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For a long time, the going rate of commercial box office success has dictated the career trajectory of directors in Hollywood. But for an icon like Steven Spielberg, greatness is an inherent quality that has defined his creative streak ever since he learned how to hold a camera as a teenage boy.

Jaws (1975) [Credit: Universal Pictures]

Starting from his 20s, Spielberg went on to deliver hit after hit every single time he picked a project. His career birthed such classics as Jaws, E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, and Saving Private Ryan. Without the magic that Spielberg brings to cinema, Hollywood would have never achieved its true potential.

Steven Spielberg was a victim of self-doubt Jaws feat. Steven Spielberg and Bruce the Shark [Picture Credits: Bill Butler and Louis Goldman, Courtesy of Universal Pictures]

While starting off in the industry, a wide-eyed 20-something Steven Spielberg was ready to take any job,...

Chicago – When Brian De Palma was at his peak in the ’70s and ’80s, he was simply one of the best living directors. Some wanted to write him off as nothing more than an Alfred Hitchcock wannabe, but that was a criticism that I never understood. Yes, he cribbed from arguably the best director of all time. Is that a problem? Watch “Blow Out” in its new Criterion Collection edition and try and complain.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

“Blow Out” was more directly influenced by Antonioni’s “Blow Up,” but it also clearly has echoes of the man who De Palma was most often accused of being too obviously inspired by in its tale of a man caught up in a deadly situation beyond his control. As sound effects man Jack (John Travolta, giving one of the best performances of his career) stands on that bridge capturing the truth about a car...

Blow Out (Criterion Collection) Quick Thoughts:

On Criterion Blu-ray with a beautiful high definition transfer and an appropriately crisp DTS-hd Master audio track, this was my first time seeing Brian De Palma's Blow Out and I enjoyed it immensely. A Criterion audience will especially find this a perfect fit for their collection as it speaks to the interest of film enthusiasts, by which I mean people that enjoy going beyond the movie. The people that bask in Criterion's wealth of special features and the filmmaking insights they bring. In this sense, Blow Out serves as its own special feature as it is just as much a movie about filmmaking as it is a thriller revolving around the political assassination at its core.

The film stars John Travolta as the sound designer and mixer for '80s schlock horror films and when his director requests he record some "new wind" effects,...

Not only is Blow Out Brian De Palma’s best film as a director, it is the finest acting performance in the long career of Saturday Night Fever star John Travolta.

Source: Fango

“In the enthralling Blow Out, brilliantly crafted by Brian De Palma, John Travolta gives one of his greatest performances as Jack, a movie sound-effects man who believes he has accidentally recorded a political assassination. He enlists the help of Sally (Nancy Allen), a possible eyewitness to the crime who may be in danger herself, to uncover the truth. With its jolting stylistic flourishes, intricate plot, profoundly felt characterizations, and gritty evocation of early-1980s Philadelphia, Blow Out is an American paranoia thriller unlike any other, as well as a devilish reflection on the act of moviemaking.”

-New, restored digital transfer, supervised by director Brian De Palma (with DTS-hd Master Audio soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)

-New hour-long interview with De Palma,...