Blow Out

Back in 1981, Brian De Palma was right in the middle of his run as The Next Hitchcock and John Travolta was close to peak stardom. They teamed up for a classic that mixes murder mystery, political conspiracy and a look behind the scenes of low-budget filmmaking. The camerawork goes for a lot of home run shots (but swings and misses sometimes). We get introduced to John Lithgow and Dennis Franz. What’s not to like? “Blow Out” was one of the first movies that made me understand how much I loved good movies (and curly redheads – thank you, Nancy Allen).

Scarface

I first watched “Scarface” in the winter of 1984 at a theater in Hialeah, Fla. It was very controversial at the time (the film, not the theater). For the f-bombs (Cher saw it with young daughter Chastity and counted 77 of them). For the way it depicted South Florida as a drug-addled crime haven (tourism officials were not amused). But the organized crime story with a Cuban twist plays out like a violent Shakespearean tragedy that will appeal equally to Shakespeare lovers and violence lovers. How violent? Just wait for Al Pacino to shout, “Say hello to my little friend!”