Some days ago I saw
Don't Look Now on the
Criterion blu, what a fantastic movie. Nicholas Roeg gives us his take on giallo / euro-horror, but unlike some of those that are primarily exercises in style, it's also a movie where you can really empathize with the characters. The plot (inspired by a Daphne Du Maurier tale) concerns a couple (Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland) coping with the loss of their daughter in a tragic accident. They have gone over to Venice where Donald is hard at work on restoring an old church (apparently, the crew found a real church under renovation to suit their need). They meet a pair of British women who claim that the spirit of their daughter is with them. Julie clings on with a desperate joy to the notion while Donald vehemently dismisses it. The news of another mishap is the trigger for a delirious series of events that blur the margins between vision and reality.
Delicious horror screenplay aside, what gives the film its identity is Roeg's distinct visual construction, his ability to weave together often seemingly disparate images to create a stream of consciousness, and he employs the trick to great effect at several crucial moments in the film. While DLN is not as esoteric as say Last Year at Marienbad, it does eschew to an extent conventional linear narrative, challenging the viewers to connect the dots, in the process feeling more immersed and empathetic with the lead characters' growing dread and confusion. Horror aficionados may be able to predict (at least broadly) how the narrative ends
[Show spoiler](I figured that Donald was having a prophecy of his own death when he saw his wife in mourning black on the boat, though not a dwarf killer)
, but that reduces none of the impact of its unique imagery (supported with a wonderfully emotional theme by then debutant composer Pino Donaggio).
The 4K restoration of the film looks beautiful on
Criterion's blu-ray. The visuals have a painterly rather than sharp detailed look. There is also a deliberate attempt to have a muted color scheme and reds are very sparingly used so that it stands out. The dialog and Donnagio's score sound good, although I felt that it was lacking a little in presence and a little clipped at higher volumes (it has a perfect score in the site review so maybe it's just me). There's a bunch of retrospective interviews with cast and crew, which contained some very interesting anecdotes and a lot of love for the film. I only have to check out the archival Roeg Q&A after a DLN screening in 2003.
All countries
Argentina
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
China
Colombia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Estonia
Denmark
Finland
Greece
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Ireland
Israel
India
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
New Zealand
Norway
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Thailand
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
I might have been able to take a better picture, but I didn't feel like taking it off the wall.
Linear Mode
