tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post2410414874814268214..comments2024-03-29T03:05:28.466-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: DON'T LOOK NOW 1973Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-83369122772246217112018-06-28T02:05:30.082-07:002018-06-28T02:05:30.082-07:00Strange movie.Strange movie.Peppermint Snowdrifthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08892704947166771667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-51426225251444848772014-10-16T15:11:47.503-07:002014-10-16T15:11:47.503-07:00Hi Allen
I like your take on the film, especially ...Hi Allen<br />I like your take on the film, especially the Sutherland character that I too think is the one who suffers for his refusal to acknowledge his second sight. Hi stubbornness reminds me of a character in Henry James' "Daisy Miller"; a character so caught up in the rules of the material world that he fails to pay attention to that which is present in plain sight before his eyes.<br />And you're right, Sutherland's misinterpretation of one of his visions makes him assume his wife is in the city, and takes him along a path that leads to a tragic end. All the more tragic because he is willing to accept the possibility of the supernatural at the exact wrong time.<br />A fascinating film. Thank you for sharing your insights about it.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-54040058680104876772014-10-15T19:12:04.173-07:002014-10-15T19:12:04.173-07:00"....he is at his relaxed best, making his ch..."....he is at his relaxed best, making his character a believable skeptic in the face of the fantastic. ... I think he's fantastic here." Ha! I see what you did there.<br /><br />I only saw this movie as an adult (2006 or so), and so far only the once, but really thought a lot of it. It took me a while of thinking about it to decide that not only does Sutherland refuse to acknowledge his second sight, but basically, he's punished for this refusal (the way that in a more standardly moralistic movie, a murder in the first act must bring the death of the murderer in the last).<br /><br />I'm forgetting the detail that convinced me of this. It had to do with him seeing the women on the gondola on a day they weren't there, and that leading him to the wrong place at the wrong time, and gotcha! but I remember deciding that if he'd interpreted his vision as a vision, he might have escaped.<br /><br />Great movie (as often), great review (as always).Allen Knutsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15616422252030334511noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-83250922387516343822014-10-02T20:36:45.571-07:002014-10-02T20:36:45.571-07:00Yes of course, American Graffiti! thanks.Yes of course, American Graffiti! thanks.dedeurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775849527808927607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-38283714106239881592014-09-28T19:10:09.583-07:002014-09-28T19:10:09.583-07:00Hi Willem
This is the space for me to respond to a...Hi Willem<br />This is the space for me to respond to all your wonderful posts because you sound so amusingly exasperated. You wouldn't be thinking of that stiff-looking blonde wig Candy Clark wore in "American Graffiti", could you?<br /><br />on the topic of "Don't Look Now", thank you for sharing such a great story about your history with it. I especially love the intermission editing and preserving the integrity of the piece by prohibiting patrons from coming in during those all-important early moments.<br />Reading your thoughts on the film is very satisfying because you really allowed yourself to be immersed in the experience. You create a vivid picture of what you appreciate about the film and what it has meant to you. Thank you so much for sharing all of that. Such a heartfelt tribute to a deserving film!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-32658803717953112702014-09-28T05:50:53.498-07:002014-09-28T05:50:53.498-07:00O, this is a great mess- that was not Candy, in Ba...O, this is a great mess- that was not Candy, in Back To The Future...dedeurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775849527808927607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-47980911243766325782014-09-28T05:48:03.994-07:002014-09-28T05:48:03.994-07:00I see I need to make a correction...Candy Clark wa...I see I need to make a correction...Candy Clark was badly wigged in Back To The Future. Poor Candy, she was actually the best thing in The Man Who Fell To Earth!dedeurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775849527808927607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-27877403354121943622014-09-27T23:31:20.086-07:002014-09-27T23:31:20.086-07:00- part II -
