Don't Look Now [DVD]

Beautiful-sound, music, cinematically, and absolutely terrifying.Subtle, bears close attention. Not like any other sinister film. Superb director too.

This film had a shattering impact on me when I first saw it in the theater in its first run in 1974. I was in a jittery state for several weeks, and had many dreams and nightmares influenced by it. "The Exorcist" had come out at the same time, a well-made but conventional horror film. "Don't Look Now" is far from conventional and much more deeply frightening if one is receptive to its elusive mood. It has an avant garde editing and directorial style by the sophisticated English cinematographer-turned-director, Nicholas Roeg, whose other films include the experimental "Performance" with Mick Jagger, the brilliantly photographed "Walkabout" set in the Australian outback, and the surreal "Man Who Fell to Earth" starring David Bowie.Roeg's intimate, first-hand knowledge of cinematography influences the manner in which the supernatural is suggested, with simple yet unsettling shots of ordinary but sinister objects, vague streetcorners, deep shadows, or fleeting figures disappearing behind buildings. Despite the main setting in picturesque Venice, the realism of the style ties these eerie images to everyday experience.The entire film in a sense is an attempt at re-defining what the supernatural really is. Not slimy zombies or ghosts in white shrouds but strange coincidences in otherwise ordinary images - tiles of a mosaic being shattered by a footstep, or a pane of glass being broken by a bicycle wheel. These little unexplained connections between events accumulate over the course of the film, and then are all brought together in the powerful and terrifying finale.Pino Donnagio's music score adds immeasureably to the atmosphere, and later caused Brian de Palm to use the composer for the scores of "Carrie," "Blowout" and "Dressed to Kill." This morose but romantic Italian is one of the few film composers able to supply a music score as vivid as the great Bernard Herrmann.Donald Sutherland brings his method realism to a fine pitch in the role of the psychic yet skeptical modern man - a disbelieving soul who is nevertheless restoring an ancient church. And the delicate, fragile beauty and understated yet deeply felt acting of Julie Christie is perfect for the role of his loving but grief-stricken wife.Quite simply there has never been another film like this one. Though Shyamalan's "Sixth Sense" is a noble attempt at creating a similar intense and weird atmosphere, there will probably never be another. It is truly a unique creation and certainly one of the finest films about the supernatural ever made.The DVD has few extras, but is an excellent transfer, extremely crisp and clear. Probably one doesn't need extras with this film, because it is a deliberate and inexplicable cinematic enigma. In a day when dumbed-down films beat one over the head with their often idiotic plots, it is immensely refreshing and inspiring to see such a work of subtle cinematic art as "Don't Look Now."

