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Blowup

 Blowup
type
TVTItem
 Blowup
label
Blowup
 Blowup
page
Blowup
 Blowup
comment
Blowup is a 1966 British-Italian film directed by Michelangelo Antonioni. It is inspired by the 1959 short story Las babas del diablo ("The devil's drool/drivel") by Julio Cortázar, and by Swinging London photographer David Bailey.One day following a shoot, fashion photographer Thomas (David Hemmings) walks through a park taking pictures of people; one person tracks him back to his studio demanding the film. He later discovers what seems to be a mysterious figure in a negative, and the film follows his experiences in searching for answers to these mysteries.A film with distinctly explicit sexual content for its time, Blowup was not only a critical and commercial smash hit, even winning the 1967 Palme d'Or, but achieved all of its success after being released in direct defiance of The Hays Code by MGM creating a subsidiary label to do it. As a result, the Code was all but done for after that and soon replaced by the present MPAA rating system. In short, when it comes to cinematic artistic freedom, this film did for the 1960s what Showgirls utterly failed to do for the 1990s with its flubbed potential for NC-17 films to gain wide-release success.Blowup is perhaps the archetypal "swinging '60s" movie, at least in Britain, with its direct influence present in numerous films that have come out since. It inspired the swinging London look of the Austin Powers films, with the character of Thomas being an obvious inspiration for Austin's fashion photographer cover identity, and it was also an immediate influence for The Conversation, where a painfully methodic sound engineer tries to discover the second sense in the titular conversation he eavesdropped. Blow Out was also modeled after the film, as is likely evident from its title.
 Blowup
fetched
2024-04-12T09:31:21Z
 Blowup
parsed
2024-04-12T09:31:21Z
 Blowup
processingComment
Dropped link to Giallo: Not a Feature - ITEM
 Blowup
isPartOf
DBTropes
 Blowup / int_108c268e
type
Hotter and Sexier
 Blowup / int_108c268e
comment
Hotter and Sexier: As compared to both the previous films of Antonioni and the cinema of the early 60's in general.
 Blowup / int_108c268e
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1.0
 Blowup / int_108c268e
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_108c268e
 Blowup / int_1282bf4f
type
No Celebrities Were Harmed
 Blowup / int_1282bf4f
comment
No Celebrities Were Harmed: Thomas is based on photographers David Bailey, John Cowan and Terence Donovan.
 Blowup / int_1282bf4f
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_1282bf4f
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_1282bf4f
 Blowup / int_1420a9b8
type
Scenery Censor
 Blowup / int_1420a9b8
comment
Scenery Censor: When Jane takes her top off and basically dares Thomas to photograph her, she's strategically hidden behind some stage feathers. When Thomas takes her by the arm and tells her to get dressed, his arms provide the scenery censorship.
 Blowup / int_1420a9b8
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1.0
 Blowup / int_1420a9b8
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_1420a9b8
 Blowup / int_14ed6ab7
type
Does This Remind You of Anything?
 Blowup / int_14ed6ab7
comment
Does This Remind You of Anything?: Thomas' shooting session with Veruschka (pictured above) is highly reminiscent of sexual intercourse.
 Blowup / int_14ed6ab7
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1.0
 Blowup / int_14ed6ab7
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_14ed6ab7
 Blowup / int_1b65dfad
type
The Cameo
 Blowup / int_1b65dfad
comment
The Cameo: The Yardbirds (with both Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck) play at a local club.
 Blowup / int_1b65dfad
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1.0
 Blowup / int_1b65dfad
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_1b65dfad
 Blowup / int_234fa9ba
type
May–December Romance
 Blowup / int_234fa9ba
comment
May–December Romance: Jane and her park date. Lampshaded by Thomas.
 Blowup / int_234fa9ba
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1.0
 Blowup / int_234fa9ba
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_234fa9ba
 Blowup / int_281de59f
type
Extremely Short Timespan
 Blowup / int_281de59f
comment
Extremely Short Timespan: It spans over less than 24 hours.
