Blow (2001)

The story of how George Jung, along with the Medellín Cartel headed by Pablo Escobar, established the American cocaine market in the 1970s in the United States.

Director:

Ted Demme

Writers:

Bruce Porter (book), David McKenna (screenplay)

Stars:

Johnny Depp, Penélope Cruz, Franka Potente

3 wins & 9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Johnny Depp	...	George Jung
Penélope Cruz	...	Mirtha Jung (as Penelope Cruz)
Franka Potente	...	Barbara Buckley
Rachel Griffiths	...	Ermine Jung
Paul Reubens	...	Derek Foreal
Jordi Mollà	...	Diego Delgado (as Jordi Molla)
Cliff Curtis	...	Pablo Escobar
Miguel Sandoval	...	Augusto Oliveras
Ethan Suplee	...	Tuna
Ray Liotta	...	Fred Jung
Kevin Gage	...	Leon Minghella
Max Perlich	...	Kevin Dulli
Jesse James	...	Young George
Miguel Pérez	...	Alessandro (as Miguel Perez)
Dan Ferro	...	Cesar Toban

Storyline

A boy named George Jung grows up in a struggling family in the 1950's. His mother nags at her husband as he is trying to make a living for the family. It is finally revealed that George's father cannot make a living and the family goes bankrupt. George does not want the same thing to happen to him, and his friend Tuna, in the 1960's, suggests that he deal marijuana. He is a big hit in California in the 1960's, yet he goes to jail, where he finds out about the wonders of cocaine. As a result, when released, he gets rich by bringing cocaine to America. However, he soon pays the price.

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Plot Keywords:

gay hairdresser | smashing a telephone | drug abuse | nosebleed | police officer | 

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Taglines:

Based on a True Story.

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Genres:

Biography | Crime | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive drug content and language, some violence and sexuality

Details

Official Sites:

New Line Cinema

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blow: One Man's Life

Filming Locations:

Spring Street Towers - 650 S. Spring Street, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$53,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$12,443,461, 8 April 2001, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$52,990,775

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$83,282,296

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apostle,Avery Pix,New Line Cinema

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In one scene, George (Johnny Depp) has his suitcase searched at an airport. When a pair of women's underwear are found, George says "Hard to break old habits." This is an obvious reference to Depp's previous film Ed Wood (1994) in which Depp's character is well known for wearing women's underwear.

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Goofs

When George is selling marijuana along the beach, he talks to some bikers. One of the motorcycles shown is a late 1990s Harley Davidson Sportster.

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Quotes

[first lines]
George: That's a nice boy. Go get 'em, Dulli.

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Crazy Credits

A photograph of the real George Jung appears at the end of the film, as the credits start to roll.

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Connections

Referenced in Brows Held High: Ken Park (2012)

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Soundtracks

Las Perlitas
Written by Francisco Cardenas Flores
Performed by The Hottest Mariachi in Mexico
Courtesy of The Music Factory
Published by Peer International Corporation (BMI)

User Reviews

The true story...

It feels wrong to be sympathetic toward a person who deals drugs for a living, but after watching this movie (being based on a true story)I have a completely different view of George Jung. The first time I watched it, I watched it because I'm a fan of Johnny Depp. I always felt he played his best role in "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," however, now it's hard to decipher which was better, his role as Raoul Duke, or George Jung?

The story of George Jung's life is a truly amazing one considering he starts out dealing marijuana, and his own mother has him sent to jail, and then he winds up trafficking cocaine with Pablo Escobar, and becoming as rich as Penelope Cruz is beautiful. He finally decides to straighten his life out for his daughter, and winds up back in jail for the rest of his life. The end of this movie is as sad as the story itself. I've never stayed as interested in a movie that was over 2 hours long as I did with this movie. It's a great, climactic story, and I would recommend it to basically ANY movie lover. I don't know a single person who hasn't seen it, and walked away disliking it. Johnny Depp deserves an Oscar. He's an incredible actor, and George Jung was an incredible man.