BLOW UP (1966) - FILM LOCATION DOCUMENTARY

This is a film location documentary of the movie BLOW UP (1966). The movie was filmed in London and was one of the most influencial movies of the 60ties. The film location documentary is filmed and arranged by Daniel Ammeter. It was made in November 2011.
If you like the film location documentary, please write a comment, press the "like it" button sub and send it to your friends!
Thank you for watching!

[@JohnHooton]

Brilliant! Brought back many happy memories. At the time, I was assistant to real life fashion photographer John Cowan, whose studio was the one in the film. I met cast and crew and Vanessa Redgrave sometimes came into the darkroom when I was printing for a chat. The darkroom in the film was a mock-up built by the crew. The real one was under John's flat which was the upstairs part that overlooks the studio in the film, where Veruska was photographed in the early scenes. Best time of my life!

[@vanseit]

Hi, John. What's it become now that beautiful studio?

[@georgefowler3027]

Bet it was

[@LiteratureTodayUK]

This (amateur) documentary genuinely represents the very best of KZbin. It was utterly compelling to watch if you are a fan of Antonioni and Blowup. What a treat - that somebody bothered to do all that hard work for us so that we could delight in comparing 'then and now' type scenes and sequences. Really wonderful work - and THANKS!

[@71brett]

This is always going to be the coolest film ever made!

[@pixelpidget]

Really very well done. I can't help thinking that London looked better then.

[@Unplugged70]

Sad to see the antiques shop is completely gone!

[@briansmith3983]

Great job. Thanks for doing this. I was haunted by that park for years, although the movie kind of went over my head. The sound of the wind in the trees during a cool cloudy English summer. No sound track. Got to me. As others have pointed out. London looked better then. So did the world.

[@MrWeitblick]

I agree

[@bazzbazzley]

Funnily enough Blow-Up still holds up as a film and particularly David Hemmings' extraordinary performance. Whilst much of the 60's product has curdled with age, this little gem remains remarkably fresh.

[@isgraw]

Great film, I am also a bog fan of Blowup. I spent 2012 in London doing my postgraduate studies and one of my dreams was to revisit the park. I did so around September in a rather foggy and cold day but I throughly enjoyed my bike ride there...all the way from Blooomsbury. I took a lot of pictures and retraced Hemmings´ steps. So sad to see that the antique shop was demolished!

[@DA90027]

Same thing happens here in Los Angeles back in the 60's there was more open space buildings had more charm and character now they try to make everything look so upscale and devoid of any charm. Even the park back then looked more warm with the fences etc that are gone now. Great work on this.

[@Rootie222]

Nice work.........Antonioni. would be proud of your strangely haunting revisit to those locations of New Wave past....I first saw this film at age 15 in 1967 at an "Art" theater specializing in mostly foreign films deemed too explicit for mainstream America.....The themes of Perception and Truth, set against the explosive cultural changes of that period, still intrigue me even as an old man...... Love this flick....Thanks for your effort!

[@graeme49]

this is terrific. anybody who loves the movie can't help but love this. I certainly do

[@styxcreek]

Brilliant. Thanks so much for this. Such a haunting, unforgettable movie. A shame that beautiful old Antiques store was torn down and replaced by some soulless concrete box. Typical..

[@theprophet20]

Brilliant, a profound meditation on the mystery of time, the ghosts who once inhabited the space where we now exist, and in our turn, we will become the ghosts of the future...

[@ferdinandfrancis9673]

+theprophet20 Well said.

[@ferdinandfrancis9673]

+theprophet20 Well said.

[@deividbx]

indeed

[@R0XyM0h]

that is scary but yet so true :(

[@Alexander-tj2dn]

You can´t say it better.

[@jamespendragon3595]

Saw the movie several times with friends when it first came out...great scenes of London in 1966, and several were real 60s Classic.

