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Blow [2001]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

A briskly paced hybrid of Boogie Nights and Goodfellas, Blow chronicles the three-decade rise and fall of George Jung (Johnny Depp), a normal American kid who makes a personal vow against poverty, builds a marijuana empire in the 1960s, multiplies his fortune with the Colombian Medellín cocaine cartel, and blows it all with a series of police busts culminating in one final, long-term jail sentence. "Your dad's a loser," says this absentee father to his estranged but beloved daughter, and he's right: Blow is the story of a nice guy who made wrong choices all his life, almost single-handedly created the American cocaine trade and got exactly what he deserved. Directed by Ted Demme, the film is vibrantly entertaining, painstakingly authentic... and utterly aimless in terms of overall purpose. We can't sympathise with Jung's meteoric rise to wealth and the wild life, and Demme isn't suggesting that we should idolise a drug dealer. So what, exactly, is the point of Blow? Simply, it seems, to present Jung's story as the epitome of the coke-driven glory days, and to suggest, ever so subtly, that Jung isn't such a bad guy, after all. Anyone curious about his lifestyle will find this film amazing, and there's plenty of humour mixed with the constant threat of violence and paranoid anxiety. Demme has also populated the film with a fantastic supporting cast (although Penelopé Cruz grows tiresome as Jung's hedonistic wife), and this is certainly a compelling look at the other side of Traffic. Still, one wishes that Blow had a more viable reason for being: like a wild party, it leaves you with a hangover and a vague feeling of regret. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com


That poor criminal is pathetic
Review date: 2008-10-15 Rating: 8 out of 10

This film takes a great pleasure in depicting a mediocre criminal, a drug dealer actually, who considers himself a hero, a genius and maybe even a god on earth. His initial success he analyzes as his own and does not see it is the success of a system and when he fails it's because he crossed a line somewhere: too much and too sure of himself maybe even arrogant and condescending. Then his story is a story of successive failures in between short periods of success and long periods of prison as a result of it all. He ends up betrayed by his own partners who deliver him to the FBI and DEA one night in order to get themselves out of the business clean and unharmed. Finks, that's what his friends were. But he deserved it. Then the story seems to support him on the other side of the coin: his daughter. He loses his wife and his daughter in order to go and by going to prison a first time. Then he re-conquers his daughter little by little and he promises to take her away from the squalor her mother is providing. But that's when he decides to do one more trick to get the money he needs to kidnap his own daughter. That's when he is picked up, lower than him you cannot fall, by the police and sent to prison for so long that he will never see his father alive again. So he dreams his daughter comes and visits him. But that's a dream, an illusion, a mirage. He was not able to deliver his promise and he has been discarded like an old shoe or a worn out sock. Sad but after all very moralistic. Crime does not pay and only brings deception, disappointment and suffering. Too moral maybe to be as good as it could have been. How can we support or sympathize with this selfish and arrogant p**** of a man?

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines


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Reviews


Captivating
Review date: 2008-03-21 Rating: 10 out of 10

This DVD doesn't look promising, to say the least, but the development of the character, played brilliantly by Johnny Depp, and the sheer pace of the movie makes it an action-packed thriller. It keeps you entertained, but also keeps you on the edge of your seat at some moments. Penelope Cruz and the supporting cast are all brilliant, and it is brilliantly directed. Overall, it is a very good film that I would recommend.

Blows other films in its genre away
Review date: 2007-11-23 Rating: 10 out of 10

In this bio-pic, George Jung is a guy who starts out by selling pot in the California area. After a while though, he progresses to selling cocaine in the late 70's and early 80's with the infamous Pablo Escobar, and becomes a multi-millionaire (Jung, played by Johnny Depp very well, explains that if you bought cocaine in that time period in America, there would be a 85 percent chance it was from him). But then we see how things change with time, especially with Jung, which makes this movie even more fascinating and excellent.

While Blow is stylish, smart and hard edged with good stuff, the film also has compassion and feeling, in-particular in the third act which gives this movie a clever turn. Also with brilliant acting from the cast (the ensemble includes Depp, Paul Ruebens, Penelope Cruz and in a twist of a role from GoodFellas, Ray Liotta as Jung's dad) and a well told story, this is one of the best bio-pics and drug movies of the 00's.

Brilliant movie!
Review date: 2007-07-08 Rating: 10 out of 10

Many films (in the era it was made) had tried to make you beleive it was directed by Scorcese, thus meaning the director can gain some more respect. There has never been a film quite as close to Marty's flicks as Blow. Enter 3 decades of the rise and fall of George jung in the drug empire (played beautifally by Johnny Depp). We feel empathy for George, Something i'm sure the director had in mind whilst creating the movie.
The emotion is raw and you are thrusted into the rock and roll world of jung as he battles his way to the frontline, being betrayed, sent to jail on numerous occasions and finally losing his child to the women he thought he loved. What makes George earn most of your sympathy is that he did come clean and quit the business before he went to jail, earning you, the audience, his pain and sorrow.
Please give note to Georges parents. Especially Ray Liotta who plays second best in his supporting role. He plays a wonderful father to George that near the end of the film gives a performance so strong that you weep...
To conclude, the film is quite marvellous. It is a story that differs from Scarface in the 'rise to fame as a drug dealer' persona. It has reality, humour and most of all emotion.
I recommend Blow fondly.

Very Cool
Review date: 2007-03-30 Rating: 10 out of 10

The presence of Johnny Depp is enough to sell me any film, but this one really is cracker. 'Blow' is different - the good sort of different. It's very cleverly made, the acting is superb and the elements of humour are brilliant.

I always find it difficult to write rave film reviews without ruining the plot, so you'll just have to trust me on this one.

Another good part of the film is that it manages to blend the emotions together well. There are times of very clever humour, tragedy, hoplessness and just straight up cool. At around 2 hours long, it contains pretty much everything you could ask for in a film, namely Johnny Depp! But it truly is a very well rounded film with expert touches in the script and direction that bring it above just 'good'.

I'd reccomend giving it a go to lovers of Johnny and fans of films like 'Pulp Fiction', but if even that's not you, don't overlook this.


Definitely worth a watch!

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Rachel Griffiths
Paul Reubens
Johnny Depp
Penélope Cruz
Franka Potente

Creators:
Johnny Depp (Primary Contributor)
Penélope Cruz (Primary Contributor)
Denis Leary (Producer)
Georgia Kacandes (Producer)
Hillary Sherman (Producer)
Joel Stillerman (Producer)
Bruce Porter (Writer)
David McKenna (Writer)
Nick Cassavetes (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: Entertainment in Video
Manufacturer: Entertainment in Video
EAN: 5017239191145
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2001-11-19
Number of discs: 1
Audience rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 122 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001-04-06
Language: English (Original Language)

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