--- title: "Don't Look Now" year: 1973 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/dont-look-now" fi1m_id: "dont-look-now" imdb_id: "tt0069995" tmdb_id: 931 wikidata_id: "Q660245" fi1m_score: 90 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 14 published: "2026-09-12" updated: "2026-09-18T08:37:41.023757+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Don't Look Now (1973) Directed by Nicolas Roeg · 1h 50m · MPA R · Thriller, Drama, Horror ## Identity Don't Look Now - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/dont-look-now - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** dont-look-now - **IMDb ID:** tt0069995 - **TMDB ID:** 931 - **Wikidata ID:** Q660245 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069995/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/931, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q660245 **Fi1m score: 90** · Critics 82 from 14 reviews *In a sentence:* Venice looks damp, the marriage feels real, and we would like someone to turn the lights on > *Don’t Look Now* is a frightening, deeply felt film about bereavement, with Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie making its marriage convincing. Roeg’s fractured storytelling occasionally labours the warnings, but the fear comes from people worth caring about. ## Synopsis After the death of their young daughter, John and Laura Baxter travel to Venice. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie play the bereaved couple, whose time in the city brings them into contact with the supernatural. Laura looks for a connection with the child they have lost, while John resists explanations he cannot make sense of. Around them, wintry Venice becomes a place of unsettling impressions and possible warnings. Nicolas Roeg directs a story of mourning, marriage and premonition, in which the couple struggle to understand what they are seeing and what they want to believe. ## Review Nicolas Roeg’s *Don’t Look Now* is a frightening film that takes a grieving marriage seriously enough to make the fear hurt. John and Laura Baxter, played by Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie, go to Venice after their young daughter drowns. The possibility of contact with her unsettles a couple who are already struggling with her loss. Roeg gives their sorrow time and attention, so the supernatural matters before there is much to explain. We were shaken by the opening drowning, where the cutting makes a family tragedy feel horribly difficult to take in. Editor Graeme Clifford keeps returning us to that unsettled way of watching: a fragment catches the eye before its place in the story becomes clear. The shifts in time require attention, but they also suggest how little control these people have over what enters their thoughts. Roeg does not let a remembered image stay safely in the past. The editing keeps it close to what is happening now. Anthony B. Richmond photographs Venice in muted colours, with red standing out sharply enough to pull attention away from everything around it. That selective use of colour makes us search the picture, often before there is a clear reason to be alarmed. The dampness and the water matter just as much: after the opening, even the surroundings offer little comfort. Venice remains recognisably a real city, with the cold and the difficulty of finding a way through it left in. Sutherland and Christie give the film the everyday familiarity it needs. They are believable as people who have shared a life before the story begins, and who can still be close without being equally ready to face what has happened. Sutherland makes John’s resistance to the supernatural understandable; accepting it would mean accepting possibilities he cannot manage. Christie gives Laura’s longing for contact with their child enough urgency to keep it from becoming merely a plot device. The elliptical love scene allows them tenderness without pretending that sex has repaired anything. Pino Donaggio’s music gives the sadness a clear, direct expression. That is useful when Clifford’s cutting has us occupied with how one moment connects to another: the score keeps the parents’ hurt from getting lost in the business of following clues. The sound contributes to the unease without making the couple seem remote. There is room here for tenderness, even when the images are making it difficult to relax. The weakness comes when the premonitions begin to feel too insistently arranged. Allan Scott and Chris Bryant’s screenplay sometimes pushes John towards disbelief so firmly that a recognisable man risks becoming the person a supernatural thriller needs to ignore its warnings. Those stretches can feel chilly, and the film occasionally makes us wait for connections we have already begun to suspect. It is a small but real limitation in a film otherwise so attentive to the untidiness of grief. The supernatural thriller often keeps us waiting for an explanation, and Roeg knows how to exploit that habit. He also makes the waiting uncomfortable in a different way: spending time with these parents means facing a loss that no explanation will make bearable. Treating the film solely as a puzzle would miss what Sutherland and Christie are doing. Give it your full attention, and preferably some company afterwards. *Fi1m score 90, published 12 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics praise Don’t Look Now as a deeply unsettling supernatural thriller whose scares grow from the couple’s grief. Praise centres on Nicolas Roeg’s fractured editing, the wintry Venice setting and the convincing intimacy between Sutherland and Christie. The love scene draws particular attention for its emotional weight and elliptical cutting. Across the positive reviews, the film’s disorienting images and sound make bereavement and isolation felt rather than merely supplying an eerie backdrop. The spread is wide, though dissent is limited: the main disagreement concerns whether the technique deepens the emotion or keeps it at a distance. The New Yorker admires the elegance but finds little emotional depth, while The New York Times sees an attractive Venetian travelogue short on suspense. Little White Lies offers a narrower reservation about dated plotting while praising the opening’s staging, performances and editing. Most critics instead find the formal disruption essential to the film’s disturbing effect. ## Straight answers **Is Don't Look Now worth watching?