[@mariaud999]

Brilliant film! Blow Up is my favourite film of all time and one of the reasons I am a photographer. I eventually got the Nikon, but I'm still waiting for the Rolls Royce! I did a similar thing in the 1980s although I didn't make a video. it was before the internet and everything and I'd hired Blow Up from the video shop so I was able to pause the film and track down roads etc and Maryon Park by using maps. Then I drove down to London for the day and visited the park and other places. Great fun!

[@TKTnetwork]

+mariaud999 Sounds interessting, fortunately I had the internet to find the locations :)

[@DarkAngelEU]

Wow, can't imagine going through so much trouble just to find the location of a movie. You sound like the real thing. Do you have any work online?

[@Ry3Productions]

Brilliantly put together! This must have taken a long time to do. Great video in memory of a great film.

[@siegfried9945]

2 words: marvellous, fantastic. I loved it. Have visited most of its locations myself since Blow Up, together with Ingmar Bergman's films happens to be my very favourite ever. Marvellous cinematography. I truly thank you for this.

[@geofftayloruk]

Really well done, thanks. Having just re-watched Blow Up for the first time in a long time this was a great piece of reference...

[@davem6328]

Great piece of work Daniel. I did a Blowup 'tour' at Maryon Park with my girlfriend in 2011 when we were in London for the last Pentangle concert. Dave.

[@davidosilverman900]

They just demolished the Morris Walk Estate next to the park. All those council flats have gone.

[@bazbee]

Amazing. It must have taken an age of dedication, research, planning and filming.

[@EdEditz]

Best location revisit video I ever saw!

[@TKTnetwork]

Thanx!

[@arunwalker]

@@TKTnetwork Location info would have been useful. Love Maryon Park, hardly changed to this day. Brilliant re-visit.

[@pascaldevillers9556]

Woaw what a fantastic work you've done ! Always wanted to do the same but you did it now... and better than I'd have done it. It's a pity the antiques shop has gone and the green fences in the park but strangely a lot of the locations are still as they were ! I'm planning to go to Maryon Park soon for my own pilgrimage ;-) Congrats for your great work.

[@robertlove9022]

Thank you!!! This is brilliant. Blow up is one of my favourite films.

[@ONDATUONDA]

Probably the best ¨real¨ ghosts video ever made. The nice ones, those that pop up at the souls of cinematography lovers.Thanks a lot for an incredible effort!

[@LuciusDriftwood]

A phenomenal piece of work. Kudos.

[@beatrizalsina9891]

Fantástico! Quien vió Blow up en el 66 lo aprecia mucho!

[@jordywilliams]

:) went there today. the sound of the trees, like that in the film, almost reduced me to tears, it was beautiful, too bad it takes forever to get there

[@malo66]

"the sound of the trees"! Indeed that is something Antonioni taught me to realise that that "sound" exists! Very beautiful indeed.

[@Adrian-jk4kx]

Yes.....the sound of the trees.....early spring ...that's what got me too..... surreal.......

[@hdholl9696]

Absolutely. The rustling of the leaves in the trees is the quintessence of 'Blow Up' for me. No deafening Hollywood sound effects, just nature. Like in Antonioni's 'LAvventura', where the roaring of the waves suggest threat and disaster.

[@gazriley624]

is it Hilly fields in south London?

[@evanstj5]

@@gazriley624 No, it's Maryon Park in Charlton near Woolwich. The area's been mostly redeveloped twice since then. Maryon Road had character back then but now ...

[@Cholmeleian]

Fantastic. Would be great to see other iconic London films given the same treatment.

[@petrofilmeurope]

The movie "Blow Up" had a profound impact on my own development in dialogue, drama and film making. It really was, and still is, a very important movie. Getting back to the same places and see them here is a tremendous "deja vu" type pleassure. Thank you for taking your time and professionalism to make this video.

[@AL-PAKA]

what films have you made?

[@crystalwaters8852]

Absolutely agree 100%❤

[@solowinterwolf]

A haunting, unforgettable film, which I saw for the first time in 1966, and which I watch again every few years, It's one of the best.