While this may have actually been your dad's horror movie, having been shot in 1972, this is also manifestly NOT your dad's horror movie -- not in any way, shape or form. The pace is measured, even slow. Deaths are few and far between. Gore makes only a cameo appearance. The first half of the film spends most of its energy letting us get to know the characters and the problem that haunts their lives. The bad guy, so to speak, is really not important to the film. And on top of all this, the movie's sense of time and in some senses, even reality, is fractured by its editing. Yes, this is one peculiar horror movie, but it sticks with you, and makes, by itself, a case for the potentialities of horror as art rather than mere voyeurism.DON'T LOOK NOW opens in rural England. Laura and John Baxter (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland) are a happy, successful married couple with two beautiful children. A freak accident claims the life of their little girl, and to distract themselves from their grief, John accepts a commission to renovate a church in Venice. Soon after arriving, they encounter a mysterious pair of sisters, one of whom is blind but claims to have the second sight. This woman says she can communicate with the couple's dead child. Laura is ecstatic at this news, but John has a different reaction entirely, seeing this as a scam which is preying on his wife's grief and also preventing her from coming to terms with their daughter's death. As if in retaliation, the blind sister warns John that his life is in danger. Meanwhile, in the background, a series of murders are taking place in the city, and John begins to catch glimpses of a small figure in a red mackinaw, which is just what his daughter was wearing when she drowned. All of these seemingly unconnected strands of weirdness and coincidence begin to weave together as the film moves, at the beat of its own drum, to a conclusion which, if it hasn't been spoiled for you in advance, will probably jar you nearly as much as the end of "The Wicker Man."Aside from what I already mentioned, DON'T LOOK NOW employs a number of unusual techniques to achieve its haunting effect. One is its use of Venice both as backdrop, adversary and character. Instead of being shot the way that, for example, Ron Howard shot Rome in "Angels & Demons," with lush use of light and every advantage made of all the archiectural landmarks, director Nicholas Roeg sets the movie in the bleak, dreary, drizzly winter and emphasizes the decay of the city, as well as its dirtiness: the church John works in is a crumbling wreck, and serves as a kind of metaphor for the town. This is not the tourist's venice, but the gritty underbelly -- so gritty the city's tourism board went nuts over the way the film was shot. Another is, quite frankly, the emphasis placed on character building by the script. Aside from Stephen King's "Pet Sematary" (the book, not the movie), I can't think of many horror stories which invest this much effort and especially time in the protagonists. Roeg wants you to know them, and you do: both actors give excellent performances, especially Sutherland, who has been known to dog it and then some when he's miscast, bored or just out for a paycheck. John and Laura feel like real people. Renato Scarpa and Massimo Serato are also very good as a sinister detective and a wordly bishop, respectively. The two sisters Hilary Mason and Celia Matiana, are suitably enigmatic in their roles as the possibly good, possibly evil psychics who hold the desperate Laura in a kind of willing thrall. There is also a very heavy use of foreshadowing, albeit in surrealistic, deliberately confusing ways, and much emphasis on the question of whether being able to see the future means you can actually change it. But the main thrust of DON'T LOOK NOW is very unusual for a horror film: it is in a sense an analysis of grief. Horror movies tend to focus on the build up to and the act of killing; they seldom linger on the effect killing has on survivors. This movie is really nothing else: the murder mystery, the identity of the red-clad figure, are deeply in the background until the very end. The focus is how the couple is coping with the death of their little girl, and then, how they cope, in different ways, with the intrusion of the sisters into that grief: hell, even the possible supernatural elements of the movie, which are steady but not very obtrusive, are really just mechanisms by which our protagonist's sanity and commitment to each other are tested.DON'T LOOK NOW will not appeal to everyone, not by any means. It is a slow-moving film, there is a sex scene which is extremely explicit and may seem gratutious to people who don't consciously understand the connection between death and sex, and most tropes found in horror films aren't to be encountered here. To be blunt, it can be considered boring, which is a curious thing considering its oft-quoted standing as one of the greatest horror movies of all time. A great deal of its impact lies in its last few minutes, when all the buildup pays off, but getting there requires more patience than many horror afficianados possess. My own reaction was muted curiousity while I watched it, but I found afterwards that the characters and the imagery were extremely haunting. There is just something about DON'T LOOK NOW that will stick with you and get you thinking about its themes of grief, love, and temporal paradox. It's a thinking-person's horror film, and those are so rare, and so rarely done well, that it's probably worth watching on that basis alone.

Certo un gran bel film, con audio inglese, e non lo si discute. L'assurdità è che sul mercato italiano non si trovi nulla con lingua italiana!...ed ancora più assurdo che titoli "fuori catalogo" ,come in questo caso, debbano essere proposti, in alcune occasioni, all'equivalente costo di due grammi d'oro! Un abbraccio.j

"Don't Look Now"(1973):Optimum/Studio Canal:Bluray edition. As my old DVD copy has 'gone missing', I 'upgraded' to Bluray('steelbox cover' 2015).The disc is the same bluray edition that was issued in 2011. Since I got a DVD copy over 10 years ago there has been an improved 'restored version' of the DVD as many people were critical of the audio & image on the early DVD issue. And it appears some people are unhappy with the image quality of this Bluray edition.......I can only say(on my 32"-non HDTV) I've found the colour range,depth & clarity mostly excellent .There are a couple of scenes that are not 'perfect', but much of this was filmed with mostly natural lighting in a difficult range of locations ,with the tools available ,while trying to mute naturally occurring reds(when not used in various essential scenes),while making an 'out of season' Venice look natural, beautiful, ugly, beguiling, sinister, stark, ornate,dangerous & dreamlike ,& that's before getting round how to film Julie Christie,Donald Sutherland & the rest of the cast. I think whatever 2or4K remaster or HD etc process is used you can't fundamentally alter the 'quality' of the original film print. This subject is addressed in various sections in the extras that comment on the cameras used & the qualities of a 50 ASA film speed. The Film.- of importance I think is that many years have passed since its release & its (in)famous 'controversial love making' & 'Shocking death scenes'. This has given the film (& viewers) time to 'breathe' & truly watch this afresh & appreciate it far beyond 'A Classic 70s British psychological/mystery/horror film'. I feel this film is now & will be viewed as- Nic Roegs greatest achievement & simply one of 'THE Great British Films'that improves on repeat viewings largely due to the many intricacies & excellent editing that take the linear nature experience of viewing a film into a different realm.(e.g. the 'Venice in Peril' sign on the church that Sutherlands character is working on is one of the more obvious 'warning signs' to the future..) The film is 110mins approx, 1.85:1ratio with 'HD standard 1080p' & 'mono LPCM'audio (that sounds good to me) .With optional English subtitles -The Extras(some available on previous DVD issues) are: A rather low key commentary with Nic Roeg talking to Adam Smith. An informative& on occasion very amusing(23min) take on the film with Donald Sutherland. A(14min)feature with screenwriter/producer Alan Scott-very entertaining. Danny Boyles passionate & astute(15min) declaration of what this film means to him + D.Boyles somewhat odd 'D L N compressed into a 4&half mins'(!)'BFI Roeg tribute'. 'Death in Venice'-a feature on composer Pino Donnaggio(18mins) .An interesting(24min) feature on cinematographer Tony Richmond. Alan Jones 'introduction' to the film(7mins) really is a well informed feature in itself & for those that haven't seen this film previously I would advise watching after viewing the film.'Looking Back' a 20min 'mini-doc' with N.Roeg ,editor Graeme Clifford & Tony Richmond .'Nothing is as it seems' is an unusual archive feature with Psycologist/author Colin Murray Parkes intercut with scenes from the film & finishing off with the original 3min trailer(+ a striking3min trailer for M.Powells 'Peeping Tom',50th anniversary)- the only very minor gripe from me is that the extras apart from the Italian Pino Donnagios section(with very clear English subs) are not available with subtitles. So a great film,& in my eyes a very good print-although I accept image 'quality' IS subjective,& also greatly influenced by your home viewing 'set up' .All with some 'extra' extras-that's why I bought this on Bluray..

