Rent Don't Look Now (1973)
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
On a cold, bright autumn day in Suffolk, England, a little girl in a red mackintosh drowns in a pond-the daughter of John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie). Trying to recover from the tragedy, the couple arrive in Venice, Italy, where John has been commissioned to restore a church. In the eerie atmosphere of the lagoon city in winter, they encounter two strange sisters. Laura is suddenly released from her grief when one of them, a blind psychic, tells her that she is in contact with her dead daughter. Angered and sceptical, John carries on with his work, but witnesses an unsettling vision of his own: a little girl in a red mackintosh disappearing into the Venetian alleys. As Venice and his fate close in on John, illusion, reality and sudden terror spiral the story to its grotesque climax. - Actors:
- Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Renato Scarpa, Giorgio Trestini, Leopoldo Trieste, David Tree, Ann Rye, Nicholas Salter, Sharon Williams, Bruno Cattaneo, Adelina Poerio
- Directors:
- Nicolas Roeg
- Producers:
- Peter Katz
- Writers:
- Daphne Du Maurier, Allan Scott, Chris Bryant
- Others:
- Bob Jones, Graeme Clifford, Peter Davies, Anthony Richmond, Rodney Holland
- Studio:
- Optimum
- Genres:
- Classics, Drama, Horror, Thrillers
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch if You Like Klute, 10 Films to Watch if You Like Rebecca, 10 Films to Watch if You Like: The Wicker Man, A Brief History of Pantomime Stories on Film: Part 1, Award Winners, BAFTA Nominations Competition 2024, Films by Year, Films From: 1974, Films to Watch If You Like..., Getting to Know..., Holidays Film Collection, People of the Pictures, Remembering Donald Sutherland, Roeg and Bertolucci: Remembering the Masters, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, A Brief History of Film..., Top 10 Films Set in Venice, Top 10 Screen Kisses (1896-1979), Top 100 BFI Films, Top Films
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 04/07/2011
- Run Time:
- 111 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
- Bonus:
- Audio Commentary with Nicolas Roeg
- "Looking Back" Featurette
- Nothing Is as it Seems
- Trailer
- Compressed version of Don't Look Now (made by Danny Boyle for BAFTA tribute)
- Interviews with Composer Pino Danaggio, Danny Boyle, Screenwriter/Producer Allan Scott, Cinematographer Tony Richmond and Donald Sutherland
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 29/07/2019
- Run Time:
- 110 minutes
- Languages:
- English LPCM Mono
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- DVD Regions:
- Region 0 (All)
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.85:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Disc 1:
- This disc includes the main feature
- Disc 2:
- This disc includes special features (Blu-ray Disc)
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Reviews (4) of Don't Look Now
Horror Classic. - Don't Look Now review by Steve
This is my pick for the best horror film ever made. It delivers visceral shocks in a dense atmosphere of supernatural dread among the labyrinthine canals of out-of-season Venice; which lead Donald Sutherland to an unexpected and disorientating conclusion.
There is a potent sense of intractable fatalism, and powerful horror shocks too. And it is intelligent and sensual. Sutherland plays a rationalist who is unable to save his daughter from drowning. While he restores a church his wife (Julie Chritie) pursues a growing obsession with the paranormal.
But it is the sceptic who experiences the mysterious and frightening visions. The remarkable support cast contributes to the tone of anxiety: Hilary Mason and Clelia Mantania as the seemingly ubiquitous seers, Ranato Scarpa as an inscrutable detective, and Massimo Serato as the saturnine bishop.
They all seem to know much more than they ever say. And the grey, rainy Venice and its medieval churches provide a most ambient, sinister environment. It's flawlessly realised arthouse horror by the idiosyncratic Nicolas Roeg. And one of the best films ever made in the UK.
Cheap production otherwise a cracker. - Don't Look Now review by JD
This film suffers by having a rather naff title which sounds like a Saturday children's matinee and a production budget that must have been less than 30 shillings. It feels very dated because of it. The plot however is good but the direction and acting are outstanding.
Psychological & Stylish Thriller - A Masterpiece - Don't Look Now review by GI
One of the most original of British films, a psychological thriller that has an almost unique sense of the macabre and a gothic milieu. This confirmed director Nicolas Roeg as one of the most interesting, stylish and innovative film makers working in the UK in the 70s. Often placed in the horror genre this is certainly a film that has a sense of dread from the very beginning and it's a film famous for its use of motifs to amplify the terrible deaths that bookend the story. The colour red being the obvious one here. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland play married couple Laura and John Baxter who following the tragic death of their young daughter move to Venice where John is restoring an old church. Their lives are still haunted by loss and grief and when Laura meets two strange sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic and can see and hear their daughter, John becomes angry at Laura's instant belief in what they tell her. But they also warn that John is in danger. The film has a grim and fatalistic view of life with the only compensations being sexual fulfilment and memory. There's a celebration of the benefit of sexual relationships in a touching and, for it's time, detailed sex scene but it signposts that horror is always never far away. The wintry Venice setting sets a grim visual style that reflects the narrative that is focused on death. A masterpiece and a film worthy of repeated viewings.