Blow
About the Film
Growing up in small-town Massachusetts, George Jung swears he will never end up broke and defeated like his father. He drifts to sun-soaked 1960s California and stumbles into easy money dealing marijuana — then thinks bigger. A prison stretch only introduces him to the right people, and soon George is flying cocaine in for Pabló Escobar’s Medellín Cartel, becoming the man who brought most of America’s cocaine into the country in the late 1970s.
The money is staggering — and so is the cost. Betrayals, a volatile marriage to Mirtha, and his own excess close in, until the one relationship he truly cares about, with his daughter, is the thing his choices can never buy back.
Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp plays George Jung, the real-life all-American boy who became one of the biggest cocaine smugglers of his era. Depp charts the whole arc — sunny charm, dizzying success, and slow ruin — aging the character across decades and carrying the film as its charismatic, ultimately heartbreaking narrator.
Cast & Crew
Cast
George JungJohnny Depp
Mirtha Jung (as Penelope Cruz)Penélope Cruz
Barbara BuckleyFranka Potente
Ermine JungRachel Griffiths
Derek ForealPaul Reubens
Diego Delgado (as Jordi Molla)Jordi Mollà
Pablo EscobarCliff Curtis
Augusto OliverasMiguel Sandoval
TunaEthan Suplee
Fred JungRay Liotta
Leon MinghellaKevin Gage
Kevin DulliMax Perlich
Young GeorgeJesse James
Alessandro (as Miguel Perez)Miguel Pérez
Cesar TobanDan Ferro
Crew
DirectorTed Demme
ScreenplayDavid McKenna, Nick Cassavetes
Based onthe book by Bruce Porter
MusicGraeme Revell
CinematographyEllen Kuras
ProducersDenis Leary, Joel Stillerman, Ted Demme
“We were young, rich, and in love. Nothing could stop us.”
— George Jung, Blow
More about this film
Trivia
- Adapted from Bruce Porter’s 1993 book about the real George Jung and the Medellín Cartel.
- Promotional pocket mirrors handed out at advance screenings drew criticism for seeming to promote cocaine use.
- The real George Jung was still in prison when the film was released; the closing credits use a photo of him.
- Ray Liotta plays George’s father despite being only six years older than Johnny Depp.