 Blowup / int_281de59f
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1.0
 Blowup / int_281de59f
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_281de59f
 Blowup / int_35ae7226
type
Everyone Hates Mimes
 Blowup / int_35ae7226
comment
Everyone Hates Mimes: Decisively averted. Mimes are mysterious but ultimately benevolent.
 Blowup / int_35ae7226
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 Blowup / int_35ae7226
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Blowup / int_35ae7226
 Blowup / int_3618ebb9
type
TheSixties
 Blowup / int_3618ebb9
comment
The '60s: Specifically, the mid-decade Swinging London/Mod scene. The music, the clothes, the dancing, the apartment, everything.
 Blowup / int_3618ebb9
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1.0
 Blowup / int_3618ebb9
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_3618ebb9
 Blowup / int_40bb59d0
type
Blatant Lies
 Blowup / int_40bb59d0
comment
Blatant Lies: After a phone call from a woman Thomas tells Janes that the woman is his wife then denies that she is his wife but admits that they have kids. He immediately says that they do not have kids but adds that she is easy to get on with. Then he recognizes that she is not, that's why they do not live together. When Thomas meets Veruschka at a party, he is suprised because she told him earlier that she had to go to Paris, so he reproaches her for lying to him. She answers that she IS in Paris.
 Blowup / int_40bb59d0
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1.0
 Blowup / int_40bb59d0
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_40bb59d0
 Blowup / int_44a1dd10
type
King Incognito
 Blowup / int_44a1dd10
comment
King Incognito: Thomas spends the night in an asylum for the homeless, disguised as the one of them.
 Blowup / int_44a1dd10
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_44a1dd10
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_44a1dd10
 Blowup / int_49334c8e
type
Coitus Uninterruptus
 Blowup / int_49334c8e
comment
Coitus Uninterruptus: At one point Thomas, who's looking for answers about the dead guy, goes to Jane's apartment and finds her in bed, a man humping away on top of her. The man doesn't notice him but Jane does, and she motions for him to leave. After lingering for a bit he does.
 Blowup / int_49334c8e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_49334c8e
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_49334c8e
 Blowup / int_4eb2ef02
type
Vehicle Vanish
 Blowup / int_4eb2ef02
comment
Vehicle Vanish: Done with people instead of a vehicle, and in a distinctly surreal manner. Thomas is driving downtown when he spots Jane across the street outside a nightclub. As he's parking the car, a group of people pass in front of Jane... and she disappears. She isn't there when the people pass, and she's never seen in the movie again.
 Blowup / int_4eb2ef02
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_4eb2ef02
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1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_4eb2ef02
 Blowup / int_5313c266
type
Bookends
 Blowup / int_5313c266
comment
Book Ends: The movie starts and ends with a carload of weird mimes tooling around in an old army surplus jeep, yelling at people.
 Blowup / int_5313c266
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_5313c266
featureConfidence
1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_5313c266
 Blowup / int_5565bf30
type
Three-Way Sex
 Blowup / int_5565bf30
comment
Three-Way Sex: Between Thomas and the two girls who show up to his apartment uninvited.
 Blowup / int_5565bf30
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_5565bf30
featureConfidence
1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_5565bf30
 Blowup / int_5c3206a
type
Ransacked Room
 Blowup / int_5c3206a
comment
Ransacked Room: In the end, Thomas goes back to his studio, which has been ransacked to steal the photographs of the murder scene. Only one is left: the photograph of the body.
 Blowup / int_5c3206a
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1.0
 Blowup / int_5c3206a
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_5c3206a
 Blowup / int_663f35c0
type
Only One Name
 Blowup / int_663f35c0
comment
Only One Name: For everyone in the movie.
 Blowup / int_663f35c0
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1.0
 Blowup / int_663f35c0
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_663f35c0
 Blowup / int_6c81c95
type
True Art Is Incomprehensible
 Blowup / int_6c81c95
comment
True Art Is Incomprehensible: In-Universe, Bill's paintings.
