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Reviews:
Blown
Away
by Michael Flanagan
Super
As far as Hollywoodized
biopics go, Blow is top-notch. As far as
drug-dealing pot/cokehead jailbirds go, George
Jung is, again, top-notch.
As far as major star yet even still under
appreciated genius, brilliant amazingly talented
actors go, Johnny Depp exceeds any labeled
descriptions.
Blow
tells the story of George Jung, the 80’s
cokehead who fraternized with Colombian drug lord
Escobar who earned and lost billions of dollars
and spent decades in jail.
This movie is great.
It begins with the happy 60’s with happy
music, happy beach scenes, and happy marijuana.
What follows is the Boogie Nights
gun-in-the-head moment when Jung’s girlfriend
dies of cancer and he learns the wonders of
cocaine. After
this turning point, the fun slowly dies and Jung
follows a path of highs (pun intended) and lows
until finally he has estranged family, friends,
co-workers, and lost his life, his freedom, and
maybe a little sanity.
Director Ted Demme has done a fine job of
showing us this life, without preaching it, and
leaving the viewer to decide what it means, what
they think. And partially, what happened to Jung.
Johnny
Depp. As
a fan of the first Nightmare on Elm Street
film, I can say that I’ve watched Depp grow up
on film. He’s
progressed as an actor more than any other, and
he’s shown his darker abilities with the likes
of Tim Burton and Roman Polanski, his romantic
side as Don Juan and in Chocolat, and his
naturalistic grace in Donnie Brasco.
Johhny Depp is not in Blow.
Sure, the credits contain his name and
he’s on the DVD case and some scenes look like
him, but Johnny Depp is not in this movie.
George Jung, however, is.
Considering that Jung is doing time in
prison until 2015, this may be a difficult fact to
believe. But
somehow, by using Depp’s name, they were able to
get Jung out of prison and let him act his life
for the cameras.
To think that any actor could pull off such
an exact performance is ridiculous, and I for one
won’t fall for it.
Blow
is a great movie, with great performances, about a
not-so-great man.
And through the movie he looses a little of
the “not so great” and gains a little of the
“man.”
DVD Update
This
is another release from New Line’s Infinifilm
line of DVDs, and another great one.
Infinifilm may be my favorite of the DVD
“gimmicks” available.
You can watch the movie, and at certain
points, a screen pops up allowing you to select
the option of leaving the movie for a moment and
watching some extra feature, such as a home video
of filming the scene, or factual outtakes of the
event, such as real photographs or the like.
You can also choose to view Infinifilm’s
features on their own.
The documentary on the drug culture is
truly educational.
The deleted scenes, with commentary or
without, are very interesting.
The interviews with the real George Jung on
what he thought of the film give a look at
something not ordinarily seen.
And the feature commentary, with director
Demme and Jung himself provides even deeper
insight into an already great experience.
The Infinifilm Blow DVD lets you
watch a movie that is already rewatchable and take
away even more every time.
DVD Rating: HUGE.
On January 13th, 2002, director Ted Demme died
at the age of 38. Those who knew him
personally mourn his loss for far deeper reasons
than we can. Our mourning, beyond the
natural sadness over loss of life, concerns the
loss of a great talent who was just beginning to
show his colors. He started simple, with
great movies like The Ref and Beautiful
Girls. He later showed his versatility
in his move to television with "Action,"
a critically acclaimed, yet short-lived
series. But it was this, his most recent and
now final project, that showed Demme's true
capabilities. Blow stands out as one
of the best movies of last year, and quite a major
accomplishment for Demme. He is readily
visible on the DVD, both in the commentary and in
interviews, but it is in his interviews with Jung
that he showed the most passion. That
passion is the clearest example of what made Blow
a great film, and Demme a great director. He
tackled film with everything he could, and he will
be missed by many, in many ways. Our condolences
go out to his family and friends.
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