Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.0

Don't Look Now Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 19, 2022

Nic Roeg's "Don't Look Now" (1973) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy Paramount Home Media Distribution. The only bonus feature on the release is a vintage trailer for the film. In English, with optional English and English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

After the tragic death of their daughter, John (Donald Sutherland, Threshold, Invasion of the Body Snatchers) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie, The Go-Between, Doctor Zhivago) arrive in Venice where he is going to assist a group of specialists restoring an old church. The two try not to talk about the tragedy but it is clear that they are constantly thinking about it.

While having lunch in a local restaurant, John and Laura encounter two elderly sisters. One of them is a blind psychic (Hilary Mason, TV's Nicholas Nickleby), who tells Laura that she has seen her daughter -- on the other side. Initially, Laura ignores the psychic, but later on, intrigued by the woman’s accurate description of her late daughter, she decides to meet her again.

Meanwhile, John begins working inside the church, and nearly gets killed after a scaffold collapses. Later on, while wandering around Venice, he sees a little girl wearing a red raincoat that reminds him of his daughter. When he tries to approach her, she disappears.

Based on Daphne Du Maurier’s short story, Nic Roeg’s Don’t Look Now shares the same suffocating atmosphere Sidney J. Furie’s The Entity has -- the feeling of uncertainty gradually takes over and becomes a lot more important than the narrative. In other words, the film is not so much about what the main protagonists go through but how they manage to do it.

The disconnect from reality that they experience occurs in cycles -- first, they reject what they cannot comprehend, then they begin to question it, and finally, they confront it. John’s experience, however, is a lot more intense than Laura’s.

The film is very effective because it links the real with the surreal and never favors one over the other. Instead, it offers different points of view that force one into a guessing mode literally until the final credits roll. Even then, after all of the scattered pieces have been properly aligned, the film remains a fascinating enigma that could be successfully deconstructed in a variety of different ways.

The majority of the film takes place in Venice, Italy. This is one of a handful of films, however, where this enormously beautiful city looks incredibly unattractive, unfriendly, and depressing. The long shots with the dirty canals (the scene with the rats truly sticks out), the old buildings, and especially the dark streets where the girl with the red coat appears to give the film that unique Gothic flavor many of the classic films about Jack the Ripper are known for.

Sutherland and Christie are outstanding. There are a couple of scenes where Sutherland looks straight into the camera that are very unsettling. He has the appearance of a man who has been possessed by something, something very powerful. Christie’s nervous breakdowns are also very effective. The famous explicit sex scene still looks incredibly real but inoffensive.

The film is complimented by a strong soundtrack courtesy of Pino Donaggio. After winning Best Soundtrack of the Year Award from the British Films and Filming magazine, Donaggio went on to score some of Brian de Palma’s best films, including Carrie, Dressed to Kill, Blow Out, and Body Double, amongst others.

*In a recent Time Out magazine poll conducted amongst 150 industry experts, including directors Sam Mendes, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, and Wes Anderson, actors David Morrissey, Sally Hawkins, and Thandie Newton, newspaper and magazine critics, Don't Look Now was named the Best British Film of all time.

Don't Look Now Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Don't Look Now arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount Home Media Distribution.

In the United States, Don't Look Now made its high-definition debut via the Criterion Collection in 2015. You can see out listing and review of this release here. However, this release is out of print now.

This recent release of Don't Look Now is sourced from the same 4K master that was used for the first release. Obviously, the film looks predictably vibrant and healthy, exactly as it did on the first release. Are there any discrepancies in the color reproduction? No. I tested various areas, including many of the darker areas where many supporting nuances interact in some very particular ways to enhance the intended atmosphere, and could not see any meaningful discrepancies to address in our review. The gamma settings are identical as well. Image stability is excellent. The encoding is very good. However, I also have this 4K Blu-ray release from StudioCanal and if I perform direct comparisons between the two there are areas where the higher resolution and superior grain reproduction on the 4K Blu-ray release clearly produce tighter, more attractive visuals. So, if you have a very large screen, you should consider investing in the 4K Blu-ray release. If you don't, I think that you are going to be very happy with the 1080p presentation because the 4K restoration still looks wonderful on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Don't Look Now Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English and English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless audio track is the same one that is present on the original release of Don't Look Now from Criterion. It is very healthy and nicely balanced. Its dynamic potency is as good as it should be as well, so Pino Donaggio's famous score easily produces plenty of memorable contrasts.

Don't Look Now Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - presented here is a vintage U.S. trailer for Don't Look Now. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Don't Look Now Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

In the United States, Don't Look Now made its high-definition debut via the Criterion Collection in 2015. However, this release has been discontinued. Until very recently, I was unaware. So, this recent release from Paramount should be on your radar if you missed Criterion's release. It brings back to the market the same excellent 4K restoration that was prepared for the film a couple of years ago. However, the only bonus feature on it is a vintage trailer. RECOMMENDED.