** *Don't Look Now* is worth watching for anyone who can bear a ghost story built on a child's death, and we scored it 90. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie make the grieving marriage convincing, so the fear hurts rather than merely startles. The fractured editing asks for full attention, and the premonitions are occasionally over-arranged. **How long is Don't Look Now, and what is it rated?** *Don't Look Now* runs 1h 50m and is rated R by the MPA in the US. It is a thriller and drama film. **Where can I watch Don't Look Now in the US?** *Don't Look Now* is available to rent from Amazon Prime Video from $5.99. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is Don't Look Now, and is it suitable for children?** *Don't Look Now* is a 15 in the UK and an R in the US, and it is not for children. The opening drowning of a young daughter is hard to take in, there is an elliptical love scene, and the dread runs through the whole film rather than arriving in jolts. The squeamish should know the fear is about grief as much as blood. **How does Don't Look Now compare to Personal Shopper?** *Don't Look Now* and [*Personal Shopper*](https://film.one/film/personal-shopper) are both about bereavement and possible contact with the dead, with the uncertainty left uncomfortable. Roeg's film is the more complete of the two: its marriage is fully drawn and its fear is rooted in a real city. Assayas's rests almost entirely on Kristen Stewart, loosens in its second half, and suits viewers who want their ghost story modern and unresolved. **What should I watch after Don't Look Now?** After *Don't Look Now*, try [*The Vanishing*](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing) (1988, Fi1m 88): For the patient accumulation of dread around an absence nobody can bear. Then [*Cure*](https://film.one/film/cure) (1997, Fi1m 85): A colder, quieter investigation that makes everyday encounters feel difficult to trust; and [*Personal Shopper*](https://film.one/film/personal-shopper) (2016, Fi1m 76): Bereavement and possible supernatural contact, with the uncertainty allowed to remain uncomfortable. ### Reviews we read (16) - **Radio Times**, Tom Hutchinson (5/5): This is director Nicolas Roeg's masterpiece, a supernatural chiller with a fear-drenched mood of alienation sustained to an unforgettable climax. The erotic love-making scene between the leads forms the sensual core of the time-distorted vision of terror set in wintry Venice. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-viyou4/dont-look-now/) - **Empire**, Adam Smith (90/100, inferred): The film is one of the most haunting and enigmatic supernatural thrillers ever made, with a mournful heart provided by Sutherland and Christie's believable grieving couple. It singles out the infamous sex scene and devastating ending for particular praise as brilliantly realised and still shocking. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/look-now-review/) - **Slant Magazine**, Chuck Bowen (90/100, inferred): The review calls Roeg’s film a jumpy, melancholic masterpiece driven by emotional desolation and grief, elevated by its prismatic editing and sound design. It singles out the celebrated, elliptical love scene and the way the fractured structure conveys the couple’s isolation and fragility. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/dont-look-now-4k-uhd-blu-ray-review-nicolas-roeg/) - **Time Out**, TM (90/100, inferred): A superbly chilling essay in the supernatural about a couple shattered by the death of their small daughter who go to Venice to forget and are sucked into a terrifying vortex of time. Conceived in Roeg's usual imagistic style, it's hypnotically brilliant. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/dont-look-now) - **The AV Club**, A.A. Dowd (85/100, inferred): The review praises Nicolas Roeg’s film as a singularly haunting work that blends grief drama with supernatural elements through disorienting technique. It singles out the shocking climax and the way the story uses Venice as a labyrinth of the mind to explore mourning and self-fulfilling prophecy. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/don-t-look-now-s-ending-still-shocks-even-if-its-famou-1826656605) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (85/100, inferred): The critic finds Roeg's 1973 film still capable of delivering major scares and jump moments while praising its template-setting influence on horror. He singles out the convincing chemistry of Sutherland and Christie as a married couple and Venice's realistic, non-touristy depiction as standout elements. