Bad Timing (1980)

The setting is Vienna. A young American woman is brought to a hospital after overdosing on pills, apparently in a suicide attempt. A police detective suspects foul play on the part of her ... See full summary »

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Yale Udoff (screenplay)

Stars:

Art Garfunkel, Theresa Russell, Harvey Keitel

3 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Art Garfunkel	...	Alex Linden
Theresa Russell	...	Milena Flaherty
Harvey Keitel	...	Inspector Netusil
Denholm Elliott	...	Stefan Vognic
Daniel Massey	...	Foppish Man
Dana Gillespie	...	Amy Miller
William Hootkins	...	Col. Taylor
Eugene Lipinski	...	Hospital Policeman
George Roubicek	...	Policeman #1
Stefan Gryff	...	Policeman #2
Sevilla Delofski	...	Czech Receptionist
Robert Walker	...	Konrad
Gertan Klauber	...	Ambulance Man
Ania Marson	...	Dr. Schneider
Lex van Delden	...	Young Doctor

Storyline

The setting is Vienna. A young American woman is brought to a hospital after overdosing on pills, apparently in a suicide attempt. A police detective suspects foul play on the part of her lover, an American psychology professor. As doctors try to save her life, the detective interrogates the professor, and through flashbacks we see the events leading up to the woman's overdose; her stormy and intensely sexual relationship with the professor, her heavy drinking and numerous affairs, and her estrangement from her Czech husband. A darkly erotic study of several rather unsympathetic characters.

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Plot Keywords:

jealousy | professor | detective | police | pills | 

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Taglines:

A possessive man . . . An independent lady . . . and a love that turns to tragedy. [Video Australia]

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English German Czech French

Release Date:

25 October 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bad Timing

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Recorded Picture Company (RPC), Rank Organisation, The

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Dana Gillespie's scenes were severely cut before release, in the process completely deleting her scene with Carolyn Seymour.

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Goofs

Near the beginning of the movie, when the Czechoslovakian border guard checks the names on his list, the list contains several Czech swear words instead of personal names and occupations ("Mrdac", "Kurevnik", "Prdelac"...).

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Quotes

Milena Flaherty: Leave and you kill me. Leave and I'm dead.

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Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

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Soundtracks

An Invitation To The Blues
Written by Tom Waits
Sung by Tom Waits
Courtesy of Elektra Records

User Reviews

Nicolas Roeg delves into erotic obsession in this film, with surprising results…

His movie rates high in production value and acting and has an innovative approach to an old story…

The film is basically a character study… Alex (Art Garfunkel) is a depressingly dark and shadowy American psychoanalyst living in Vienna… Theresa Russell plays Milena, a resonant, carefree American girl… They meet by chance at a party and are thrown into a roller-coaster ride of an erotic relationship… He wants to smash her free spirit because he can't understand it, but she won't let him… The result is a near-fatal break-up…

Roeg comes close to the story from the middle (obeying Jean-Luc Godard's authoritative saying, a film "must have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order." We quickly move to the different parts of Alex and Milena's relationship, moving through time as if it were Jell-O. The editing is intricate, but not confusing… As we change location back and forth, we begin to see more clearly how these two unlikely lovers ever got together…

The motion picture is filled with exceptional images, and Theresa Russell is outstanding…