“A MOD MURDER MYSTERY”

By Raymond Benson

Michelangelo Antonioni’s Blowup (it’s spelled this way in the film credits, but on theatrical posters and advertising it was called Blow-Up) was a landmark, envelope-pushing film that caused quite a stir. For one thing, it was one of the nails in the coffin of the U.S. Production Code, paving the way for the elimination of cinematic censorship and the eventual creation of the movie ratings. Its depiction of nudity, sexual attitudes, and recreational drugs crossed the line for late 1966. Nevertheless, newspaper ads got away with simply proclaiming that the picture was “Recommended for Mature Audiences,” since this was prior to the ratings themselves.

Blowup also stands as a cultural landmark in that it captures that moment of time called “Swinging London.” Everything was “mod”—music, fashion, art... even groups of youths were called “mods.” Antonioni’s film could serve as a time capsule for that period of artistic rebellion. It’s also a curiosity in that it was an Italian-British co-production, financed by Hollywood—but it definitely comes off as “English.” The filmmaker received his only Best Director Oscar nomination for the picture, and he shared a nomination for Original Screenplay with Tonino Guerra.

The story concerns Thomas, a professional photographer (charismatically portrayed by David Hemmings), who we follow as he goes about his daily routine of shooting gorgeous fashion models and whatever else strikes his fancy as he roams London. He’s estranged from his wife (Sarah Miles), and it’s apparent they have an open relationship (how very mod of them!). One day, while strolling through Maryon Park (which still looks practically the same today), Thomas spies a lovely young woman (Vanessa Redgrave) with an older man. He snaps pictures without the couple knowing it, but then the woman chases Thomas down and demands to have the film. He won’t give it up—the pictures are going into an art book he’s planning to publish. When he develops the roll, Thomas discovers that a murder may have occurred. Later on that night, he returns to the park and finds that, indeed, the older man’s body is lying in the grass. The mystery of the crime becomes Thomas’ obsession.

There isn’t much plot beyond that. Instead, Antonioni presents an existential treatise on the nature of seeing and not-seeing, or perhaps imagination vs. reality. Thomas seems to have everything a good-looking, talented man could want—his pick of “birds” (yes, that was the slang for “girls” then), money, a fancy car, and the freedom to chase the muse. And yet, there is something missing in his life and it soon becomes obvious that he’s not very happy. The uncovering of the mystery further shakes him out of party mode and forces him to face the real world. It’s a theme Antonioni explores in several of his works.

The film is a visual feast. The sets are filled with the modern art of the period and “Twiggy”-style clothing. The London locations are used to a great advantage, and many of these are revisited in the new documentary on the making of the film that is included as a supplement on the disk. The soundtrack is also “hip”—Herbie Hancock provides the jazz score, and the Yardbirds (which at the time included Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page) appear as themselves and perform at an underground club. The ménage à trois scene that caused all the fuss with the Production Code and features Hemmings, Jane Birkin (who at the time was married to composer John Barry), and Gillian Hills, is wild and raucous and was probably pretty shocking at the time—but today it would barely classify for an “R” rating in the U.S.

The Criterion Collection’s new Blu-ray release of Blowup exploits all of these assets in a gorgeous restored 4K digital transfer and an uncompressed monaural soundtrack. The supplements are plentiful—the aforementioned 2016 documentary; new pieces on Antonioni’s artistic approach with photography curators Walter Moser and Philippe Garner and art historian David Alan Mellor; a 2016 conversation with Vanessa Redgrave; two archival interviews with David Hemmings; an archival interview with Jane Birkin; footage from the 1967 Cannes Film Festival at which Blowup won the Grand Prix (also with an interview with the director); and two trailers. The set comes with a fairly thick, lavishly illustrated booklet featuring an essay by film scholar David Forgacs, an updated 1966 account of the film’s shooting by Stig Björkman, the questionnaires distributed to photographers and painters while developing the film, and the 1959 Julio Cortázar short story on which the film is loosely based.

In short, Criterion has released an exemplary set for a milestone film. So take a trip back to the swinging sixties for some free love, pop music, and far-out modern art. It will turn you on.

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