Blow up revisited

Scenes shot in Maryon Park from the film Blow up then and now

[@doubledeckers]

I enjoyed this very much. Utterly insane that they allowed the demolition of the antiques shop. One of the most famous films ever and a tourist attraction handed to them on a plate.

[@Nicholas9805]

Very true. The scene was magical, but the 60s was the time when many old streets were being swept away. In some earlier shots when Thomas is driving up to the antiques shop you can actually see the beginnings of the housing development which would eventually swallow up the whole street.

[@Tulay7]

Hello I just went there today and it was weird it was like the time stood still!! good old 60s I wish I go back in time.. Good work thank you.

[@craigbrown9987]

I travelled out to Maryon earlier this week and it's barely changed. A little less manicured but still has a mysterious, enigmatic atmosphere that Antonioni obviously picked up on. Really worth the trip if you've got the time.

[@terryhenderson9097]

Lived around the corner from that park loved it there in summer ☀️

[@DavidMillsom]

Thanks. I've long wanted to visit Marion Park and recall the film.I first saw it in 1969 and it has stayed with me since, particularly the park and the wind through the trees.

[@patrickney6584]

David Millsom Same here.

[@patrickney6584]

David Millsom Something haunting about it, as though it's locked in time.

[@laurencenabbs4535]

Blow up is one of my all time favourite movies, and the park scene is one of the movie's highlights. Both the park and the movie seem timeless.

[@terencesommer5413]

Thank you so much. I first saw this film maybe 8 or so years ago and have been in love with it ever since. The times I have visited London was before I had knowledge of this film. When I go back to London for a visit, I will find these locales. Maryon Park. I agree with one of the posts here, it was the summer afternoon, the breeze, and the full playing of the trees is what has alway stood out for me. Love from the USA.

[@sprucetree49]

Very nice! I love the film and always wanted to visit that park. Looks like it was nicer in the old days. It was a brilliant stroke on Antonioni's part to make the park so central to the film.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

It was certainly nicer in the 60's.

[@HistoryKrell]

Very nice. This answers questions that, at times, we lay awake at night thinking about. Thank you. I will go there. David and the others will always be there.

[@davidmcintyre998]

Looked much nicer back in the sixties.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

I think a lot of things have been allowed to deteriorate in the decades since then.

[@mikeb1151]

Fantastic! I visited London in July and also went to the Maryon Park to shoot the scenery of the film :)!

[@tarakb7606]

I have been to Maryon Park many times. It has hardly changed. The fencing has gone and a few trees are missing in the area where David Hemmings was taking the photos. Other than that, it is still pretty much as it was in the film. Unfortunately the neighbouring houses and the Antiques shop are gone and have been "redeveloped" and replaced with faceless anonymous buildings. The wind, on the other hand, still blows through the trees.......💚💚 Ps: strangely enough, the Thorntree Road/Woodland Terrace entrance and the stairs leading down to the park, which may be its most beguiling and attractive features, do not feature in the film.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

I first visited Maryon Park in 1999 and at first I thought I had arrived at the wrong place. The surrounding area looks *completely* different and where the antiques shop once stood was a camping shop called Best In Tents, that had gone out of business.

[@tarakb7606]

@@ppuh6tfrz646 Sadly all of the houses in that street were demolished a long time ago, in the early seventies I believe.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@tarakb7606 The area looks a lot worse now than it did in the 60's. So much for progress...

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@tarakb7606 The park itself is not as attractive as it was in the film, although it may have improved since I last visited it back in 2007. I've visited the park four times and on one occasion, the area where the 'murder' was photographed was completely overgrown. The first time I went there, a car had been driven into the side of the tennis courts and set on fire. The car had obviously been used in a crime.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

@@tarakb7606 Do you know if Hemmings ever returned to Maryon Park? I saw a website a few years before Hemmings' death where a guy claimed that Hemmings had accompanied him to Maryon Park. The site had a recent photo of Maryon Park, a photo of Hemmings in the 60's and that was it. There was no recent photo of either Hemmings with this guy or a photo of him revisiting the park - as you would expect there to be. So I assumed that the guy who wrote the website was lying. I read in the book Your Face Here that attempts were made to get Hemmings and Redgrave to attend the unveiling of a commemorative plaque opposite the tennis courts - but this was unsuccessful due to 'local authority budgets'. Would actors really expect to be paid for something like this?

[@HistoryKrell]

In June 2013 I was at Greenwich Observatory which is only 1.7 miles west of Maryon Park. Wish I had gone there. I read that Vanessa was from Greenwich. Maybe she influenced to site location team to select this park.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

I read that Antonioni discovered the park when walking his dog.

[@victorwhitby4401]

missing david and michelangelo

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

Hemmings was only 62 when he died but I wasn't surprised when he passed away. To be honest, he looked awful in his later years. I was shocked at his appearance when I saw him in Gladiator and Last Orders.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

5:09 I always thought there was something weird about the way Hemmings walked down the steps here.

[@BodyDoubleFilms]

I shot a couple of scenes for my feature in Maryon park, this time last year.

[@PTS82]

Looks like it needs a lot of work and a complete restoration to its former glory

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

It has been neglected somewhat. I've visited the park four times and on one occasion, the area where the 'murder' was photographed was completely overgrown. The first time I went there, a car had been driven into the side of the tennis courts and set on fire. The car had obviously been used in a crime.

[@trimphoner]

Excellent work.

[@Sedda64]

Thanks. Very nice. It's a pity about the picket fence but I suppose it would have been too much upkeep to maintain it. It looks like they left just the one panel there for the film buffs.

[@Nicholas9805]

I wonder if the picket fence was specially put up for the film. If you look closely at it it seems a little too pristine a colour to be true and a bit flimsy for a local authority park.

[@robertsmith9076]

I found a 6 " bit of the fence nailed to a tree . Mine now .

[@maalmeida1837]

very nice edition ! great Ellipsis narrative film(phone)-park-(film)phone!

[@matthias.9834]

4:14 good way to get grass stains on your nice White Jeans.

[@ppuh6tfrz646]

Especially when Antonioni had spray painted the grass!

[@japonvalm]

GÉNIAL ! THANKS !

[@pete49327]

Very nice, thx

[@stevemossholder]

very nice! Did you check for the body? I've only been to London once. Walked across Abbey Road of course. But should have come here too. Thanks for this.

[@magister8084]

Some pieces of the old wooden fence are still there...

[@jeffappel708]

What kind of bird is singing at 0:33?

[@thehiddentiger2199]

That’s cool

[@noddyholder79]

Melancholic/passing of time

[@jakespivey3716]

Just like I'm getting old, the park is looking unkempt and a bit worst for ware.