Blow-Up
Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966, 111 min

Introduced by Ranjit S. Ruprai and followed by discussion with film scholar and curator Dr. Omar Ahmed

Inspired by Julio Cortázar’s short story “The Devil’s Drool”, Blow-Up features David Hemmings as a hip photographer who accidentally captures a murder mystery on film in a park. But what is really happening in this enigmatic masterpiece? Antonioni: “I want to recreate reality in an abstract form. I put reality in doubt.” This is an imaginary London constructed by Antonioni and accompanied by the jazzy sounds of Herbie Hancock. Blow-Up captures the real, counterculture spirit of the time whilst also fabricating an enduring mythology of swinging 60s London.

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Screening as part of The Counterculture on Camera double bill