Archive of films Don't Look Now / Don't Look Now

United Kingdom / Italy
1973, 110 min

Section: Midnight Screenings
Year: 2006

Perhaps director Roeg’s biggest success, this masterpiece of psychological horror achieves a constant sense of foreboding. After the accidental death of their daughter, the grieving Baxters (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland) travel to Venice where they find that seeing may be believing, but nothing is what it seems.

Synopsis

Daphne du Maurier’s deeply disturbing tale of premonition and foresight finds its ideal visualization here. Director Roeg maximizes the expressive potential of the story’s Venetian setting and his unique editing style fractures the time-space continuum to create a strong undercurrent of dread. As this masterpiece of psychological horror begins, happily married Laura and John (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland) suffer every parent’s nightmare, the accidental death of their daughter. John, who felt an intuition of disaster, is haunted by the fact he couldn’t save her. When the couple travels to Venice, they meet two eccentric, elderly English sisters. One, a blind psychic, claims that she can see their daughter… The film is also notable for an extremely sensual and tender sex scene between Laura and John. Rumour has it that those with access to studio screening rooms frequently requested outtakes from this scene.

About the director

Nicolas Roeg (b. 1928, London, England) is an internationally known cinematographer and director. As a director of photography he contributed to the distinctive look of films such as Roger Corman’s The Masque of the Red Death (1964) and François Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451 (1966). In 1970, he served as co-director with the late Donald Cammell on Performance, starring Mick Jagger, which he also shot. His filmography as a director also includes Walkabout (1971), The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), Eureka (1984), Insignificance (1985), Castaway (1986), Track 29 (1988), The Witches (1990) and Cold Heaven (1991). His films boast a uniquely foreboding atmosphere and use editing to dispense with traditional narrative conventions of time and space, dealing instead with perception and perspective.

Contacts

Connaissance du cinéma
122 rue La Boétie, 750 08, Paris
France
Tel: +33 1 435 901 01
Fax: +33 1 435 964 41
E-mail: [email protected]

BFI
21 Stephen Street, W1T 1LN, London
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 207 255 1444
Fax: +44 207 436 7950
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.bfi.org.uk

About the film

Color, 35 mm

Section:	Midnight Screenings

Director:	Nicolas Roeg
Screenplay:	Allan Scott, Chris Bryant
Dir. of Photography:	Anthony B. Richmond
Music:	Pino Donaggio
Editor:	Graeme Clifford
Producer:	Peter Katz
Production:	Casey Productions Ltd., Eldorado Films, s.r.l.
Cast:	Donald Sutherland, Julie Christie, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania, Massimo Serato, Renato Scarpa
Contact:	Connaissance du cinéma, BFI