[@axiomist1076]

Always loved this movie. Never saw it while in the theatres, but saw it much later on TV. Have seen it many times. I own the dvd and whenever I feel like going back in my time machine, well, I just pop it in the dvd player. To me this film IS the epitome of the 60s in swinging London. Easy Rider is the quintessential American 60s film. Loved David. He was perfect for his part. He kinda looks like Paul McCartney to me. In the scene with the Yardbirds, where Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck are in the group, I love the pants the chick is wearing while she dances. It's super mod. Her shoes (white with black shoelaces) are the same that Jagger and Brian Jones are wearing on the High Tide and Green Grass album. Also Keith wears them on the back of Got Live if You Want It. Like I said, great movie ! It all looks pretty much the same today. Not much has changed. I only wish that green fence were still in the park. It looked great. Now it looks bare without it. Thanks for this great documentary.

[@Docneg]

The best "then and now" ever!

[@kellerproof]

This is just unbelievable. Being a fan of the movie I can't understand why it take me eight years to find this gem. Thanks and congrats, terrific job.

[@Wilyn220]

Super job! I just watched Blow Up on TCM as I had not seen it for years. I wondered what had happened to many of the locations over the years and so ended up here.

[@thethirdman225]

Thanks for doing this. Blow Up is why I ended up doing what I do for a living. I first saw it in the 1970s. It's my favourite Antonioni and the best thing David Hemmings did. He was absolutely spot on in this. Blow Up is in my list of the top 5 movies I've ever seen. The park was much nicer back then, wasn't it? Anyhow, very well done and thanks for putting it together.

[@ironpirites]

TheThirdMan Which park is that? London is marvellous (or at least it was when I was there in 1975). I loved this movie. It really captured the moment.

[@thethirdman225]

ironpirites I don't know exactly but I know it's in South London, somewhere near or in Woolwich.

[@ironpirites]

TheThirdMan Thanks. Maybe I can find it with google maps.

[@ironpirites]

TheThirdMan I think I found it. There is a park in Woolwich or near it, called Maryon Park. It has tennis courts and open space and might be the one.

[@thethirdman225]

ironpirites Yep, that's the one: www.movie-locations.com/movies/b/blowup.html#.VTmdNiGqpBc Well done that man!

[@thekitowl]

Absolutely brilliant. I know how hard it is to reproduce these shots . Recently got my son to stand next to a wall that I stood next to in the mid sixties in south London, so much hassle but worth the effort.

[@dominewimbury9120]

I used to live on that estate that was being built at the time. Morris Walk from 1985 to 1991. Maryon Park was my playground. The estate is up for demolition in the near future but we managed to save the park thankfully

[@dominewimbury9120]

***** aww great

[@dominewimbury9120]

I lived in Elsinore House. Where did you live?

[@dominewimbury9120]

Ah cool

[@bravejames]

I was always fascinated by the 'content' of this film; the dead man in the park was Julio Cortazar (one of the most important Argentinian writers of all time) he wrote the short story on which Blow Up was based. The film had no script (so to speak) but a fluid enthralling successions of brilliant collateral moments...I always wanted to be the one who ran away with a piece of Jeff Beck's torn guitar...

[@cymothoe2]

Super, thanks for all your efforts!

[@janthorpe9144]

This is just the best! I have been wanting to visit Maryon Park and the other sites for years. But missed out on previous visits to London. I saw Blowup ( in Australia ) in 1967 at the impressionable age of 15. It was just so radical - I'm still amazed the censors allowed its release, given how reactionary Australia was at that time. Like other contributors here it had a indelible influence on me. My interest in photography and later film making started with Blowup. As a hobby, I've now gone back to shooting in 16mm colour film just to recapture the richness and "feel" of the late 1960's. David Hemmings was so talented - Charge of the Light Brigade is another great favourite. My only unrequited love from Blowup is my lack of a Rolls Royce cabriolet. It was almost hotter ( but not quite ) to a 15 year old than the exquisite female actors! A wonderful doco thanks again...