 Blowup / int_6c81c95
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_6c81c95
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_6c81c95
 Blowup / int_7ab17528
type
Waving Signs Around
 Blowup / int_7ab17528
comment
Waving Signs Around: A tiny anti-military rally where participants carry antiwar signs crosses the street when Thomas stops at the traffic lights. Inexplicably, one girl puts her sign in his car, and he accepts it.
 Blowup / int_7ab17528
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_7ab17528
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_7ab17528
 Blowup / int_7d791b62
type
Rewind, Replay, Repeat
 Blowup / int_7d791b62
comment
Rewind, Replay, Repeat: An Unbuilt Trope version, as Thomas winds up obsessively blowing up and studying a detail from a single photograph.
 Blowup / int_7d791b62
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_7d791b62
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1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_7d791b62
 Blowup / int_82accf22
type
Gainax Ending
 Blowup / int_82accf22
comment
Gainax Ending: The film starts to get downright weird at the end. Thomas comes back to his apartment to find all of the incriminating photos having disappeared, except for one blurry image of the body that fell behind some furniture. He spots Jane outside a club, only for her to literally disappear into thin air. Finally, the last scene has Thomas re-visiting the park to find that the corpse has disappeared as well. The carload of weird mimes shows up again, as they scamper into the park and onto a tennis court, where two of them mime playing tennis without a ball. Despite the lack of a ball we start hearing the sound of a ball being hit around on the court. Then we see Thomas walking away as the camera pulls back into a crane shot...only for Thomas to disappear into thin air as well, as The End comes onscreen.
 Blowup / int_82accf22
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_82accf22
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_82accf22
 Blowup / int_8a295a46
type
Cool Car
 Blowup / int_8a295a46
comment
Cool Car: Thomas's convertible Rolls-Royce.
 Blowup / int_8a295a46
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_8a295a46
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1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_8a295a46
 Blowup / int_90b66e22
type
Femme Fatale
 Blowup / int_90b66e22
comment
Femme Fatale: Jane is a highly attractive woman who is involved in a murder case. She charms Thomas to try to get the evidence destroyed.
 Blowup / int_90b66e22
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_90b66e22
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_90b66e22
 Blowup / int_96a33f11
type
Riddle for the Ages
 Blowup / int_96a33f11
comment
Riddle for the Ages: Just what the hell was the deal with the dead guy in the park, hm? Did Jane conspire to commit murder, or not?
 Blowup / int_96a33f11
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_96a33f11
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 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_96a33f11
 Blowup / int_9cede50e
type
Toplessness from the Back
 Blowup / int_9cede50e
comment
Toplessness from the Back: At one point Vanessa Redgrave is shown like this.
 Blowup / int_9cede50e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_9cede50e
featureConfidence
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 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_9cede50e
 Blowup / int_9d12bbc1
type
Foreshadowing
 Blowup / int_9d12bbc1
comment
Foreshadowing: When discussing a book he is making with his photographs, Thomas says something along the lines of "It's violent, I want to end it with something peaceful". The last scenes of the movie are as peaceful as you can get.
 Blowup / int_9d12bbc1
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_9d12bbc1
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_9d12bbc1
 Blowup / int_9e1b9a0e
type
Camera Fiend
 Blowup / int_9e1b9a0e
comment
Camera Fiend: Thomas.
 Blowup / int_9e1b9a0e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_9e1b9a0e
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1.0
 Blowup
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Blowup / int_9e1b9a0e
 Blowup / int_9f2ca67b
type
Gaydar
 Blowup / int_9f2ca67b
comment
Gaydar: Thomas unequivocally identifies a pair of young men with poodles as gay.
 Blowup / int_9f2ca67b
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1.0
 Blowup / int_9f2ca67b
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hasFeature
Blowup / int_9f2ca67b
 Blowup / int_a18a7c01
type
Hand-or-Object Underwear
 Blowup / int_a18a7c01
comment
Hand-or-Object Underwear: Jane takes off her blouse and subsequently always uses a hand to cover her breast when she is shown frontally. When the angle doesn't allow the viewer to see her breasts she doesn't. Her breasts are never seen thanks to a combined use of this trope and Scenery Censor.
