Don't Look Now (1973)

A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writers:

Daphne Du Maurier (story), Allan Scott (screenplay) (as Alan Scott)

Stars:

Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason

Won 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 8 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited 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	...	Dwarf

Storyline

John and Laura Baxter are in Venice when they meet a pair of elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic. She insists that she sees the spirit of the Baxters' daughter, who recently drowned. Laura is intrigued, but John resists the idea. He, however, seems to have his own psychic flashes, seeing their daughter walk the streets in her red cloak, as well as Laura and the sisters on a funeral gondola.

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Plot Keywords:

sex scene | female frontal nudity | italy | venice italy | murder | 

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Taglines:

It's utter MADNESS!

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK Italy

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

January 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

Inverno de Sangue em Veneza

Filming Locations:

"The Canals", Venice, Veneto, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

$1,500,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Casey Productions, Eldorado Films, D.L.N. Ventures Partnership

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Daphne Du Maurier wrote a letter to Nicolas Roeg after seeing the film, congratulating him on making such a strong film from her story.

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Goofs

When Laura leaves the hotel near the end to pursue John, she is wearing boots but is barelegged. Later in the chase as she scrambles over a boat, she is wearing the same boots but is now also wearing dark colored stockings/tights.

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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.

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Alternate Versions

The region 1 DVD released by Paramount contains the full love scene which was slightly trimmed for an "R" rating in the U.S.

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Connections

Referenced in Watching the Alien (2003)

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Soundtracks

Salvatore
(uncredited)
Music by Emidio Remigi
Lyrics by Vito Pallavicini

User Reviews

mood & atmosphere > Logic in a mind bending suspense story

VENICE, ITALY has never been more appealing. After watching this I want to get up and go there right now. The movie is about a couple who lost their child in England, and are now in Venice while the husband is restoring an ancient church. Filmed entirely on location during the winter, and NOT in the schmoozy tourist areas, there is a psychic to tells the wife she can see their daughter and she is happy, which starts leading the film in one direction. Then the father starts seeing out of the corner of his eye a little girl wearing a red rain slicker, just like the one his daughter was wearing when she drowned, which goes in another direction, all the while in the background there are whisperings of a serial killer on the loose. How do any of these things have anything to do with each other? I wont say, but it's a classy thriller with a "6'Th sense" level shocker of an ending i DID NOT SEE COMING! but again, more than anything, Venice is the stare here. Over cast and wet. You can see everyone's breath. it's just a couple degreees away from snow. the walls are cracked and crumpling and the fog is real, not from a studio machine. There is an aura of mystery and romance that is indescribable in every scene. No discovery chanell or travel chanell special can sell you on this city better than this film