Don't Look Now (1973)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (story)
Allan Scott (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

January 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

A psychic thriller.

Plot:

John and Laura Baxter are living in Venice when they meet a pair of elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic...

Plot Keywords:

Psychic | Venice Italy | Premonition | Italy | Drowning

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 nominations

Cast

Julie Christie	...	Laura Baxter
Donald Sutherland	...	John Baxter
Hilary Mason	...	Heather
Clelia Matania	...	Wendy
Massimo Serato	...	Bishop Barbarrigo
Renato Scarpa	...	Inspector Longhi
Giorgio Trestini	...	Workman
Leopoldo Trieste	...	Hotel Manager
David Tree	...	Anthony Babbage
Ann Rye	...	Mandy Babbage
Nicholas Salter	...	Johnny Baxter
Sharon Williams	...	Christine Baxter
Bruno Cattaneo	...	Detective Sabbione
Adelina Poerio	...	The Dwarf

Also Known As:

A Venezia... un dicembre rosso shocking (Italy)

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

Italy | UK

Language:

English | Italian

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R21 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-16 | Norway:16 (original rating) | Norway:18 (re-rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2002) | UK:18 (video rating) (1988) | UK:X (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

"The Canals", Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

Eldorado Films

Trivia:

Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie met for the first time on the set of this film. The first scene they had to shoot was the sex scene, as Roeg wanted to "get it out of the way" and then move on to the "bone" of the matter. Christie was terrified.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the bathroom scene, John Baxter steps over Laura's clothes, piled on the floor. Among them is a pair of tights, which she was clearly not wearing in the preceding scene (in which she undresses).

Quotes:

Laura Baxter: One of your children has posed a curious question: if the world is round, why is a frozen lake flat?
John Baxter: That's a good question.
Laura Baxter: [flipping through book] Ah, here it says that Lake Ontario curves more than 3 degrees from its Eastern end to its Western end. So frozen water really isn't flat.
John Baxter: Nothing is what it seems.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Sixth Sense (1999)

Surreal and mind-bending

Don't Look Now was clearly ahead of its time. In 1973, psychological movies such as this were either rare, or basic. Don't Look Now attempts to go where a lot of movies had never been, which was a realm where many things never truly make sense and yet behind it all is a coherent purpose.

First of it is *not* a candidate for greatest horror film ever, though the Times would have you believe otherwise. What it *is* though is a highly confusing yet thought-provoking story which covers grief and dillusion in equal measure.

Donald Sutherland plays John Baxter, who's married to Laura, who lose a child in an accident and find their worlds turned upside-down as a result. However, thereafter the story is set in Venice where John's working on a job and Laura's accompanied him there, and where things start to get disturbing for the couple as events begin to focus on their dead daughter and paranormal themes emerge.

It *is* a strange tale, and ultimately what you get out of it is entirely up to you. It is probably from this film that the likes of David Lynch started to derive inspiration.

Overall, good, if intrinsically confusing.