Arte is THE essential public cultural channel in Europe. Every culture lover will be able to find happiness between all these sectors: Cinema, Music, Science, History and Travel. Among all the fun content that the channel offers, we are now looking at their format dedicated to cinema for 10 years: the "Blow Up". #culturecheznous
By a director, for movie buffs
"Blow up" is literally "explode". In this sense, through this format, Arte reveals moments of cinema, emerges from forgotten archives, and highlights the personality of certain actors. Above all, there is a profound work of analysis signed by expert hands. But who owns them? In production we regularly find Camera Lucida Productions as well as Jean-Stephane Michaux. As for the author, he appears on the 800 videos made. This is the creator of the format who also happens to be a director: Luc Lagier. Truly passionate, here is what he said during an interview in June 2016 for Télé Obs :
"Blow Up" is a work on the memory of the cinephile. It is first of all a question of remembering moments of cinema, then of restoring them to the Internet user in a charismatic way. The idea is also to play with these images, to "dream" them by assembling them according to our subjectivity.
"Subjective" is precisely the word Luc Lagier tries to avoid. He brings his director's opinion and his knowledge of cinema certainly, but how to keep a form of perspective if he is alone in writing the videos? To remedy this , he dedicates a category to other experts called Carte Blanche. Thus, some directors such as Johanna Vaude, Laëtitia Massion, Jean Paul Civeyrac, Sébastien Betbeder, Frédéric Bas and many others also take the lead. The "B.O de films" are animated by Thierry Jousse and Philippe Truffault is in charge of the "ntrouverables". They all have the same goal: to tell the story of cinema. Together, they give meaning to elements that seem inert yet so meaningful. With videos presented in a short format, ranging from 5 to 20 minutes in general, Blow Up is a real meeting point for many moviegoers. Also, this style of commented and pictorial videos is just as accessible to cinema lovers passing through the site. The videos are very clear and anyone can get engulfed in all this knowledge thanks to their playful presentation. A real good plan to cultivate!
A heterogeneous source of knowledge
When we arrive on the Blow Up page of the Arte website we are faced with a vast repertoire of videos. Difficult to choose which one to watch first because they all pique our curiosity. Although the author sometimes focuses on the "bio express" of an artist, his other categories seem so unusual that we would quickly unravel their secrets. Examples? One video is entitled "The shower at the cinema", another "The metro at the cinema", or "The cemetery at the cinema". Unusual as we said, but above all much more interesting than they seem. They list many scenes in these places taken from mythical or forgotten films. The scenes are compared, the sets analyzed and especially the way these places are used from one feature film to another. All this in about ten minutes maximum! So we would like to devour everything at once. Here are other video titles available : "When filmmakers appear in their film", "150 kisses in the cinema", "The writing in the cinema", "Top 5 musical Tarantino", "The Credits of Agnès Varda", "Highlander in 6 minutes", "The Coen Brothers in 5 minutes"…
All categories
No need to mention all their videos, see for yourself on the dedicated page. Just before, let us just brief you on the different categories of Blow Up: Top 5: If a podium consisted of 5 steps, then Blow Up would know exactly how to fill them. He would first list the 5 best musicals from Meryl Streep, Wes Anderson or Catherine Deneuve. There is also Ben Stiller, Aki Kaurismaki, Jim Jarmusch and we have probably already said too much. What's that? : In "What is it?" there are "C'est quoi" and "C'était quoi", and what could be more captivating than the commented filmography of big names in cinema. While the " C'est qui" are kept for the Bio express, here the author returns to cult films that are significant of the actor's career. Scarlett Johansson, Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Jacques Demy, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett, etc… All eras are crossed and present actors of all times in the cinema. 
B.O of films: This one is Thierry Jousse's category. French film critic and director, he manages this column by returning to iconic composers such as Alexandre Desplat, John Carpenter, Gabriel Yared, and John Barry. This musical category goes on an adventure of other secrets: have you ever wondered "what music do we listen to in films with Alain Delon?" or "Have I ever noticed Brigitte Bardot's musical appearances?" Bio express: Crystal clear, this category can be guessed. Each director is presented in record time : Tim Burton in 5 minutes, Alfred Hitchcock in 8 minutes and even the Coen Brothers in 5 minutes. Impressive. Film credits: The credits of Jean-Luc Godard, Quentin Tarantino, Woody Allen, François Truffaut or Pixar are studied. Logo, music, graphics, costumes, typography, sets… Everything is spied on for our greatest happiness. A new understanding of the identity of directors is emerging. Facing History: Blow Up looks back at historical moments and shows how they are presented in cinema. Among them, the 14-18 war, the occupation of France, the Algerian war or September 11 for example. Les Introuvables (or almost): Philippe Truffault or "Trufo" finds untraceable. Excerpts, films, short films, nothing can fall into oblivion thanks to him. Every time he presents his finds, he wonders if you already knew or if you forgot about it. So, does that speak to you? Zapping: By that, focus on a film for a few minutes. Pierrot le fou, Apocalypse Now, Peau d'âne, Lost in Translation, Les amours imaginaires, Mauvais sang… Back on details that you have probably missed. Carte blanche: Here, it is Luc Lagier's "guests" who focus on the topics of their choice. Some have decided to focus on filmographies and allow us to understand the cinema of Helmut Berger, Bradley Cooper, Kyle MacLachlan, Eric Cantona etc… Others attack biographies, history in cinema, a particular film or a director. In short, they have in their hands a real carte blanche with which everything is allowed to them. 10 years later the content of Blow Up continues to teach those who want to hear it. This offbeat web-magazine on the history of cinema will remain a point of fall for moviegoers for a long time to come. To discover on a dedicated Youtube channel or on the Arte website.
