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There is no doubt that Johnny Depp is a gifted actor. From "Benny & Joon" to "Sleepy Hollow," Depp has shown his ability and has been called a chameleon for his ability to morph into a role. However, Depp´s acting ability has often taken a backseat to his bad boy image. He has been arrested more than once over the past decade and owns the notorious LA nightclub, the Viper (location of River Phoenix´s death). Depp´s engagements to actresses such as Winona Ryder and Jennifer Grey have placed him routinely in tabloids. No matter what negative press Depp has received over the years, you cannot deny his acting skills. His chameleonic ability is best displayed in Ted Demme´s drug drama "Blow."
In "Blow," Johnny Depp literally transforms into George Jung, the man considered responsible for the cocaine craze of the late Seventies and early Eighties. Jung grew up in a broken and poor family. He went on to become a popular and well-liked youth who excelled at much of what he did. Bored with life, George and his friend Tuna (Ethan Suplee) move to California in 1968. The two boys feel that a regular job would be counterproductive and they become involved with a local restaurateur and drug kingpin, Derek Foreal (Pee Wee Herman) who also happens to own a male hair salon and bats from the wrong side of the plate.
Over time, George, Derek and his girlfriend Barbara (Franka Potente) begin to smuggle marijuana from California to Boston. They quickly make a ton of money, but supply cannot keep up with demand and they must turn directly to Mexico for a larger supply of pot. This eventually lands George into prison where he becomes educated on the drug trade of cocaine. After leaving prison, George becomes involved with Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis) and his power and wealth shoot to the stratosphere. Of course, all of this comes at a sacrifice. That sacrifice is to his daughter.
Director Ted Demme became interested with the life of George Jung after reading a book written about the man and his ability to introduce cocaine to mainstream America. Demme visited Jung numerous times over a period of time and the two diligently worked to bring together a screenplay and get the film onto the silver screen. There were numerous holdups, most notably, the inability to find an actor to fill Jung´s shoes. After a while, Depp was brought on board. Though Jung never heard of Johnny Depp, he quickly "fell in love" with Depp and was amazed at the actor´s ability to mimic Jung´s speech, mannerisms and appearance. The project was finally a go, and with Depp attached, "Blow" was poised to find theatrical success.
Jung´s motivation for allowing a film to be made that was based on his life was to convey a message. Jung was a man who gambled his life for a short period "on top of the world." In the end, what mattered most to him was taken away. His daughter and his father were out of his reach. All the money, cars and friends he had made were gone. Jung became an isolated man who was sentenced to sixty years in prison. He intended "Blow" to be a film that would tell anybody who may be considering that style of life (drug dealing) to reconsider. He was hoping the film would be a positive message, for he was a well-liked person that could have done anything, but gambled and lost.
Depp and the rest of the ensemble cast featured in "Blow" all put in top-notch performances. After watching footage of the real-life George Jung, his performance becomes almost eerie. He is not the only shining star in this picture. Paul Reubens is engraved in our minds as Pee Wee Herman. In "Mystery Men," he was the scummy and disgusting Spleen. In "Blow" he flexes his acting muscle and gives a solid depiction as a Sixties party thrower / drug lord. Towards the end, Reubens is called upon to have Derek Foreal reconcile with Jung. Reuben´s dramatic turn in the film is well done and hopefully will allow the fine actor to move beyond the "Playhouse." Australian Cliff Curtis is very good as Cocaine Czar Pablo Escobar, Ray Liotta delivers another fine showing as Jung´s caring father. Young Jesse James, Penelope Cruz (Cruise?), soon-to-be-star Franka Potente and others are all wonderful in "Blow." It is not often a film gets this strong of a cast.
The period of time covered in "Blow" ranges from George Jung´s youth to the early eighties. Three decades of culture dictated the surroundings and events of "Blow." Demme elected to have each decade filmed in a different style and composed of different colors and film stock. The locations, outfits and styles of each decade are wonderfully captured, and Demme´s decision to handle each decade different give "Blow" a style and look that is far superior to films that cover a similar span of time. "Blow" is subjected to many comparisons to "Boogie Nights." It has been called the drug equivalent to "Boogie Nights" pornography. Both films handled the multiple decades wonderfully and both are visually stunning. From a standpoint of style, "Blow" comes out on top.
"Blow" was released against "Along Came A Spider." The two films kicked off what would become a dismal summer season. Clearly, "Blow" was one of the few well-crafted and intelligent films of the 2001 summer. "The Mummy Returns," "Pearl Harbor" and "Jurassic Park 3" entertained scores of moviegoers. Now, these films are being released onto DVD. If you are looking for a good film and not something best served with butter-saturated popcorn, then "Blow" is very likely the best choice from the films that followed it. It is so far the cream of the crop of 2001´s offerings. Unless the winter has a lot to offer, I cannot imagine this film not getting a "Best Film" nomination from the Academy.
As can be gathered, I thoroughly enjoyed "Blow." I was certainly not a fan of Ted Demme´s after "The Ref" and "Life." Here, he has shown an ability to be a good director. My love of Tim Burton has delivered a liking for Johnny Depp and an appreciation for the actor. "Blow" is his best performance yet. I thoroughly enjoy the reason popularity of our countries past couple of decades. "Boogie Nights" and "Blow" are excellent looks at the seedy culture that was responsible for the insurgence of pornography and cocaine. They are the best two films to take a look at the decades known as the Sixties and Seventies. "Blow" is above average and a definite recommendation for somebody wanting to watch a film with good performances, stand-out visuals and a captivating story.
Video:
"Blow" is the sort of film that pushes DVD´s abilities to the max. There is more color in any given moment of "Blow" than a typical box of Crayola crayons. The Sixties were a decade of color. The Eighties brought up "Hawaiian Shirts" and jumpsuits. In between was the Seventies, and it was not without color. New Line has been solid over the years with their DVD transfers. The new InfiniFilm line of discs pushes DVD to the max by filling a single DVD-9 disc with an incredible amount of information. New Line continues their excellent work with "Blow" by delivering a very good 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film. Unfortunately, the film suffers to a mild degree from the amount of compression necessary to facilitate the vast amount of supplements.
The vibrant and lively colors of "Blow" are rendered perfectly. There is no color bleeding, and saturation is only sub-par when the method of filming required them to be so. Contrast is excellent and skin-tones are perfect. Black levels are very deep and provide excellent shadow detail. Film grain is only present when the previously mentioned requirements ask for it. Most of the picture is rock solid in detail. Some sequences are purposely soft or grainy, but when this is not the case, the picture is remarkable. Unfortunately, by squeezing this InifiniFilm title onto a single disc, the sky and a few desert shots exhibit minor compression artifacts. Otherwise, this would be a perfect transfer.
Audio:
As with "Boogie Nights," "Blow" features a rock soundtrack that almost demands purchase of the Soundtrack CD. From "Blinded By The Light" to some vintage Rolling Stones, "Blow" contains some very classic tunes. Accompanying the rock soundtrack is a fine musical score that highlights moments when the rock and roll is temporarily turned off. The soundtrack of the film is relentless. It never stops, but it does offer perfect ambience to each of the decades depicted and the individual scenes of the film.
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[release]8063[/release]