do for the 1990s.

''Blowup'' is a 1966 British-Italian film directed by Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni. It is first English-language film, inspired by the 1959 short story ''Las babas del diablo'' ("The devil's drool/drivel") by Creator/JulioCortazar, and by Swinging UsefulNotes/{{London}} photographer David Bailey.

* TheCameo: Music/TheYardbirds (with both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck) play at a local club.

* ConvenientPhotograph: Provides the page image. A trendy London photographer in [[TheSixties the Swinging Sixties]] is taking pictures of a model in a park. Developing them, he becomes obsessed with what might be a crime, un-noticed at the time, taking place in the background.

Perhaps the archetypal "swinging '60s" movie, at least in Britain. This film inspired the swinging London look of the ''Film/AustinPowers'' films, with the character of Thomas being an obvious inspiration for Austin's fashion photographer cover identity.

The film was an immediate influence for ''Film/TheConversation'' where a painfully methodic sound engineer tries to discover the second sense in the titular conversation he eavesdropped. Also ''Film/BlowOut'' was modeled after the film as it is evident from its title.

A film with really explicit sexual content for its time, ''Blowup'' was not only a critical and commercial smash hit, even winning the 1967 Palme d'Or, but achieved all of its success after being released in direct defiance to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode by Creator/{{MGM}} creating a subsidiary label to do it. As a result, the Code was all but done for after that and soon replaced by the present rating system. In short, this film did for its time for cinematic artistic freedom in the 1960s what ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' utterly failed to do in the 1990s.

''Blowup'' is a 1966 British-Italian film directed by Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni, his first English-language film. Inspired by the 1959 short story, ''Las babas del diablo'', ("The devil's drool/drivel") by Creator/JulioCortazar, and by Swinging UsefulNotes/{{London}} photographer David Bailey.

The plot follows Thomas (David Hemmings), a fashion photographer. One day following a shot he walks through a park taking pictures of people; one person tracks him back to his studio demanding the film. He later discovers what seems to be mysterious figure in a negative and the film follows his experiences in searching for answers to these mysteries.

Blowup won a Palme D'Or on the 1967 Cannes Film Festival. A box office and critical smash hit with really explicit sexual content for its time, this film was released in direct defiance to UsefulNotes/TheHaysCode by Creator/{{MGM}} creating a subsidiary label to do it. As a result, the Code was all but done for after that and soon replaced by the present rating system. In short, this film did for its time for cinematic artistic freedom in the 1960s what ''Film/{{Showgirls}}'' utterly failed to do in the 1990s.

* BlatantLies: After a phone call from a woman Thomas tells Janes that the woman is his wife then denies that she is his wife but admits that they have kids. He immediately says that they do not have kids but adds that she is easy to get on with. Then he recognizes that she is not, that's why they do not live together.

* CoolCar

The plot follows Thomas (David Hemmings), a fashion photographer. One day following a shot he walks through a park taking pictures of people; one person tracks him back to his studio demanding the film which he gives them. He later discovers what seems to be mysterious figure in a negative and the film follows his experiences in searching for answers to these mysteries.

* HandOrObjectUnderwear: Jane takes off her blouse and subsequently always uses a hand to cover her breast when she is shown frontally. When the angle doesn't allow the viewer to see her breasts she doesn't. Her breasts are never seen.
** In one shot the hand of Thomas closes the view of Jane's breasts.

* SpookyPhotographs: The blow-ups of the photograph keep making the original look blurrier and scarier and harder to understand.

* TheUnreveal: Just what the hell was the deal with the dead guy in the park, hm? Did Jane conspire to commit murder, or not?

* TheCameo: The most obvious are Music/TheYardbirds (with both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck), who play at a local club. In the same scene you can also spot Creator/MichaelPalin between the crowd.

Perhaps the archetypal "swinging '60s" movie, at least in Britain. This film inspired the swinging London look of the Film/AustinPowers films, with the character of Thomas being an obvious inspiration for Austin's fashion photographer cover identity.

Blowup was in immediate influence for ''Film/TheConversation'' where a painfully methodic sound engineer tries to discover the second sense in the titular conversation he eavesdropped. Also ''Film/BlowOut'' was modeled after Blowup as it is evident from its title.

''Blowup'' is a 1966 British-Italian film directed by Creator/MichelangeloAntonioni, his first English-language film. Inspired by the 1959 short story, ''Las babas del diablo'', ("The devil's drool/drivel") by [[Creator/JulioCortazar Julio Cortázar]], and by Swinging UsefulNotes/{{London}} photographer David Bailey.

* InspiredBy: A short story by Creator/JulioCortazar

* KingIncognito: Thomas spending night in the asylum for the homeless disguised as the one of them.

* NeverFoundTheBody: Zigzagged. [[spoiler: First Thomas returns to the park and finds the body on the spot where it was seen on his photo. The corpse is clearly there. Thomas leaves the place. When he returns again it is gone for good.]]
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed Thomas is made basing on David Bailey, John Cowan and Terence Donovan, contemporary photographing celebrities.

* {{Paparazzi}}: Thomas acts as such in the crucial scene where he secretly makes shots in the park then photographs Janes

* SpookyPhotographs: The Blow-Ups of the photograph keep making the original look blurrier and scarier and harder to understand.

* ToplessnessFromTheBack: At one point Vanessa Redgrave is shown like that.

* VehicleVanish: Done with people instead of a vehicle, and in a distinctly surreal manner. Thomas is driving downtown when he spots Jane across the street outside a nightclub. As he's parking the car, a group of people pass in front of Jane...and she disappears. She isn't there when the people pass, and she's never seen in the movie again.
* WavingSignsAround: A tiny anti-military rally where participants carry antiwar signs crosses the street when Thomas stops at the trafic lights. Unexplicably one girl puts her sign in his expensive car and he accepts it. [[spoiler: he soon gets rid of it]]

* SeinfeldIsUnfunny: The many parodies of, and homages to, this film make it seem little more than a CampClassic to first-time viewers in the early 21st century.