This film is so incredibly rich. The...- part II - <br /><br />This film is so incredibly rich. The interplay in the restaurant between Laura and the two odd but also homey sisters, creating a feeling of utter unreality. The way Laura sits there in the lady's room, dazed, it breaks my heart. Laura, when she goes into denial over Christine's death and has John snapping at her, you see her literally recoiling. Venice, turned into a world that would even chill Venetian citizens (and they certainly must have felt a drop in tourist figures for some years to come).<br />I've seen the movie many times, but the detail of the telephone obscuring Christine's face in the photograph had escaped me until I saw mentioning of it here. I marvel over such touches, it's exactly what adds to the brilliance of Rosemary's Baby as well. The fun, the satisfaction of (re)discovering a movie this way, I love it.<br /><br />And, just like I have been searching in vain for a new Rosemary's Baby in Polanski's work, I searched for a new Don't Look Now in Nicholas Roeg's, and never found it. Bad Timing, boring, Man Who Fell To Earth, a freak show with a trendy icon and his (again!) badly wigged co-star. Castaway, a forgettable romcom.<br />To my idea Roeg has never surpassed himself. Christie and Sutherland have played many a sublime role in the years after, but in regard to character insight seldom on this level. There should be Oscars for 'Best Screen Chemistry'!<br />Even Pino Donaggio never composed a finer score. When I play the record, the movie comes back with full force. This production was touched by magic from beginning to end.<br />dedeurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775849527808927607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-56276078563677539712014-09-27T23:30:30.403-07:002014-09-27T23:30:30.403-07:00When I was reading the DuMaurier short story Varie...When I was reading the DuMaurier short story Variety was running a big ad; 'Now shooting on location with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland' (I still have it in a scrap album, together with ads of productions that in the end were never realized, or without the promised star). The same announcement was also on the blurb of the Penguin pocket edition I had bought because I was very into DuMaurier at the time.<br />I don't think I grasped the story very well, because it took a while before I discovered that I was no longer reading Don't Look Now, I was already well into the next story from that collection...<br />I also had seen hardly any movies with Julie or Donald so far. Of course I knew who they were, and so the characters in the the Maurier version already had a prefixed face. The same happened to me with Rosemary's Baby as a series in a weekly magazine, 'now filming with Mia Farrow'). Wham- Rosemary Woodhouse from Peyton Place!<br />It was also confusing that the illustration on the cover of the DuMaurier book showed a Laura that didn't look like Julie Christie at all.<br />In the end it appeared to be the same story, while at the same time the movie wasn't anything I expected... <br /><br />In my town, 'Don't look now' had run in a prominent theater for only four weeks before it was dumped at a small semi-art house dwelling, and there it would run for another two unprofitable weeks. I worked there as an operator who also handled the management. <br />I remember it so clearly. I received the box with cans in the morning and spliced the six rolls together. In those days I was obliged to program an Intermission halfway - yes, horrible isn't it? - and what I usually did was give myself a private screening first to be able to pick the least annoying moment for a break (a colleague ruined Kurosawa's 'Dreams' in my absence by putting an intermission smack in the middle of the Tunnel segment, I almost killed him) . <br />So I sat there all by myself in the dark auditorium gazing at lovely Julie Christie, and felt myself shrinking more and more in my chair, and after the first segment had played, I had a thumping head ache and my face felt feverish. I had never seen a movie scene so haunting, so emotionally shattering. When Laura's scream was replaced by the scream of a drilling machine, I JUMPED.<br />After the cashier had arrived for her shift I told her: 'When the movie starts, I'll give you a ring and you'll stop selling tickets right away.' I simply didn't want late customers barging into the auditorium during that scene. I would have killed them. <br /><br />Don't Look Now is not quite in my Top 5 of fav movies, but that overture in itself is a definite number One. <br />In later years I learned that Donald Sutherland's audible gasp when he plunges into the ditch wasn't acted. The casting of Sutherland, mostly known for comedy roles, was a stroke of genius in itself, by the way.<br />But it isn't so much about acting qualities in that opening scene. It's about brilliant cutting of shots loaded with devilishly clever premonition signs. Plus the camera movements, the sparse, airy yet ominous dialogue, the music during the accident with the wine glass, Laura's restless pacing, yet having no idea that outside there is something going horribly wrong- I witnessed pure cinematic genius. In 1974, cinema for me had reached a point where I thought, 'It can't get any better than this.'