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.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.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.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 2 wins & 9 nominations total
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe scene set in the church where Laura lights a candle for Christine was mostly improvised. Originally intended to show the gulf between John's and Laura's mental states-John's denial and Laura's inability to let go-the script included two pages of dialogue to illustrate John's unease at Laura's marked display of grief. After a break in filming to allow the crew to set up the equipment, Donald Sutherland returned to the set and commented that he did not like the church, to which Julie Christie retorted that he was being "silly," and the church was "beautiful." Nicolas Roeg felt that the exchange was more true to life in terms of what the characters would actually say to each other, and that the scripted version was "overwritten," so opted to ditch the scripted dialogue and included the real-life exchange instead.
- GoofsWhen 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.
- Quotes
John Baxter: What are you reading?
Laura Baxter: I was just trying to find the answer to a question Christine was asking me: if the world's round, why is a frozen lake flat?
John Baxter: Huh. That's a good question.
Laura Baxter: [flipping through a book] Ah-ha. "Lake Ontario curves more than 3 degrees from its eastern most shore to its western most shore." So, frozen water really isn't flat!
John Baxter: Nothing is what it seems.
- Alternate versionsThe region 1 DVD released by Paramount contains the full love scene which was slightly trimmed for an "R" rating in the U.S.
- ConnectionsEdited into Catalogue of Ships (2008)
By consistently maintaining "Don't Look Now" as a character-driven script with recurring themes and motifs the writers of this film, Allan Scott and Chris Bryant who adapted their screenplay from the short story by Daphne DuMaurier (Rebecca), ensure that the 'jump moments' are never hollow or empty. Really, there are many moments here where you see a fleeting glimpse of creepy imagery that so frequently come off as desperate and stupid, but in "Don't Look Now" the same moments are so tied to the mythology the film develops and the thematic content of the film that they are actually meaningful and essential.
Of course, no comment on or discussion of "Don't Look Now" is complete without commentary on the famous love scene. Yes, it's surprisingly explicit, but people who dwell on the weirdness and explicitness of the scene are largely, hugely missing the point. Roeg initially included the scene as a last minute addition to balance out the scenes of the couple arguing, but through masterful editing from Graeme Clifford (under the creative supervision of Roeg, obviously) the scene is turned into an essential part of the film, not only bizarrely erotic and tender, but also creepy, unsettling, and sad. Roeg intercuts the scene with images of the two dressing, preventing a moment of pure togetherness in the scene, changing the dimensions of and artistic motivation behind the sex scene drastically and definitely for the better.
Anthony B. Richmond, a once great cinema photographer (gone from working on "The Kids are Alright" to "Dumb and Dumber: When Harry Met Lloyd" these days) photographs this film beautifully with the strong creative involvement of director Nicolas Roeg. The score by Pino Donaggio is creepy, evocative, interesting, and sometimes even unpredictable. The unusual and innovative editing of the film is a crucial part of its resounding success, creating creepy moments out of nothing. Some of the acting is (deliberately) exaggerated for effect and mostly excellent.
With its creepy atmosphere, innovative editing, strong characters, good writing, and brilliant, unsettling final montage, "Don't Look Now" is director Nicolas Roeg's finest accomplishment and is deservedly regarded as one of the finest British films of all time, but I'd go a bit further and say it is likely a strong contender for the title of best British film, period.
10/10
- ametaphysicalshark
- May 23, 2008
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Wenn die Gondeln Trauer tragen
- Filming locations
- Chiesa di San Nicolo dei Mendicoli, Campo San Nicolo, Dorsoduro, Venice, Veneto, Italy(Church Baxter is restoring)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $1,500,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $115,721
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