Blow-Up
UW Cinematheque 821 University Ave., UW Vilas Hall, Room 4070, Madison, Wisconsin
press release: THURS., 6/14, 7 p.m. and FRI., 6/15, 2 p.m.
UK, Italy | 1966 | 35mm | 111 min.; Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
Cast: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles
Hemmings is a fashion photographer who takes a stroll through a London park for a few snapshots, but do his images of a lovers’ lunchtime tryst also offer clues to a murder? Perhaps the ultimate statement on fear and alienation in the big city, Antonioni’s international box office smash was a taboo breaker in terms of full frontal nudity, as well as a gripping existential mystery. The score is by Herbie Hancock and The Yardbirds (featuring Jimmy Page) appear in a memorable party scene.
In conjunction with the Madison Reunion, June 14-16, the Cinematheque will present screenings of movies that evoke the late 1960s, a period when “Madison was a cradle of the counterculture, a rich mix of music, art, politics, history and participatory experience...an unforgettable time of experimentation, innovation and creativity.” The screenings include a new restoration of The War at Home, an Oscar-nominated chronicling of Madison’s anti-Vietnam War movement.
All Cinematheque screenings are free and open to the public.