[@PhotoTrekr]

Blow Up has always been one of my favorite films. But, I always wondered what the deal was with the crowd just standing and staring while The Yardbirds were playing.

[@sheilamcintosh5835]

Thank you! I loved watching this! Beautifully made.

[@LuisFMejia-yu6ss]

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Blow UP is perhaps (yes it is) my favourite movie. Thanks Daniel. Great memories brought to mind, I had cut (escaped) school for the afternoon (as in those days I did very often), to go to the movies. I was in Hi-School in Medellín, Colombia. Love it. Oh by the way, I still have my appendix, would give Jane B. the two minutes, but she never knocked on my door. Ah... memories.

[@krallenbluemchen]

thank you very very much!! :-)

[@user-xv9yc4wb2x]

This is mind bogglingly wonderful. Bit sad to see the wooden picket fence in the park is gone, that fence was the star of the film in my book.

[@oscarmike3835]

Absolutely brilliant, wish to be there too. Fantastic movie, which is stuck in my head ever since..

[@eriktidang8919]

Well done! I visited the park yesterday, much have change but the atmosphere in "Blow up" was still there. /erik

[@JenniferM13]

This was fantastic! Checked out these locations myself a few times as I live in London.. love how you've matched everything up to the shots from the film!

[@dianaallison6110]

This location tour is awesome! Luv Blow-Up movie..& nice 2 see these locations now. Would've loved 2 be in the UK in the 60's. Thx 4 this one! 🙂🙂💕💕

[@theshallowsea]

Great job ,thank you very much for posting this !

[@johnskovhus]

I saw "Blow Up" on TV a few years back by accident. I was amazed and loved it right away. Nice job on the locations.

[@ixis99]

Incredible job!Thanks for this docu.

[@ulfkjell]

A culture benefaction! And such a clever way of deep diving in unforgettable cinema. Mille Grazie!

[@joeystickfigure2371]

Watched movie yesterday. I did the Google map of the locations based on IMDB.com. I found the studio (77 Pottery Lane, Notting Hill and the antique store/park. The antique/park changed a lot but I recognized the four big trees from the street, Clevey Close, Greenwich,London. What an age we live in, amazing. Can't wait for the day when we can drive down any street in the world in 3-D from the computer. Thanks a lot, very most fun. Nice work. Do more.

[@danielcashguitar]

This is amazing work! Love how you filmed it. Blow Up is one of my favourite films. Have visited a few of the locations but would love to visit them all, amazing to see how little some of them have changed.

[@OldMod67]

Not seen the film for about 25 years. Liked your documentary! Thanks

[@debidavify]

Absolutely fascinating. Mr Byrdbath will still be including the park on our London itinerary-maybe even try to put back the picket fence-so much charm.

[@Kanukosan]

Absolutely wonderful! Thank you!

[@ElevatorGalleryLondon]

How beautiful London was back then, the park is pristine! The cars looked cool, the shops were nice, this city gets uglier year on year

[@LordAmbrosia1]

rckay racky Thank you for your interest, but I'm afraid you have been unsuccessful this time.

[@saltalgilmour9745]

i still love London in the 60/70s and nowadays

[@adamskikijowski9139]

Excellent research from a fantastic London. Really well made comparisons.

[@aurolucio]

I visited Marion Park ten years ago. It was an amazing time!

[@Diekmans]

It's amazing how many locations have remained the same or nearly the same. So many film locations, in particular the US, have completely changed over the years, but the locations of Blow Up are still in tact. Thanks for the great work.

[@Alejandro-nt8gw]

EXCELENT!!!! THAKS FOR YOUR WORK!!!!

[@consul1957]

I really enjoyed this, good work, thanks.

[@ferdinandfrancis9673]

This is great split screen work, showing what was and what is together.

[@jameshoughton5326]

Just loved it thank you for all your hard work.

