"I have heard people call themselves Brian De Palma apologists. I am proud to say that I am a huge fan without any caveats. There’s a reason that, back in the seventies, fellow movie brats Spielberg, Lucas, and Scorsese would defer to De Palma as “the filmmaker.” When on form, his work is something to behold. Even the lesser works of De Palma contain flashes of genius, while the best of his movies rank as pure cinema. Blow Out is certainly one of De Palma’s finest. There’s not a wasted shot, not even a wasted corner of frame. In the telling of this audiovisual thriller, De Palma uses Steadicam work, split screens, split diopter shots, and complex optical effects to utterly exciting but never overly flashy effect. Some directors are great storytellers without their presence being felt, but De Palma, much like his cinematic hero Alfred Hitchcock, is a master manipulator of both his medium and his audience. He plays us like an instrument, maneuvers us like puppets, and frequently makes us look where we’d rather not. Blow Out begins with De Palma turning the camera on himself and criticisms against him, then ends with one of the crueller, blacker chapters in cinema. The interview on the disc with De Palma and Noah Baumbach is a must-see too; great to hear him talk about Hitchcock, Antonioni, and Coppola and their influence on this film. Filmmakers and film students will be also fascinated to know that Brian thinks coverage is a dirty word. This is a tremendous piece of work that I am very glad Criterion has given the royal treatment."

"What a surprise! Actually a movie about people! No special effects, no super heroes, no gunfights; just a riveting two hours and 15 minutes about some human beings you can recognize as real, going through the agonizing upheavals of a marriage that is no longer working, and therefore facing the daunting, heartbreaking throes of divorce. That’s Noah Baumbach’s new picture, “Marriage Story,” and it is right up there with the best of this exceptional director-writer’s finest work, thus only confirming my long-held opinion that Baumbach is vividly among the top picture-makers of his generation. It is a joy to see and hear actors speaking dialogue that is superbly crafted and profoundly believable. And to watch a film during which the camera is always in the right place for the actors to shine and the scenes to play most effectively for the audience. All this talented and insightful direction, of course, results in brilliant performances. If there is a more nakedly affecting and moving turn by an actor than Adam Driver’s here, I certainly haven’t seen it. He’s always good, but this is truly striking, vividly touching, and simply as good as it gets in modern pictures. I always enjoy Scarlett Johansson’s work, and she certainly doesn’t disappoint here. And Alan Alda’s aging character is memorably drawn. Like so much of the best American movies, Baumbach’s work here is both deeply personal (though not autobiographical) and at the same time quite clearly universal. I really hope that this picture is successful enough to encourage other filmmakers to bring real people to the screen, and to tell stories that resonate with reality."