Blow (2001)
Written by David McKenna and Nick Cassavetes / Directed by Ted Demme
Starring Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz, Franka Potente, Rachel Griffiths and Ray Liotta
124 mins / New Line / Rated R
Retail: $19.98 / Street: $17
by Alex Mestas 8/13/2003
More info: Get Some Blow
DVD Cover
The Cover
Blow is the story of George Jung, who wasn't so much a drug kingpin as a slippery cog in the rise of coke in the 1980's. In interviews, George has stated that if you snorted blow in the 80's, it's 85% possibility that the drugs came through him and Pablo Escobar. Directed by the late Ted Demme, who died of a heart attack (with coke in his system, of all things), the interesting thing about the Blow is the rather uncritical view it takes of the drug trade in general. I'm not offended by it, I'm just not used to seeing a movie which doesn't criticize the drug trade.

Jung is a smart guy who does a lot of stupid things and does so over and over. He's the perfect movie anti-hero: a mostly good guy who does bad things. You can see the situations coming from a mile away, but you can't help but feel sorry for the guy when things come crashing down.

Perhaps the most glaring change, at least in my mind, is the way that the movie makes Pablo Escobar out to be some sort warrior-poet with great philosophical leanings. In truth, he was an inarticulate drug kingpin with a penchant for American TV shows and a love of the old ultra-violence. This is the only thing about Blow that really stuck in my craw. The rest of it was inoffensive and pretty steady...but then again, perhaps its greatest failure.

I'm not even sure how much I enjoyed Blow. I always like seeing Johnny Depp and the teeny Penelope Cruz, but it just wasn't what I expected. It was a film that had a chance to ooze cool, but just kind of dribbled. The supporting cast is uniformly great - not a single complaint here. But it doesn't pop. There's no show off moments. Really, a film about coke needs some crazy, over the top stuff happening on screen. Unfortunately, all we get is sadness and contemplation.

Movie Grade : B

Video: 4 out of 5
Beautiful. The flick was shot on a bunch of different film stocks and all look great.
Widescreen Anamorphic 2.35:1

Audio: 4 out of 5
Nice. There's not a whole lot going on action wise, but the music swells and swims through the speakers just as it should.
English (Dolby Digital 5.1)

Extras: 5 out of 5


Layabouts

You couldn't ask for much more than this. This is one occasion where the disc taken as a whole is probably better than the film itself. Not only do the extras expand upon the film, they're also well made in their own right. I know there's more than this, but here's a short rundown:

Commentary with Ted Demme and George Jung - Demme is a cool guy that knows a lot about his film, speaks intelligently and keeps thing interesting. Jung, recorded in prison adds a significant appreciation to the film when you hear the more specific tales of his life.

Production diary - a 20 minute, behind the scenes of Demme and his crew. No fluff, just the camera.

Lost Paradise: Cocaine's Impact on Columbia - It's in Español and mostly academic, which is a good thing.

George Jung interviews - a total of about 25 minutes of Demme interviewing Jung in prision. It's nice and informal

Fact and Trivia Subtitle Track - pop up video

Character outtakes - I have no idea what this was used for, but it's my favorite extras. The actors, in character, talk to the camera about George and drugs. It reminds me a lot of Demme's old black and white Dennis Leary MTV spots.

Deleted scenes - Lots of them

Overall: 4 out of 5
Infini-film hits yet another homer. Despite some reservation about the movie, Blow deserves a place on the shelf. It's made by a man with a real love of cinema, features great actors and great extras on the disc. Nice.

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