 Blowup / int_a18a7c01
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_a18a7c01
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Blowup / int_a18a7c01
 Blowup / int_a31c79f3
type
Paparazzi
 Blowup / int_a31c79f3
comment
Paparazzi: Thomas acts as such in the crucial scene where he secretly takes shots in the park then photographs Jane.
 Blowup / int_a31c79f3
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_a31c79f3
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Blowup / int_a31c79f3
 Blowup / int_a3912d0e
type
Sexy Discretion Shot
 Blowup / int_a3912d0e
comment
Sexy Discretion Shot: The film certainly showed more nudity than any other mainstream film to run in the United States or Britain prior to that time, but the boundary pushing only went so far. After most of the clothes in the Three-Way Sex scene have been removed we cut to the aftermath, with the two girls again fully clothed and gently putting Thomas's shoes back on.
 Blowup / int_a3912d0e
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_a3912d0e
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1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_a3912d0e
 Blowup / int_b1f4c5bb
type
Enhance Button
 Blowup / int_b1f4c5bb
comment
Enhance Button: Averted. He tries to enlarge (blowup) the picture, but it loses resolution with each try. The fact is lampshaded by Bill's girlfriend.
 Blowup / int_b1f4c5bb
featureApplicability
-1.0
 Blowup / int_b1f4c5bb
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 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_b1f4c5bb
 Blowup / int_b3154762
type
Carload of Cool Kids
 Blowup / int_b3154762
comment
Carload of Cool Kids: In the beginning and in the end, a large group of young mimes are inside an old army surplus jeep.
 Blowup / int_b3154762
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_b3154762
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Blowup / int_b3154762
 Blowup / int_c4b09e97
type
Doppelgänger
 Blowup / int_c4b09e97
comment
Doppelgänger: Sitting in a cafe with his friend Thomas sees a young man who closely resembles him from the back. He exits and sees the man once more from the front and he still looks like the protagonist. He doesn't follow the doppelgänger who gets in the car down the street then the camera cuts off.
 Blowup / int_c4b09e97
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_c4b09e97
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_c4b09e97
 Blowup / int_ce165390
type
Casting Couch
 Blowup / int_ce165390
comment
Casting Couch: Two girls seduce Thomas and have sex with because they want him to photograph them. It does not work: after having sex with them he tells them to go away.
 Blowup / int_ce165390
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_ce165390
featureConfidence
1.0
 Blowup
hasFeature
Blowup / int_ce165390
 Blowup / int_d0692227
type
Spooky Photographs
 Blowup / int_d0692227
comment
Spooky Photographs: The blow-ups of the photograph keep making the original look blurrier and scarier and harder to understand. Downplayed because there is nothing supernatural.
 Blowup / int_d0692227
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_d0692227
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1.0
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Blowup / int_d0692227
 Blowup / int_d91f1429
type
Rockers Smash Guitars
 Blowup / int_d91f1429
comment
Rockers Smash Guitars: After using it to perform Percussive Maintenance on a misbehaving amp.
 Blowup / int_d91f1429
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_d91f1429
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Blowup / int_d91f1429
 Blowup / int_dc955e66
type
Inspired by…
 Blowup / int_dc955e66
comment
Inspired by…: A short story by Julio Cortázar.
 Blowup / int_dc955e66
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1.0
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Blowup / int_dc955e66
 Blowup / int_dceccabf
type
Cat Fight
 Blowup / int_dceccabf
comment
Cat Fight: The two girls that come to Thomas's apartment have a giggling Fanservice-y faux Cat Fight in which the one girl, who is already topless, renders the second girl topless. Then Thomas joins in and more clothing gets removed and three-way sex follows.