[@TheRhNegative]

This is fantastic! Very very well done indeed. Beautiful. I paused it many times throughout and was utterly fascinated with this doc. Thank you so much! BIG thumbs-up!

[@JulianBray]

The David Hemmings Photographic Studio was in fact Vogue Photographer John Cowans studio, in the film Blow Up a picture of a diver jumping feet first into the water is clearly seen - a Cowan classic - little dressing of the set was done, the film crew just moved in and used Cowans kit as props .

[@axiomist1076]

Thats fantastic ! Im glad to know that. Glad the studio wasnt a set. Makes the movie more real.

[@HBICTiff]

I love the sounds of footsteps in this film.

[@borissavinkov440]

Enjoyed this tour. I was amazed at how much better film photography was back then, compared to today's digital "images." Digital just has no soul.

[@Morrismarina]

Fantastic! Being from SE London I became fascinated by this film as soon as I learned the park was Maryon Park just near Woolwich: I took an even greater interest towards it once I started recognising other London features and working out where they were. Another couple of locations that are also barely recognisable today (2013) if at all: 1) London Wall where the 'skyscrapers' that looked so new in the 1960's have all but gone; 2) the long-gone red-fronted Pride & Clarke bike shop in Stockwell

[@1accon]

Thanks for this - I really enjoyed it and kept skipping back again and again to look at differences. The compositions and sense of presence of the original film are somehow what make it so appealing to revisit. I thought I was nerdy looking for locations for this film - but you are way ahead! Thanks again - loved it.

[@KK-pw9sq]

Thanks a lot lot for making this Film location doc! I have always loved this location.Again thanks

[@MSYNGWIE12]

Fascinating! Thank you, one of my fav films.

[@joanolivella3531]

Great job! Thanks for done it & sharing it! A truly landmark film for photographers!

[@crystalwaters8852]

Love the split screen , then & now, great idea! ❤ Thank you so much! Must watch this film again! Such an unusual atmosphere! The park scene with the wind rustling through the trees & the mime artists pretending to play tennis.👍⭐

[@shantihealer]

Brilliant! BBC make really dumbed down boring docs about the 60s etc, but your independent effort was original and rivetting. Must have been a lot of work but very much appreciated. I always thought the shopping street was Oxford Street but you reveal it as Haddon Street.

[@MrCherryJuice]

Despite indicating Haddon Street, the shopping street in 'Blow Up' is actually Regent Street. Haddon Street (film caption is incorrect, it's actually Heddon) is a block up Regent from where the curvature at the bottom end of the street ends, and it is 'C' shaped, so goes in on the left then comes back out further along. I confirmed all this via Google Streetview using shops in the documentary: L'Occitane and Guess (Crabtree & Evelyn is no more in the city centre) are at 74 and 160 Regent respectively. And the sign for the mews (centre upper frame; woman in white coat turns to face the camera) is New Burlington Mews. Like many, I was curious about the various locations. Though most are not named, when I saw Haddon Street I felt compelled to look. Turns out I had a meal up there some years back, though had no idea of the name of the street.

[@terencesommer5413]

I have loved this movie ever since I first viewed it. This film is a photographers film, film. Brilliant. The mood, music, everything. I have to admit that the old London looks more appealing to look at, at least the park did. It's too bad that some of the old buildings were torn down considering what they put up. I agree with an earlier comment about filming it during the summertime. Anyway, I love this what you have done and I love London. Greetings from the USA.

[@baumer2504]

Its crazy how well done this was. Bravo. Sad and hard to believe Hemmings has been gone 18 years now. Loved him in Deep Red as well.

[@nuages57]

Excellent, a labour of love, well done!