<br /><br />- end of part I - <br /><br />dedeurshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09775849527808927607noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-52916553146180833792014-06-07T18:02:49.372-07:002014-06-07T18:02:49.372-07:00You're so right, really splendid work all arou...You're so right, really splendid work all around. It's a marvelous film that's allowed to tell the story it wants to tell without any (obvious) bowing to what would make a "hit" movie. Happy to hear it's one of your favorites! thanks very much for commenting.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-22780074773084971492014-06-07T16:13:05.178-07:002014-06-07T16:13:05.178-07:00This is one of my favorite films, and I found Suth...This is one of my favorite films, and I found Sutherland and Christie truly convincing as this married couple. There are so many others, but I find this one of Julie Christie's finest performances, she's so haunting, a survivor but fragile and vulnerable. Just splendid work by all concerned!AndyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-68123417107962759592014-03-26T17:00:44.311-07:002014-03-26T17:00:44.311-07:00So true, isn't it? I know there are great inde...So true, isn't it? I know there are great independent films made today, but a major motion picture as strange and willing to be misunderstood as this seems unthinkable in todays spell-it-all-out marketplace. I'm happy to hear from another fan of Roeg and this film, and I'm glad you enjoyed the insert shot details. Thanks for commenting!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-47911932490980440932014-03-26T16:27:48.887-07:002014-03-26T16:27:48.887-07:00don't make them like this anymore, indeed. A g...don't make them like this anymore, indeed. A great read. And thanks so much for the picture and comments on the insert shot. Just incredible. Roeg: such a talent.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12827984260041187202noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-52279364692693270882012-11-23T17:43:10.143-08:002012-11-23T17:43:10.143-08:00Hi Nicki
Thank you very much for the your kind com...Hi Nicki<br />Thank you very much for the your kind comment! I'm glad you're as fond of this movie as I am. And, regrettably, you're right; filmmakers today don't trust audiences (or lack the talent)to build suspense and let the imagination take over. And yes, what an amazing cast!<br />Thanks again!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-74338139312632886602012-11-22T15:45:13.891-08:002012-11-22T15:45:13.891-08:00What a great post, and review of the this great ic...What a great post, and review of the this great iconic movie. They really don't make movies like this anymore. all special effects and gore noting left to the imagination. What a stunning cast too.<br />xnicki<br />nicki fannings blogspotAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00001453554097525901noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-89338162551496218592011-06-06T22:26:31.379-07:002011-06-06T22:26:31.379-07:00Hi Kathryn Nova
It's getting so I am looking f...Hi Kathryn Nova<br />It's getting so I am looking forward to your comments! You always take note of some part of a film I've overlooked (the music IS beautifully eerie and creates atmosphere so perfectly, like the music in "Klute").<br />I will have to see "The Sheltering Sky" now.<br />Also, very cool of you to take note of Christie's wardrobe. She looks pretty classy here. Especially in that traveling suit...I always thought she looked KILLER in those boots she wears throughout!<br /><br />Thanks for another well-written, thoughtful comment. I like your taste in movies :-)Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-21342969645530340462011-06-05T19:27:15.379-07:002011-06-05T19:27:15.379-07:00yes, this was one of the more upsetting movies i&#...yes, this was one of the more upsetting movies i've seen - also one of my favorites. the music is absolutely devastating - i found the soundtrack and when i listen to it, i feel just as lost, shattered and flooded as i did while living through the characters in the film. indeed, it is not just a film that entertains, it is a film that invades. every time red pops out of the grey layered landscapes (and costumes), every time the sound of glass breaking, something in me will flinch. the strong play on omens in this film rivals 'the sheltering sky' - in fact, i find the two stories very similar. the sickening dread is present even in the opening credits and it builds and builds throughout in a terrifying manner. <br /><br />oh, i could go on and on about this movie. on a lighter note, the wardrobe in the film is just gorgeous - every fall i find myself copying the looks of laura baxter, hat and all. <br /><br />thanks for yet another enlightening review!!!!kathrynnovahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01925059701467213291noreply@blogger.com