 Blowup / int_dceccabf
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_dceccabf
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Blowup / int_dceccabf
 Blowup / int_de2ee4e8
type
Two-Act Structure
 Blowup / int_de2ee4e8
comment
Two-Act Structure: The first half of the movie is a rather episodic study of the life of a young fashion photographer in London—lots of scantily clad models, hipster friends, parties, a vague sense of ennui. Then halfway through Thomas notices what appears to be a murder in the background of his picture of Jane, and the film becomes something different, as he tries, somewhat halfheartedly, to solve the mystery.
 Blowup / int_de2ee4e8
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1.0
 Blowup / int_de2ee4e8
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Blowup / int_de2ee4e8
 Blowup / int_e895b19c
type
Sideboob
 Blowup / int_e895b19c
comment
Sideboob: Veruschka in the early photography session has a dress that features this.
 Blowup / int_e895b19c
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_e895b19c
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Blowup / int_e895b19c
 Blowup / int_e90e0fe1
type
Defying the Censors
 Blowup / int_e90e0fe1
comment
Defying the Censors: MGM outright defied The Hays Code and released this film despite the censors' attempts to stop it, to great critical and box office success. As such, this film was considered the final blow against the code's credibility and the MPAA ratings system followed a few years later.
 Blowup / int_e90e0fe1
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Blowup / int_e90e0fe1
 Blowup / int_eb6ea560
type
Convenient Photograph
 Blowup / int_eb6ea560
comment
Convenient Photograph: A trendy London photographer in the Swinging Sixties is taking pictures of a model in a park. Developing them, he becomes obsessed with what might be a crime, un-noticed at the time, taking place in the background.
 Blowup / int_eb6ea560
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1.0
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Blowup / int_eb6ea560
 Blowup / int_eb8ec7c8
type
Jerkass
 Blowup / int_eb8ec7c8
comment
Jerkass: Thomas.
 Blowup / int_eb8ec7c8
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_eb8ec7c8
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Blowup / int_eb8ec7c8
 Blowup / int_ed81daa2
type
Mockstery Tale
 Blowup / int_ed81daa2
comment
Mockstery Tale: Thomas accidentally uncovers a murder. He attempts to investigate it, but he doesn't seem very enthusiastic in spite of actually finding the victim's body, his investigation ends in vain and the ending implies that he doesn't or shouldn't really care.
 Blowup / int_ed81daa2
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_ed81daa2
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 Blowup
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Blowup / int_ed81daa2
 Blowup / int_f0e85546
type
Unbuilt Trope
 Blowup / int_f0e85546
comment
Unbuilt Trope: The Enhance Button (or at least an analog version of it).
 Blowup / int_f0e85546
featureApplicability
1.0
 Blowup / int_f0e85546
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Blowup / int_f0e85546
 Blowup / int_f516f938
type
Never Found the Body
 Blowup / int_f516f938
comment
Never Found the Body: Zigzagged. First Thomas returns to the park and finds the body in the spot where it was seen in his photo. The corpse is clearly there. Thomas leaves. When he returns, it’s no longer there.
 Blowup / int_f516f938
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Blowup / int_f516f938
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ItemName
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Blowup

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 BlowUp
sameAs
Blowup
 The Conversation
seeAlso
Blowup
 Blowup
hasFeature
Camera Fiend / int_7c31f1c7
 Blowup
hasFeature
Convenient Photograph / int_7c31ede7
 Blowup
hasFeature
Enhance Button / int_7c31f1c7
 Blowup
hasFeature
Mid-Development Genre Shift / int_7c31ede7
 Blowup
hasFeature
Mockstery Tale / int_7c31f1c7
 New Hollywood
seeAlso
Blowup
 Blowup
hasFeature
Rewind, Replay, Repeat / int_7c31f1c7
 Blowup
hasFeature
The Foreign Subtitle / int_7c31ede7
 Blowup
hasFeature
Three-Way Sex / int_7c31f1c7
 Blowup
hasFeature
Vehicle Vanish / int_7c31f1c7