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/jul/05/dont-look-now-review-roeg-horror-julie-christie-donald-sutherland) - **Total Film** (85/100, inferred): Roeg's 1973 film remains one of the most dynamic and radical British films ever made, with its non-linear cutting creating an eerie atmosphere that mirrors the characters' grief and mental disintegration in Venice. It praises the film's groundbreaking style and relevance decades later. [Read](https://www.gamesradar.com/dont-look-now-review/) - **Little White Lies**, David Jenkins (4/4/4): The critic finds this re-release of the horror classic largely rewarding despite some dated elements in the plot. The opening sequence is singled out as an all-time great for its masterful staging, acting and editing. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/dont-look-now) - **Evening Standard** (75/100, inferred): This welcome reissue highlights the strange, doom-laden semi-occult romance in wintry Venice, where bereaved parents seek contact with their drowned child. It remains memorable for the peak-era performances of Christie and Sutherland and the memorable eroticism of their partnership. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/don-t-look-now-7433640.html) - **The New Yorker**, Pauline Kael (60/100, inferred): Roeg's splintered, subliminal style creates an elegant but chilly atmosphere of dislocation and premonition in this du Maurier adaptation, making it a masterwork of high-fashion Gothic compared to lesser examples. Kael complains that it is ultimately shallow chic without deeper consciousness or emotional engagement. [Read](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1973/12/24/labyrinths) - **The New York Times** (40/100, inferred): The review calls the film a fragile horror soap bubble that fails to elevate its Daphne du Maurier source, turning instead into an elegant but suspense-lacking travelogue of Venice after an early twist. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1973/12/10/archives/filmdont-look-now-a-horror-taledonald-sutherland-and-julie-christie.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert: The critic praises Nicolas Roeg's direction for creating menace through compositions and Venice's wintry atmosphere, highlighting an effective love scene and the film's psychic thriller elements centered on a rational man's denial. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dont-look-now-1973) - **Variety**, Variety Staff: The critic deems it superior suspense with subliminal horror, commending Roeg's visual fillips, strong performances especially from Sutherland and Christie, and the careful editing including a notable love scene. [Read](https://variety.com/1972/film/reviews/don-t-look-now-1200423045/) - **HeyUGuys**, Daniel Goodwin (5/5): It is an equally striking genre masterpiece and existentialist fable that has lost little of its edge over the decades. Roeg’s rain-sodden Venice, documentary naturalism, jump-cuts, visual distortions and handling of grief through the couple’s experiences are singled out. [Read](https://www.heyuguys.com/dont-look-now-4k-review/) - **Eye for Film**, James Benefield (90/100, inferred): It is probably the finest of Roeg’s quartet of Seventies masterpieces, a devastating emotional and highly metaphorical horror film that deconstructs film language and transcends genre. Its technical accomplishment, muted colour palette, treatment of grief and two excellent central performances are singled out for praise. [Read](http://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/dont-look-now-film-review-by-james-benefield) - **Paste**, Matthew Jackson (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film an ecstatic meditation on grief and one of the best thrillers of its era or any other, with a sense of inevitable, claustrophobic terror. They single out the dazzling use of color (especially red), editing, sound design, and symbolism of water for praise in conveying the characters' psychological state. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/nicolas-roeg/dont-look-now-at-50) ## Details - **Director:** Nicolas Roeg - **Director:** Nicolas Roeg - **Screenplay:** Chris Bryant, Allan Scott - **Cinematography:** Anthony B. Richmond - **Editor:** Graeme Clifford - **Music:** Pino Donaggio - **Costume design:** Andrea Galer, Marit Allen - **Producer:** Peter Katz - **Cast:** Donald Sutherland as John Baxter; Julie Christie as Laura Baxter; Hilary Mason as Heather; Massimo Serato as Bishop Barbarrigo; Clelia Matania as Wendy; Renato Scarpa as Inspector Longhi; Giorgio Trestini as Workman; Leopoldo Trieste as Hotel Manager - **Runtime:** 1h 50m - **Certificate (MPA):** R - **Release (the US):** 9 December 1973 - **Genres:** Thriller, Drama, Horror - **Also in:** [BAFTA Best Film winners](https://film.one/collections/bafta-best-film.md) (Nominee, 1973) - **Budget:** $2 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXP8OaJGxrM ## Where to watch in the US - Amazon Prime Video: rent $5.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $9.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-12.* Also available in: AT, BE, BG, CA, ES, FR, GB, IT, LT, PT, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Innocents* (1961): Another ghost story in which watching closely offers no dependable protection. - *The Vanishing* (1988), Fi1m 88: For the patient accumulation of dread around an absence nobody can bear. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-vanishing.md) - *Cure* (1997), Fi1m 85: A colder, quieter investigation that makes everyday encounters feel difficult to trust. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/cure.md) - *The Devil's Backbone* (2001): A ghost story that gives its frightened people lives beyond their fear. - *Personal Shopper* (2016), Fi1m 76: Bereavement and possible supernatural contact, with the uncertainty allowed to remain uncomfortable. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/personal-shopper.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/dont-look-now