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From Amazon.co.uk
Don't Look Now was filmed in 1973 and based around a Daphne Du Maurier novel. Directed by Nicolas Roeg, it has lost none of its chill: like Kubrick's The Shining, its dazzling use of juxtaposition, colour, sound and editing make it a seductive experience in cinematic terror, whose aftershock lingers in daydreams and nightmares, filling you with uncertainty and dread even after its horrific climax. Donald Sutherland plays John Baxter, an architect, Julie Christie his wife: a well-to-do couple whose young daughter drowns while out playing. Cut to Venice, out of season, where the couple encounter a pair of sisters, one of whom claims psychic powers and to have communicated with their dead daughter. The subsequent plot is as labyrinthine as the back streets of the city itself, down which Baxter spots a diminutive and elusive red-coated figure akin to his daughter, before being drawn into an almost unbearable finale. Don't Look Now is a Gothic masterpiece, with its melange of gore, mystery, ecstasy, the supernatural and above all grief, while the city of Venice itself--which thanks to Roeg and his team seems to breathe like a dark, sinister living organism throughout the movie--deserves a credit in its own right. Not just a magnificent drama but an advanced feat of cinema. --David Stubbs
Product Description
Nicolas Roeg's chilling film, based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier, follows a married couple as they attempt to recover from the death of their young daughter. John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) and his wife, Laura (Julie Christie), are staying in Venice in an attempt to find relief after the drowning of their daughter, Christine (Sharon Williams), in a tragic accident. However, the city appears to have an unfortunate effect upon the grieving John, who begins seeing a red-coated figure who resembles the dead child flitting around the local canals. The couple also happen across a pair of sisters who claim to have had visions of their daughter. According to the sisters, the child has been trying to contact John in an attempt to warn him that something terrible is about to happen...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
94 of 101 people found the following review helpful
By G. Davies
Format:DVD
a 5 star film without doubt BUT like the previous R2 release, this 'special edition' is still plagued with dreadful sound - harsh, trebly, distorted and with absurd amounts of noise reduction. Why Why Why. Roeg fans will want the commentary but there's nothing else new here and for the film, stick with the R1 edition. Sorry to sound like a geek but it makes me so angry, this fantastic film deserves better.
32 of 34 people found the following review helpful
By P. Sanders
VINE™ VOICE
Format:DVD
I first saw this film as a teenager on a black and white TV late at night. I didn't know much about the film except that it was a horror film of sorts. I soon found that it was so much more. As the film progressed it got very late, but I knew I couldn't go to bed until it was over. It left me speechless. The direction, the acting, the music, and especially the feeling of escalating dread - what would happen at the end? The ending not only surprised me, but actually made me gasp in shock.
A couple, bereaved after their daughter's death, stay awhile in wintry Venice. Two elderly sisters claim to be in contact with the dead girl, but are they telling the truth, or are they con artists? Add to this a series of strange events and a murderer terrorising the city...
This could have been (and indeed sounds like) a cheap horror flick. The reason "Don't Look Now" is a classic (an overused word, but true in this case) is that we care about the Baxters. Sutherland and Christie are thoroughly believable, especially when they have lines about the occult that could easily be corny. The same is true of Roeg's direction - instead of cheese we get a real sensation of doom. Rather than picture-postcard Venice we have rats, crumbling buildings and a bleakly-coloured maze full of confusion.
We are also left wondering about the supporting cast (even at the end we are not sure of everyone's good character). The two dotty old sisters. The shifty priest. The hotel manager. Even the police detective seems a little suspicious. Visual motifs recur - a child's ball, the red of the dead girl's coat - are they hints from the dead girl to her parents?
Of course the film is famous for its sex scene, and it is justly celebrated. A scene of love-making is inter-cut with shots of the couple dressing for dinner. This is one of the few cases in film where the scene is necessary to the story - the couple have become distant but the meeting with the two sisters may actually have brought them back together. It is also (if this is the right word) tastefully done - a very human scene depicting true love and not just sex.
"Don't Look Now" is a wonderful puzzle - eerie, tragic, human and until the last scenes, maddeningly hard to solve. When all is revealed, you want to go back and start again.
