John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura (Julie Christie) Baxter are your average happily married couple living an idyllic life until tragedy strikes and their little girl drowns outside their country home. A while later, still quietly full of grief they move to Venice where John takes a job restoring a cathedral. Laura meets a pair of weird sisters, one who claims to be psychic, and is told her daughter is happy where she is and is watching her. Laura is thrilled with what the sister has said and becomes more at peace with her life. John believes in none of it even when evidence of his own psychic abilities begins to surface but he is happy at first that his wife seems to be finally healing.

Later, when things start to turn more unsettling and sinister he believes the sisters are a bad influence and is he really seeing his daughter running around the city?

There’s so much more I could tell you but I went into this movie blind and thought the experience was all the more enjoyable because of it. Every time I perused the DVD’s at Best Buy I saw this movie, usually on sale for around $10. It was one of those I vaguely knew was a lesser known classic and that I should probably watch it someday. It wasn’t until a friend of mine recommended it (thanks Stephen!) that I decided to move it to the front of the queue that lives in my head. Wow was I missing out all those times I passed it up. Don’t Look Now is an incredibly beautiful, brilliantly acted piece of work.

This movie is known for having one of the best lovemaking scenes ever and I have to agree. The shots of Christie and Sutherland moving in between very erotic lovemaking and the more mundane scenes of them dressing and getting ready to go out were sheer perfection. I’ve read that the love scene was the first one shot and that a rumor is still floating around that the actors actually completed the act.

There are many instances of foreshadowing and symbolism involved, so much that I think the movie requires repeated viewings. I will definitely be buying this and actually encourage some of you to do the same, as long as this type of movie is your thing. There is very little gore and lots of story. There are a few times when you sit wondering if what you’re watching has anything to do with anything but everything is (mostly) clear at the end. You shouldn’t be too bored with a slow pace as every frame is a pleasure to view. The pacing is very slow at times but the shocking climax is worth the wait, and it’s one that you definitely won’t see coming.

This is the type of movie that is very disturbing without letting you know it’s disturbing you until you realize you’re still thinking of it days or even weeks later. After watching this movie I can think of at least two other movies that were obviously influenced by this film and I’m sure there are many more. Mucho kudos should be given to Nicolas Roeg (The Man Who Fell to Earth) for his direction, Graeme Clifford for superb editing and Anthony Richmond (and an uncredited Roeg) for beautiful cinematography. The highest praises should go to the brilliant Christie and Sutherland; they don’t make actors like them anymore.

Based on a short story by Daphne Du Maurier (The Birds, Rebecca) I highly recommend this movie and give it 9 out of 10 uses for the color red to be used symbolically.

Looking up names on imdb I noticed this is scheduled for a remake in 2007, that’s a real tragedy

Both subtle and unsettling, Don't Look Now is one of the better suspense thrillers to emerge from the 1970's.

For me Sutherland was the show, an "unbeliever" who slowly, inexorably is drawn into a web of events challenging his perceptions of how reality works.

The ending of this film is terrific and horrifying , the inevitable resolution to a superior film which resonates throughout with a chill vein of gothic poetry. This is a creepy, mesmerizing film and will haunt you for days after seeing it.

Ten out of Ten Wraiths in Red Raincoats you should never follow