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Don't Look Now
Original film poster
Directed by	Nicolas Roeg
Screenplay by	Allan Scott Chris Bryant
Story by	Daphne du Maurier
Produced by	Peter Katz
Starring	Julie Christie Donald Sutherland
Cinematography	Anthony B. Richmond
Edited by	Graeme Clifford
Music by	Pino Donaggio
Production companies	D.L.N. Ventures Partnership Casey Productions Eldorado Films
Distributed by	British Lion Films
Release date	16 October 1973 (1973-10-16)
Running time	110 min.
Countries	United Kingdom Italy
Languages	English Italian

Don't Look Now is a British-Italian thriller-horror film directed by Nicolas Roeg and released in 1973. The film stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie as a husband and wife whose lives grow complicated after meeting two elderly sisters in Venice, one of whom is clairvoyant and claims to be in contact with their recently deceased daughter who is trying to warn them of impending danger. It is based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier.

Plot

Don't Look Now tells the story of a couple, Laura (Julie Christie) and John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) whose young daughter has recently drowned in a tragic accident at home. Their grief puts a sudden pressure on their marriage.

Seeking a change of scenery and an opportunity to work through their loss, they take a "working vacation" to Venice, where John has been contracted to restore an ancient church. While John attends to this project Laura is befriended by two strange elderly sisters, one of whom is blind and claims to be in psychic contact with the Baxters' dead daughter. Laura is drawn to the sisters, but John finds their influence on her unsettling and suspects them of deceit. The ensuing drama is set against a subplot involving a serial killer who has eluded the police. John catches glimpses of a child-like figure in red raingear who resembles his dead daughter, although the figure vanishes whenever John pursues it. He begins to question his own sanity and that of his wife as Laura appears to be completely under the command of the sisters, who in turn suggest that John shares their gift of a "second sight."

John's fears and Laura's apparent obsession with the sisters lead them into a spiraling vortex of coincidences, recurring themes and motifs (light on water, breaking glass, the colour red), which reaches a dramatic conclusion in an old bell tower. John confronts the mysterious figure in red, realizing too late that it is the elusive serial killer and that his visions were premonitions of a grisly end.

Production

Background

The actor who played Inspector Longhi, Renato Scarpa, did not speak English, and simply read the lines he had been given without understanding them. Writer Allan Scott was also pleased to see a bottle of The Macallan (of which company he was the deputy chairman) beside the bed in the controversial sex scene.

The love scene

Don't Look Now has become famous for a sex scene involving Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. The scene was unusually graphic for the time, including a rare portrayal of cunnilingus in a mainstream film. Rumours that Sutherland and Christie actually had sex have persisted for years, even being repeated as recently as 2001.

The scene was an unscripted last minute improvisation by Roeg who felt that without it there would be too many scenes of the couple arguing. It is edited in an unorthodox but typical Roeg manner with the footage of the act intercut with footage of the couple getting dressed for dinner afterward.

Director Steven Soderbergh paid homage to the scene by including a tamer version in a similar style in his 1998 Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight. A similar scene also appears in the 1981 thriller Ghost Story between Craig Wasson and Alice Krige. Christie and Sutherland reteamed for the 1992 film The Railway Station Man which also included a frank depiction of a sexual act.

Release

Don't Look Now was released as one half of a double bill on its original UK theatrical release. The Wicker Man was its accompanying 'B' feature and also went on to achieve great acclaim. Don't Look Now was given another theatrical release in 2001 as part of an initiative by the British Film Institute to make classic films readily available.

Critical reception

This film was #22 on Bravo's 100 Scariest Movie Moments for its ending. Commentator John Landis, however, broke rank by confessing to find the killer's revelation comical.

The film ranked #18 on the Times list of Top 100 Films.

The film was ranked at #8 on a list of the top 100 British films published by the British Film Institute.

References in popular culture

• The theme of the little red-clad Venetian figure is used in a dream sequence in the "Book Clubbin'" episode of television series Absolutely Fabulous, Series 5.
• In the feature film Flatliners, Kiefer Sutherland is tormented by a small childlike figure in a red hooded coat in a homage to his father's film.
• This film heavily influenced Alice, Sweet Alice.
• The video to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's single "Catch You" draws heavily on the film's imagery as Bextor runs around Venice in a red evening dress.
• The film is often referenced by cult British television series The League of Gentlemen.
• Clips from this film appear in the video for Big Audio Dynamite's 1986 hit "E=MC2" which is a homage to the films of the director, Nicholas Roeg. It contains the lyric "met a dwarf who was no good, dressed like Little Red Riding Hood" etc...
• The drowning scene is referenced by the 2005 film The Dark starring Sean Bean and Maria Bello in which their daughter drowns wearing a bright red sweater.
• The end chase scene is referenced in the 2006 release of Casino Royale where James Bond is pursuing Vesper Lynd through Venice while she is wearing a red coat.
• The 2008 film In Bruges has many references to Don't Look Now, including the claim by one character that the film-within-a-film is a pastiche of Don't Look Now.
• Portions of the film are sampled in the M83 song "America."
• The film is mentioned in a portion of the graphic novel Swamp Thing, written by Alan Moore.

Home media

Don't Look Now has had several home video releases, with one UK video edition notoriously including a still of the climactic scene on the outside of the box. It was first released on DVD in the UK by Warner Bros. in 2002 and included a theatrical trailer and 20-minute featurette. Paramount followed this with a Region 1 release.

Optimum Releasing released a special edition UK DVD in 2006. The DVD included a digitally restored anamorphic widescreen transfer with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo Sound, an introduction by Alan Jones, an audio commentary by director Nicolas Roeg, an interview with the composer, the previous DVD's featurette and the theatrical trailer.

Soundtrack

The score written by Pino Donaggio (Venice-born, and already known as the composer of the music for Dusty Springfield's 1966 hit song "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me") plays an important role in this film. After this first attempt as a film composer, Donaggio became a regular composer for Brian De Palma films.

References

1. Allmovie. 2010. Don't Look Now: Overview. Rovi Corporation (Updated 2010) Available at: http://allmovie.com/work/dont-look-now-14330 .
2. Sutton, M., 2003. Don't Look Now (1973). BFI Screenonline (Updated 2010) Available at: http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/453477/ .
3. Robertson, P., 2001. Film Facts. Billboard Books. ISBN 0-8230-7943-0.
4. Christopher, J., 2008. Top 100 Films. The Times, 26 April. Available at http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/related_features/top_100_films/
5. British Film Institute. 1999. The BFI 100 - A selection of the favourite British films of the 20th century. (Updated 19 Feb 2008) Available at http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/

External links

• Don't Look Now at IMDb
• Template:Amg movie
• Don't Look Now at BFI Screenonline
• Don't Look Now at Rotten Tomatoes

• 1973 films
• Serial killer films
• British thriller films
• Films set in Venice
• Italian films
• Supernatural thriller films
• 1970s thriller films
• 1970s horror films
• Psychological thriller films
• English-language films
• Films based on short fiction
• Films directed by Nicolas Roeg
• British Lion films