One last point: this is based on a short story by the great Daphne duMaurier. After she saw the film, she sent the director a letter saying how the couple in his film reminded her of a sad couple she once saw in a hotel and imagined why they were so unhappy - the real-life couple who inspired her original story. I think this shows how Roeg has given the film a real believability and humanity.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
Format:Blu-ray
Nicolas Roeg's stylish and frightening occult thriller has gained in critical appreciation since it was originally released nearly four decades ago(!), and this extras-laden Blu-Ray set does it justice by gathering together the various supplemental features from earlier home video editions along with newly shot interviews with Donald Sutherland and additional crew members. I doubt anyone will be too disappointed with the extras on this disc. That noted, the audio and visual remaster featured on this Blu-Ray is of particular importance as it offers a significant upgrade in both picture and sound to all earlier home video editions. The colourful picture is noticeably sharper than earlier DVD editions and does a great job of showcasing Roeg's remarkable, often near-hallucinatory imagery. Perhaps even more importantly, the sound is equally improved and eliminates the various distortion issues that plagued earlier DVD releases. DON'T LOOK NOW came out on DVD in both the USA and UK a few years back and various online forums did their best to decide which of the two sounded superior. Sadly, each DVD sounded pretty rotten and did little justice to the film, the dialogue or Pino Donaggio's haunting score. This new Blu-Ray (proudly displaying a cover sticker noting "Picture and Audio Restoration Supervised and Approved by Nic Roeg") fixes those issues entirely and presents the movie in a clearly listenable form for perhaps the first time on home video. It sounds terrific.
DON'T LOOK NOW is a masterpiece and this Blu-Ray provides a definite, welcome upgrade from any DVD edition you might own. Now, could someone do a special edition of Roeg's weird, sexy and stylish EUREKA?
DON'T LOOK NOW is a masterpiece and this Blu-Ray provides a definite, welcome upgrade from any DVD edition you might own. Now, could someone do a special edition of Roeg's weird, sexy and stylish EUREKA?
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
present for a friend
This was a birthday present, and very well received . . . . . . . . . . .
Published 26 days ago by kml
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stunning
Brilliant film which has made a tremendous difference to my life. I can't tell you how richer I am as a result of having viewed this film.
Published 1 month ago by S C Cousins/sccousins@btinternet.com
1.0 out of 5 stars
distorted sound
This version has very distorted sound-unfortunate and very distracting as this is one of my favorite films. Research this first. Several other people have made the same comment.
Published 1 month ago by julie fritz
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good entertainment
Bought as an example suggested during a recent course on the history of film making. Very atmospheric. A product of its time.
Published 1 month ago by Teresa Fowler
1.0 out of 5 stars
What a let down
After reading the reviews on this film, I was bitterly disappointed with what I thought was a ham-fisted attempt at creating mystery, dread and threat.
It just doesn't work! Read more
It just doesn't work! Read more
Published 2 months ago by seamus o'rourke
4.0 out of 5 stars
Don't Look Now
Very good twist at the end.
And a very good digitally restored DVD met our expectations..
Enjoyed watching and old film again.
And a very good digitally restored DVD met our expectations..
Enjoyed watching and old film again.
Published 4 months ago by Mrs I M Hilsdon
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Film, poor Blu-Ray Transfer!
This is a Classic Horror film and is well worth watching. However, what isn't worth watching is yet another terrible "Studio Canal" Blu-Ray transfer!
Published 4 months ago by Mrs. R
5.0 out of 5 stars
To watch or not to watch, that is the question...
Classic?
Most film buffs will know that the scene which, well, saw Julie Christie in the buff, gained the film some notoriety and as such that was often the topic when the... Read more
Most film buffs will know that the scene which, well, saw Julie Christie in the buff, gained the film some notoriety and as such that was often the topic when the... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Chris the Cook
2.0 out of 5 stars
A tragic let-down of a film :(
I bought this film as I was told by people that it was very scary and that it would put me off going to Venice for life. How wrong they were! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Beth
3.0 out of 5 stars
Don't look now
I saw this film back in the 80s and I remember it being very haunting and dark , watched it again last week and was left a bit diss appointed I think so much has happened with... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Brizey01
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