Don't Look Now

Rating:
Summary: Second Sight
Review: The first time I saw the thriller, Don't Look Now, I was in film school, during the mid 90's. I liked what I saw overall, but I was a bit turned off by the fact that it seemed dated and had some trouble getting past that at the time. Now, years later, I am older wiser, and can appreciate the film a little more than I did back then.

A young girl in a red coat plays by a pond in the gray English winter. Her young brother plays nearby while their parents work inside. Suddenly a bloodr stain forms on John Baxter's (Donald Sutherland) slide of a church window and he runs outside just before his son calls. He is too late--his daughter has drowned. His wife, Laura (Julie Christie), screams, melding into the screech of a drill renovating a church in Venice some time later. John and Laura left England in an attempt to emerce themselves in work, trying to move forward. During a break one afternoon, Laura meets two frumpy English sisters, one of whom is a blind psychic. She gives Laura a reading in which she explains that that she can see the Baxters' dead daughter, Christine. Impressed and excited, she requests a further meeting during which the sisters warn that John, whom they insist is blessed with second sight, is in grave danger. John has recurrent symbolic visions and has seen and chased a young girl in a red coat running through the backstreets of Venice. However, he dismisses ESP as manipulative nonsense and, when Laura turns up missing, fears that the sisters may be responsible for her disappearance.

Directed by Nicolas Roeg and based on a story by Daphne Du Maurier, I can now appreciate the deeper nuances of the film that I missed the first time around. As a thriller it works on basic fears of loss. Hallucinogenic, yet haunting visions will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up and keep you unsure of what's real and what is not. Christie and Sutherland give intense performances and are great together. Adding to the tension are the sisters, Heather (Hilary Mason) and Wendy (Clelia Matania), who will creep you out for sure. The icing on the cake is composer Pino Donaggio's errie score for the movie.

Sadly, the only extra on the DVD is a very poor looking theatrical trailer, for the film. I guess, since I have a better understanding of what Roeg was going for, I wanted to know more about the movie...

Don't Look Now works on different levels for many reasons. Most of all though, it's an entertaing and engrossing thriller, that's worth your time. Perfect for a dreary day when there's nothing to do.

Rating:
Summary: Dull as dirt (Vol. I)
Review: Note: I am a patient man. I do not have to have non-stop action (or any action, for that matter) to enjoy a good movie.

I purchased this DVD after reading glowing reviews everywhere I turned. That was a mistake. I've tried to watch this thing at least three different times (allowing a good year between viewings in one instance).

SHORT REVIEW: It's boring; I don't know how else to describe it.

Same thing goes for The Man Who Fell To Earth: BORING. If either of these films were edited better (i.e. about 30 minutes cut from each), then there might be something worth watching.

Rating:
Summary: Ending Will Send Chills of Shock and Sadness
Review: I've tried to rent this movie so many times over the past 7 years, but no one seems to carry it. So, I bought it, watched it yesterday and had to comment.

I am not a fan of slasher movies, but rather prefer an intelligent, complex, and ambiguous story. "Don't Look Now" is one of a few movies that has all of these elements. You don't notice it while watching, but your emotions slowly build -- empathy, curiousity, passion, fear -- until the very end, when all of those emotions 'burst' into all-over-the-body chills and for me, tears of sadness, empathy and disappointment (not in the plot of course ... I'll let you experience your own when you watch).

Let's just say that I couldn't stop researching reviews, telling my husband and friends about how chilling it was, etc.... This has been going on for two days. It will simply leave you in shock.

Great psychological thriller.