This has got to be one of the most annoying movies I've ever seen on video. That's because it was shot in wide screen and I can tell that John Boorman is doing some incredible things with framing and composition that are only visible during the letterboxed credits sequence. Even with two-thirds of the screen missing, however, Blank is fantastic.
Now don't make the mistake that a lot of people make and confuse it with Point Break! Blank stars the ever-cool Lee Marvin as Walker, a criminal double-crossed by his partner (John Vernon) and out for—thought I'd say "revenge," right? Wrong. He just wants his money. This makes it even more interesting. He is kind of an amoral character like Eastwood in the Leone films or Bogart in The Maltese Falcon—he's just looking for cash and doing whatever it takes to get it.
I've read in a few places that there is an underlying question as to whether Walker is a ghost (like "walks the earth") or not. There is definitely something supernatural to some parts of this film. I don't really think he's dead, but it's something neat to keep in the back of your head as Marvin tries to unravel one of the most twisty plots I've seen since The Big Sleep.
The key words are cool and stylish and sometimes a little strange.
The guy who tipped me off to this was Mike Thompson and one of his favorite things about it quickly became mine. When you see guys take it in the nuts in movies nowadays, they're down for about ten seconds but then they can get up and give chase, they just run a little hunched over for a few minutes. Point Blank was made in a time where a blow to the balls meant something. When Lee Marvin hits a guy there, that guy is down for the count.
This is another movie with an all-star cast that actually works (unlike Robert Altman films)—my two favorites after Marvin and Vernon are Carroll O'Connor and James B. Sikking. O'Connor plays a big mob figure whose attitude is hilarious, "You're a very bad man, Walker, why are you so destructive?"
Very cool.