[@pa1668]

i was 14 when the film came out and being an X certificate had to sneak in to the cinema .Must have seen the film at least 60 times so far, my kids love it too. On my 60th birthday my family took me on a surprise visit to Maryon park, blew my socks off. We hid behind the trees and bushes, listening to the wind blowing through them.Played tennis also. It was a magical day. Some council workmen were removing parts of the picket fencing and we were lucky enough to be given a six foot section,it's the piece of fence behind David at location 8.31. It has been mounted and stands alongside all my other artwork. This film influenced my life considerably. Shame the antiques shop had gone ,as had most of the houses and shops.Looks rubbish now really, but i would say that.....must go back one day...

[@vanseit]

could you send me a picture of that six foot section?

[@Flynnie38]

Fascinating, well done!

[@Allan-et5ig]

Daniel - one of the best things I've ever seen on KZbin! I have written/am writing and have posted an alternative Blow Up Soundtrack which actually 'works,' so this is INSPIRING to see.

[@patriciomaggio8872]

Fantastic work. I live in a city that is always changing (Buenos Aires), where a work like this would be impossible.

[@Rockwellcm1]

Fantastic Work,top reconstruction on what cannot be an easy Changing London

[@OutOnTheTiles]

Can’t believe it took so long for this to pop up in my feed. I love it!! Thanks for doing it. I love the movie Blow Up….. especially the Yardbirds scene. Cheers

[@MrMystri]

Love the film and Love this documentary depicting modern day look of film locations.

[@williamr3840]

"Fantastic that you could figure all that out..." Must be like finding treasure, when you go to these places! Love it! Thanks, this is great! About fifteen or more year's ago, I was looking at an original poster for Blow-Up, and the partners of the poster dealers I was at in London said they'd had Hemming's son call in a few days before -- and that he looked exactly like Hemmings did as Thomas in the film. At first, they thought they were imagining things! :0)

[@dfernand101]

Great video, I'm watching the movie now as I write this and it looks as fresh as ever, a classic British movie. Shame David Hemmings didn't become a mega star after that - he deserved to be. The locations in South Kensington look the same but the other locations near the studio etc. were they demolished the buildings and built council housing look completely different, amazing how a city can change in the space of 40 odd years. It would be good to add titles to all of the locations as I lived in london 20 years, walked those same streets and I can't identify hardly any of the locations you've shown either past or present ! RIP David Hemmings.

[@phayzyre1052]

Awesome work!! Blowup is one of my personal favorite films.

[@PoliticalCineaste]

As overstated by many, London looked better in the 1960s. It was at its peak when Antonioni filmed there. In a few cases, 2011 looked better than 1966. Well done!

[@WhenMusic1]

I've always been fascinated with "Blow Up" and actually went to Maryon Park and to Thomas's street in Holland Park myself a few years ago to check it out. Your film is great--thanks for doing it!

[@nikgml]

I simply adore this movie!

[@steadydelta]

extraordinary and moving work probing the essence of Antonioni’s masterpiece. A decade later-thanks!

[@AshHaze27]

Absolutely amazing. Man, you are good. Very interesting in many ways. You have even copied the filming style of those of the past. Brilliant.Time for your to make your own movie. Put your thinking cap on and do it. Cheers.

[@LordAmbrosia1]

Good work fella. Nice to see someone make an effort to match shots with correct perspective/angles etc. Far too many others can't be arsed and think "That'll do".

[@smithnigelw]

Thank you for this. I myself visited Maryon Park some years ago to retrace the steps of David Hemmings. It's so sad the junk shop is now gone, and the picket fence, and the three trees. Oh to have a time machine and to go back to 1966 and see the park when it was at its best.

[@santitofelipe6283]

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!! I Loved this documentary.. I watched it 4 times already. YOUR WORK IS EXCELLENT! Wow - Thank you for this. Blow up is one of my favorite Films.

[@soniamurguia2004]

Very good documentary.I loved to see the places where it was made the film and I loved the way you showed it all,very well done.

[@Allan-et5ig]

TKTnetork - You've been told this a million times I'm sure - this is my second time - but - brilliant. Your video has given me so much pleasure.

[@roydpg]

Excellent. It must have been a massive undertaking to create. Thanks.