SummaryA married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
Directed By:Nicolas Roeg
Written By:Daphne Du Maurier, Allan Scott, Chris Bryant
Don't Look Now
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
95
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
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Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
96% Positive
26 Reviews
26 Reviews
4% Mixed
1 Review
1 Review
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
100
More a triumph of tone and texture than of storytelling....But what makes Don't Look Now one of the creepiest movies of all time is the artful way director Roeg leads us around blind corners and down dark alleys (both literally and figuratively), straddling the line between reality and mysticism. [4 May 2001, p.4]
100
With Sutherland and Christie in fine form it all adds up to one of Roeg's finest films and an undeniably key work in British cinema.
User score
Generally Favorable
63% Positive
49 Ratings
49 Ratings
26% Mixed
20 Ratings
20 Ratings
12% Negative
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
Nov 8, 2024
10
I watched this film countless times for my studies, dissecting every part. And yet, I never grew tired of it. Quite the opposite: the enigmatic, mosaic-like nature of Don't Look Now keeps captivating me over and over. The outstanding editing and montage, along with the use of music, play a major role in this. So once again, I found myself in wintry Venice—cold, windy, and unwelcoming, inhabited by hostile people gazing from dark windows into narrow, shadowy alleys. It’s not a pleasant cold; everything feels damp and moldy. Beneath the surface, this city rots, and without the crowd of tourists, it feels like an open coffin. The ideal place for terrible crimes and ghostly memories. Perhaps not the ideal place to confront grief and guilt. 🪞 There are also mosaic pieces: the color red, reflections, eyes, possibly the best sex scene in film history, premonitions, and coincidences. In Roeg’s Venice, time has no place and yet holds immense importance. You can’t rely on what you think you see. Venice is in peril.
Mar 29, 2022
10
When I first saw Don't Look Now 4 years ago, I was genuinely unnerved by it, and while it was a film I appreciated more than loved I saw it for the great film it was. Now on re-watch, not only has the impact been left undiminished but I now love this movie. Visually the film is very stylish and haunting, yet there is something very sumptuous and symbolic about it too. The haunting music and sound further add to the atmosphere, as does the screenplay and Nicholas Roeg's superb direction. Don't Look Now also has a great story, it has a touch of poignancy, but it scores best when it is shocking and atmospheric, one scene in particular involving the figure in the red cloak affected me so much I couldn't sleep for days when I first saw it. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are note-perfect in their roles. All in all, really effective then and now. 10/10 Bethany Cox
100
Nic Roeg here offers one of the most disconcerting portraits of otherworldliness ever seen on the screen.
100
Very few pieces of fiction have been so totally improved in adaptation. The original novelette was clever but thin; the 1973 film is one of the greatest real horror films ever made.
100
One of the definitive mystery chillers of all time. Poignant, beautiful and devastating.
90
Time has tamed some of the terror and eroticism of Nicolas Roeg’s Don’t Look Now, but it’s still a haunting thriller about guilt and the supernatural. What’s notable (more notable even than the much celebrated bedroom scene between Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland, in which sex is displaced into memory even as it’s taking place) is that Roeg’s use of the death of a child as the focus of a horror film never feels exploitative.
40
A fragile soap bubble of a horror film. It has a shiny surface that reflects all sorts of colors and moods, but after watching it for a while, you realize you're looking not into it, but through it and out the other side. The bubble doesn't burst, it slowly collapses, and you may feel, as I did, that you've been had.Not only do you probably have better things to do, but so, I'm sure, do most of the people connected with the film.
Nov 1, 2024
9
I was 17 when I saw this for the first time. I was riveted. I had no idea where the movie was going. It creeped me out for a while. It took me a couple of decades before I could watch it again. It is a timeless classic.
May 9, 2024
6
1973's 'Don't Look Now' is considered a classic British horror film and has moments which have become part of the horror genre lore.SYNOPSIS: 'A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.:A classic film this may well be but it feels like it's aged badly now with there being minimal scares whilst it feels like it overuns by some **** the big twist is there, but it feels ineffectual now. It's just not that **** 'that' sex scene is here, but in 2024 it feels awkward and stale. It's certainly not shocking in the modern world.I also expected to find a film fraught with the grief of mourning parents. But no. Sutherland and Christie feel like they've moved on and I've seen better, more emotional performances, concerning the subject ****'s a film which looks fantastic and it has some ground breaking (at the time) camera work which disorientates you and unsettles you. But the story is ****'s very much a classic, just one that doesn't tick enough boxes for me.Disappointing.6/10
Sep 30, 2024
2
Overrated and underwhelming snooze fest. Has not dated well at all. It may have been eerie at the time of release, but it simply doesn't work with the cheap constant intercut sequences and slow moving plot. Save yourself the wasted time and watch Rosemary's Baby instead.
Jun 22, 2025
1
Terribly dated, uneventful and repetitive film. Maybe it worked in the early 70s, but my goodness is it a slog of a film today. Predictable and nonsensical artsy frame after frame that doesn't even allow you to experience the suspense.
Jun 9, 2025
0
Full of useless scenes, terrible acting and a terrible pace to the story tellling makes clear to me that is pure garbage. Making this film a "cult classic' and giving a high score is disservice to humanity.
Production Company:
- Casey Productions
- Eldorado Films
- D.L.N. Ventures Partnership
Release Date:Dec 9, 1973
Duration:1 h 50 m
Rating:R
Tagline:It's utter MADNESS!
Awards
BAFTA Awards
• 1 Win & 7 Nominations
The Guardian's Best Films
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Online Film & Television Association
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