Nach längerer Zeit habe ich wieder den Film gesehen. Vorneweg, er hat nicht von der Intensivität, von dem Esprit, der mich im Bann hielt, eingebüsst. Gute Filme sind wie einige gute Weine (wobei ich gute Filme bevorzuge), mit dem Jahren sind sie immer besser.Es fängt alles so schön an. Die beiden Baxter Kinder, Christine und Johnny spielen draußen. Johnny ist mit Fahrrad unterwegs, Christine ist beim einem Teich. Sie spielt mit weiß-rotem Ball, denkt sich eine Geschichte aus. Das Wasser ist ganz in der Nähe, den Ball wirft sie immer weiter.Im Haus sitzen ihre Eltern, Laura (Julie Christie) und John (Donald Sutherland). Er ist Restaurator, sieht sich Dias von einer Kirche. Auf einem Bild ist die rote Farbe zu sehen, die auf einmal fast das ganze Bild "zerstört". John sieht sich das Bild an und läuft nach draußen, während Laura noch über die Frage der Tochter, warum die Erde rund ist, nachsinnt.John läuft zu dem Teich, taucht in das trübe Wasser, wo seine Tochter liegt. Ertrunken. Ein Schrei kommt aus seinem Mund, danach ist Stille...Wenedig: John und Laura sind beide in der Lagunenstadt. Sie wohnen in einem Hotel, wo ihnen der Besitzer fast verzweifelt sagt, das die Saison vorüber ist, er möchte das Hotel schliessen. John arbeitet als Restaurator in einer Kirche. Die Mittel dazu bekommt er vom Bischof Barbarrigo. Die Kirche, die dem Hl. Nicolaus gewidmet ist, ist alt, modrig, die Mosaike im schlechten Zustand. Die Arbeiten gehen nur langsam voran.Als Laura und John in einer Trattoria essen, werden sie von zwei älteren Damen beobachtet. Eine Dame klagt, dass sie etwas im Augen hat, die andere will helfen. Am Ende hilft Laura und erfährt, dass die helfende Schwester Heather zwar blind ist, aber ein zweites Gesicht hat. So sagt sie zu Laura, dass sie ihre kleine Tochter gesehen hat. Sie saß bei den Eltern am Tisch im ihren roten Regenmantel. Sie sagte, Christine sei glücklich. Als Laura das hört, ist sie sofort fasziniert und glaubt der beiden Schwestern. Sie möchte, dass auch John mit ihnen spricht. Er sträubt sich dagegen, hat Angst um seine Frau, die ihr Trauer bisher mit Medikamenten bewältigt hat.Im Hotel angekommen, sind sich die Eheleute auf einmal sehr sehr nahe. Die Liebesszene, die von vielen DIE Szene ist (für mich nicht), ist ein Beweis, dass John und Laura sich lieben und verstehen. Dass es Hoffnung gibt. Die Szene ist wunderbar integriert in ihr Ritual des Ankleidens für das Abendessen. So sieht man die beiden nackt, entrückt von der Liebe, nicht weinger erotisch sind die täglichen Bewegungen, als Laura ihren Pullover anzieht, John sich die Krawatte bindet...Aber das Schicksal hat schon seinen Lauf genommen. Die beiden Schwestern sind irgendwie immer dabei. Die ältere Wendy überbringt die Botschaft der Blinden, dass John in Wenedig gefährdet ist. Sie bittet die beiden abzureisen. Heather meint, John habe eine spirituelle Ader, möchte sie nur nicht zugeben.Ein Zwischenfall ergeignet sich, Johnny hat einen Unfall in der Schule, Laura fliegt nach England. Als ihr Mann im Vaporetto sitzt, sieht er eine schwarze Gondel. Dort stehen seine Frau und die beiden Engländerinnen. Laura trägt schwarz, sieht starr in eine unbestimmte Richtung. John sucht nach ihr. Er kommt zu der Kirche, wo ihm der Bischof die Mosaiken zeigt. Er möchte sich selbst überzeugen, klettert auf den Gerüst und fällt fast runter. Mit knapper Not rettet er sich.Immer mehr seltsamme Sachen passieren. In der Stadt werden einige Menschen getötet, der Mörder ist nicht zu