Don't look now (1973)

Don't Look Now is an Anglo-Italian thriller, directed by Nicolas Roeg and released in 1973. It is based on a short story by Daphne du Maurier.

Don't Look Now tells the story of a couple, Laura (Julie Christie) and John Baxter (Donald Sutherland) whose young daughter has recently drowned in a tragic accident at home. Their grief puts a sudden pressure on their marriage.

Seeking a change of scenery and an opportunity to work through their loss, they take a "working vacation" to Venice, Italy, where John has been contracted to restore an ancient church. While John attends to this project, Laura is befriended by two strange elderly sisters. One of the sisters, Heather (Hilary Mason), is blind and claims to be in psychic contact with the Baxters' dead daughter. Laura is drawn to the sisters, but John finds their influence on her unsettling and suspects them of deceit. The ensuing drama is set against a subplot involving a serial killer who has eluded the police. John catches glimpses of a child-like figure in red raingear who resembles his dead daughter, although the figure vanishes whenever John pursues it. He begins to question his own sanity and that of his wife as Laura appears to be completely under the command of the sisters, who in turn suggest that John shares their gift of a "second sight."

John's fears and Laura's apparent obsession with the sisters lead them into a spiraling vortex of coincidences, recurring themes and motifs (light on water, breaking glass, the colour red), which reaches a dramatic conclusion in an old bell tower. John confronts the mysterious figure in red, realizing too late that his visions were premonitions of a grisly end.

Although memorable for its puzzling story and unusual editing, Don't Look Now has become almost as well-known for its sex scene involving Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie. The scene was unusually graphic for the time, leading to rumours that it was unsimulated, though only 9 frames were trimmed for the original American theatrical release in order to avoid an MPAA X rating. The assertion that Sutherland and Christie actually had sex was repeated as recently as 2001 in Patrick Robertson's Film Facts.

The scene was an unscripted last-minute improvisation by Roeg who felt that without it there would be too many scenes of the couple arguing. It is edited in a typically unorthodox Roeg manner, with the footage of the act intercut with footage of the couple getting dressed for dinner, afterward.

Director Steven Soderbergh paid homage to the scene by including a tamer version in a similar style in his 1998 Elmore Leonard adaptation Out of Sight. A similar scene also appears in the 1981 thriller, Ghost Story, between Craig Wasson and Alice Krige. Christie and Sutherland reteamed for the 1992 film, The Railway Station Man, which also included a frank depiction of a sexual act.

The theme of the little red-clad Venetian figure is used in a dream sequence in the "Book Clubbin'" episode of television series Absolutely Fabulous, Series 5.

In the feature film Flatliners, Kiefer Sutherland is tormented by a small childlike figure in a red hooded coat in an homage to his father's film.

This film heavily influenced Alice, Sweet Alice.

This film seems to have influenced "RD", Episode 13 of The Big O.

The video to Sophie Ellis-Bextor's single "Catch You" draws heavily on the film's imagery as Bextor runs around Venice in a red evening dress.

The Irish feature film Intermission (starring Colm Meaney and Colin Farrell) references the chase of a small figure in a red coat several times.

The film is often referenced by cult British television series The League of Gentlemen.

Clips from this film appear in the video for Big Audio Dynamite's 1986 hit "E=MC2"

The Vast video "Pretty When You Cry" has many references to the movie.

The drowning scene is referenced by the 2005 film The Dark starring Sean Bean and Maria Bello in which their daughter drowns wearing a bright red sweater.

In the 2005 film Hostel, a figure fleetingly glimpsed wearing a red raincoat is pursued through narrow alleyways.

The end chase scene is referenced in the 2006 release of Casino Royale where James Bond is pursuing Vesper through Venice while she is wearing a red coat.

In the 2006 remake of The Wicker Man, the little girl is seen running around in a red coat. As well, there is a pair of twins, old women, except both of them are blind. The original The Wicker Man was released as a double-bill with Don't Look Now.

The animated portion of the Halloween episode of children's program Yo Gabba Gabba features many classic movie monsters. Near the end a small figure in a red slicker appears as an obscure homage.

The 2008 film In Bruges has many references to Don't Look Now, including the claim by one character that the film-within-a-film is a pastiche of Don't Look Now.

Portions of the film are sampled in the M83 song "America."

In an episode of the British television series Spaced, a girl in a red coat is seen whilst Tim is looking for Colin.