Blowup

Blowup. 1966 MGM/Turner Entertainment.
Starring: Vanessa Redgrave, David Hemmings, Sarah Miles
Music by Herbie Hancock
Director: Michaelangelo Antonioni
Buy Blowup at Amazon.

A fashion photographer (Hemmings) is late to consecutive photo shoots. Growing bored, he goes for a drive, ending up in a park, where he catches two lovers on film. The woman (Redgrave) chases the photog back to the studio, unhappy with being photographed, and they make love. After she leaves, the film is developed, and the photographer makes numerous enlargements (or blowups!) of what he captured on film. In addition to the two strangers, he also sees a body lying in the grass, and a murderer hiding in the trees with a gun.

At night, the man returns to the park, and finds the body, but gets scared off after hearing a sound similar to standing on and breaking a wooden twig. He next attends a party on a house on the river Thames, and tries to talk his publishing agent (Peter Bowles) into coming to the park as a witness, but he can't adequately put into words what he has shot on film. The next morning, the photographer goes back to the park, but the body is gone. Confused, he gets involved with a group of university students' mimed game of tennis, and vanishes into thin air. Talented man.

Blowup is also notable for the performance from the Yardbirds, who do their song "Stroll On", and Jeff Beck smashes a guitar during the gig. Michael Palin can also be briefly seen in the audience. This movie is also notable for being the first British film to feature full frontal female nudity, so you guys now know who to thank...or blame.

This wasn't as exciting as I was hoping for, but still interesting. Recommended.