Episode 180 The Conversation and Blow Out

Considering the lack of movies that revolve around audio engineers (which happens to be this week’s theme), it’s remarkable how incredible our selections for this double feature are! First up: Franny For Co’s slender goddess,The Conversation (1974). It’s an engrossing, paranoid mood-piece starring Gene Hackman as a surveillance expert grappling with the morality of his work. Second: Brian De Palma’s meta-leaning Blow Out (1981). Inspired by Antonioni’s Blow Up and rendered with characteristic De Palma panache, John Travolta stars as a sound designer who happens to capture the audio of a dubiously accidental car crash. Both highlight the importance of audio as a medium and are stellar examples of film en general. You’ll never listen to movies the same way again! Join us for a round of Hot Mikes and we discuss fetishized analog audio gear, bloody toilet overflow anxiety, and a big bucket of pennies, this week on Ex Rated Movies!