fassen.John geht zu der Polizei und zeigt die beiden Schwestern an. Er glaubt, sie hätten seine Frau entführt. Die Polizei nimmt ihn nur zum Teil ernst.Als er bei dem Bischof nach England telefoniert, erfährt er, dass seine Frau da ist, er spricht mit ihr. Sie kommt am Abend zurück, weil es Johnny gut geht.Der Abend: John hat Heather von der Polizei ins Hotel gebracht. Jetzt müsste seine Frau kommen, die man zu der Polizei fährt, obwohl John ihr eine Adresse gab. Sie wundert sich, als sie zu der Polizei kommt, ist John schon weg. Sie suchen einander...John läuft in den engen Gassen, voll mt dunklen Wasser, neblig und sieht "etwas" im roten Cape, genau wie bei seiner Tochter. Er rennt ihr hinterher, verläuft sich im Labyrinth mehrmals. Laura ihrerseits läuft und sucht John, sie sind ganz nah... Bis John die Gestalt im roten Mantel au s der Nähe sieht...Der Film nach der Geschichte von Daphne du Maurier ist ein Verwirrspiel, und zwar ein perfektes. Nicolas Roeg hatte im Film genügend Freiraum geschaffen, damit nicht alles gesagt wird. Man ahnt vieles. Die Farbe ROT prägt wie ein Banner die Story. Sie ist wie eine Nachricht, ein Zeichen, sowohl des Unheils wie auch der Transzendenz.Hier erlaube ich mir Karl Jaspers zu zittieren: "Die Transzendenz aller immanenten Weisen des Umgreifenden (Dasein, Bewusstsein überhaupt, Geist, Welt): „Wir transzendieren zu jedem [immanenten] Umgreifenden, d. h. wir überschreiten die bestimmte Gegenständlichkeit zum Innewerden des sie Umgreifenden; es wäre daher möglich, jede Weise des [immanenten] Umgreifenden eine Transzendenz zu nennen, nämlich gegenüber jedem in diesem Umgreifenden fassbar Gegenständlichen.“ (abgerufen auf der Wikipedia, Karl Jaspers: Von der Wahrheit ((mit freundlichen Dank an Wikipedia, 12.05.2018))Man soll den Film mit inneren Augen sehen, man soll auf die Dinge achten, die nicht ganz in das Bild passen. Und doch sind sie real, viel mehr als die vermeindliche Handlung.Wir bewegen uns hier, dort, wir wissen NICHT, was Laura un John wissen, außer am Beginn. Oder doch?Sowohl Julie Christie wie auch Donald Sutherland spielen überragend. Alle anderen sind gut, nur lebt der Film von der Geschichte der beiden.Ein Film, der zwar technisch nicht ganz auf der Höhe ist, man merkt ihm die Jahre, aber ein Film, den ich immer wieder empfehlen würde.

This great film shows us the rotten face of beauty to elicit the most unsetling of moods, guiding us through the darkest passages of Venice channels. The purest love, that of a father for his child, draws him to pure horror.

mais il est dommage qu'un sous-titrage français ne soit pas prévu, car ce classique du cinéma fantastique moderne mérite d'être vu et revu et n'a pas pris une ride. D'une intelligence diabolique, l'adaptation de la nouvelle de Daphne Du Maurier transcende le matériau original, auquel le film reste étrangement fidèle tout en se permettant des variations qui donnent un résultat stupéfiant, proprement cinématographique. Roeg fait un usage maintes fois loué, et à juste titre, du montage et de la couleur. Les deux acteurs principaux sont étonnants et le film reste aussi dans la mémoire comme une des performances les plus abouties de Donald Sutherland, dont on ne dira jamais assez à quel point le cinéma d'horreur lui est redevable. "Don't Look Now" est aussi un grand film sur Venise, qui n'a pas à rougir de la comparaison avec Visconti ("Mort à Venise") ou avec Schrader ("The Comfort of Strangers", qui comporte d'ailleurs des échos du film de Roeg).