Don't Look Now | |
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Directed by | Nicolas Roeg |
Screenplay by | |
Based on | "Don't Look Now" by Daphne du Maurier |
Produced by | Peter Katz |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Anthony Richmond |
Edited by | Graeme Clifford |
Music by | Pino Donaggio |
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Distributed by |
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Release date |
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Running time | 110 minutes |
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Language | English |
Budget | £566,501 ($1.3 million) |
Don't Look Now (Italian: A Venezia... un Dicembre rosso shocking, lit. 'In Venice... a shocking red December') is a 1973 English-language thriller film directed by Nicolas Roeg, adapted from the 1971 short story by Daphne du Maurier. Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland portray Laura and John Baxter, a married couple who travel to Venice following the recent accidental death of their daughter, after John accepts a commission to restore a church. They encounter two sisters, one of whom claims to be clairvoyant and informs them that their daughter is trying to contact them and warn them of danger. John at first dismisses their claims, but starts to experience mysterious sightings himself.
Don't Look Now is an exploration of the psychology of grief and the effect the death of a child can have on a relationship. The film is renowned for its innovative editing style, recurring motifs and themes, and for a controversial sex scene that was explicit by the standards of contemporary mainstream cinema. It also employs flashbacks and flashforwards in keeping with the depiction of precognition, but some scenes are intercut or merged to alter the viewer's perception of what is really happening. It adopts an impressionist approach to its imagery, often presaging events with familiar objects, patterns and colours using associative editing techniques.
The film's reputation has grown in the years since its release and it is now considered a classic and an influential work in horror and British film.
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