
Overview
George Jung (Johnny Depp) doesn't want to live like his father (Ray Liotta)--always short of money and constantly berated by his mother (Rachel Griffiths). So he sets off for California to live on the beach, where he finds he can make a living selling drugs. Soon George's drug dealing business expands into shipping drugs across the country. Needing a bigger supply of drugs, he travels to Columbia and meets Pablo Escobar (Cliff Curtis). Before long, George becomes the biggest trafficker of cocaine in the United States. In BLOW, director Ted Demme and scriptwriters Nick Cassevetes and David McKenna chart George's strange course into a world of girls and sun, drugs and fun. It's all so easy until events change George's life forever. Depp gives one of his best performances as George, instilling the character with a complicated mixture of emotions. For the supporting roles, Demme's eccentric casting includes German actress Franka Potente as George's girlfriend; Spanish actress Penélope Cruz as his wife; Australian actress Rachel Griffiths (who in real life is five years younger than Depp) as his withering mother; and Paul Reubens (in an excellent performance) as a hairdresser-cum-drug dealer.
Awards:
Main Cast & Crew:
Ted Demme - Director
Jordi Moll
Jordi Mollà
Penélope Cruz
Johnny Depp
Penelope Cruz
Franka Potente
Rachel Griffiths
Miguel Sandovar
Paul Reubens
Cliff Curtis
Details
- Format: DVD (Widescreen)
- Run Time: 124
- Color Format: Color
- UPC: 794043528422
- Genre: DRAMA
- Rating: R (MPAA) (pervasive drug content and language, some sexuality and violence)
- Release Date: September 2001

Movie Reviews
Notes:
Theatrical Release: April 6, 2001
Reviews:
"...Intriguing....Depp's physical transformation is chilling. It's a fearless performance shorn of all movie-star vanity, and Jung emerges as a striking individual..." - 04/01/2001 Movieline's Hollywood Life, p.30-1
"...Buoyant and flavorful....[With] impressive widescreen lensing..." - 03/19/2001 Variety, p.29-37
"...[Depp's] witty, spare performance gives the picture a poignancy....Mr. Demme's storytelling is quick and engaging..." - 04/06/2001 New York Times, p.E23
"...Smart, sexy, funny and dangerous, this high-wire act is a movie and a half..." - 04/12/2001 Rolling Stone, p.145-6
"...Clickety-clack pacing and inventive supporting casting....Consistently compelling..." - 04/06/2001 USA Today, p.6E
"...[Demme] capitalizes on his strongest assets: a knack for comedy and an ambitious taste for scale..." - 06/01/2001 Sight and Sound, p.40-1
"...Vigorous direction and attention to detail....Uniformly excellent performances....Depp provides a remarkably supple performance in the lead role..." - 03/20/2001 Hollywood Reporter, p.17-43