Editing Don't Look Now (section)

== Reception ==

=== Critical response and awards ===
At the time of its initial release, ''Don't Look Now'' was generally well received by critics,<ref name="Billson (2010)"/> although some criticised it for being "arty and mechanical".<ref name="Guthmann (1999)"/> [[Jay Cocks]] for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', wrote that "Don't Look Now is such a rich, complex and subtle experience that it demands more than one viewing",<ref name="Cocks (1973)"/> while ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' commented that the film's visual flourishes made it "much more than merely a well-made psycho-horror thriller".<ref name="Variety (1973)"/> [[Pauline Kael]] writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'' was more reserved in her praise, considering the film to be "the fanciest, most carefully assembled enigma yet put on the screen" but that there was a "distasteful clamminess about the picture",<ref name="Kael (1973)"/> while Gordon Gow of ''[[Films and Filming]]'' felt that it fell short of the aspirations of Nicolas Roeg's previous two films, ''Performance'' and ''Walkabout'', but it was nevertheless a thriller of some depth.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=21–23}} [[Vincent Canby]], reviewer for ''[[The New York Times]]'', on the other hand, criticised the film for a lack of suspense which he put down to a twist that comes halfway through rather than at the end, and at which point it "stops being suspenseful and becomes an elegant travelogue that treats us to second-sightseeing in Venice". Canby also suggested that second sight was not convincing on screen, since it appeared simply like flash-forward which is a standard story-telling device in films, and concluded that "Not only do you probably have better things to do, but so, I'm sure, do most of the people connected with the film."<ref name="Canby (1973)"/>

British critics were especially enthusiastic about Nicolas Roeg's direction. In the view of [[Tom Milne]] of ''[[Monthly Film Bulletin]]'', Roeg's combined work on ''Performance'', ''Walkabout'' and ''Don't Look Now'' put him "right up at the top as film-maker".{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=21–23}} [[George Melly]] similarly wrote in ''[[The Observer]]'' that Roeg had joined "that handful of names whose appearance at the end of the credit titles automatically creates a sense of anticipation".<ref name="French (2006)"/> [[Penelope Houston (film critic)|Penelope Houston]] for ''[[Sight & Sound]]'' also found much to appreciate in Roeg's direction: "Roeg deploys subtle powers of direction and Hitchcockian misdirection."{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=21–23}} American critics were similarly impressed with Roeg's work on the film. Jay Cocks regarded ''Don't Look Now'' to be Roeg's best work by far and that Roeg was one of "those rare talents that can effect a new way of seeing". Cocks also felt that the film was a marked improvement on the novella, noting that a reading "makes one appreciate Roeg and Screenwriters [Allan] Scott and [Chris] Bryant all the more. Film and story share certain basic elements of plot and an ending of cruel surprise. The story is detached, almost cursory. Roeg and his collaborators have constructed an intricate, intense speculation about levels of perception and reality."<ref name="Cocks (1973)"/> [[Roger Ebert]] in his review for the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' commented that Roeg is "a genius at filling his frame with threatening forms and compositions",<ref name="Ebert (1973)"/> while Pauline Kael labelled him "chillingly chic" in hers.<ref name="Kael (1973)"/> Even Vincent Canby, whose opinion of the film was negative overall, praised Roeg for being able to "maintain a sense of menace long after the screenplay has any right to expect it".<ref name="Canby (1973)"/>

[[File:Grand Canal south 2.jpg|thumb|left|The use of Venice locations was highly praised.]]
Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland also received praise for their performances. ''Variety'' considered Sutherland to be at his most subdued but also at his most effective, while Christie does her "best work in ages".<ref name="Variety (1973)"/> Cocks felt that thanks to their superb performances the film had a "rigorous psychological truth and an emotional timbre" that most other films in the supernatural genre lacked.<ref name="Cocks (1973)"/> Canby considered the "sincerity of the actors" to be one of the better aspects of the film,<ref name="Canby (1973)"/> while Kael found Christie especially suited to the part, observing she has the "anxious face of a modern tragic muse".<ref name="Addiego (1998)"/>

Roeg's use of Venice was praised too, with Roger Ebert finding that he "uses Venice as well as she's ever been used in a movie",<ref name="Ebert (1973)"/> and Canby also noted Venice is used to great effect: "He gets a great performance from Venice, which is all wintery grays, blues and blacks, the color of the pigeons that are always underfoot."<ref name="Canby (1973)"/> ''Variety'' also found much to admire about the editing, writing that it is "careful and painstaking (the classically brilliant and erotic love-making scene is merely one of several examples) and plays a vital role in setting the film's mood".<ref name="Variety (1973)"/>

Daphne du Maurier was pleased with the adaptation of her story, and wrote to Nicolas Roeg to congratulate him for capturing the essence of John and Laura's relationship.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=14–15}} The film was not received well by Venetians, particularly the councillors who were afraid it would scare away tourists.<ref name="Gregory (2006)"/>

At the [[27th British Academy Film Awards]], [[Anthony B. Richmond]] won for Best Cinematography, and ''Don't Look Now'' received further nominations in the Best Film, Direction, Actor, Actress, Sound Track and Film Editing categories.<ref name="BAFTA (1974)"/> It was also nominated in the [[List of Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Motion Picture Screenplay winners|Best Motion Picture]] category at the 1974 [[Edgar Award|Edgar Allan Poe Award]]s.<ref name="Edgars (1974)"/>

=== Re-evaluation ===
The reputation of ''Don't Look Now'' has grown since its release and it is now regarded as a key work in horror cinema.<ref name="Jones (2006)"/> It was ranked 127th and 114th, respectively, in the 2012 and 2022 editions of ''[[Sight & Sound]]'''s [[decennial]] critics poll.<ref name="sight and sound (2012)"/><ref name="sight and sound (2022)"/>

Some critics who reviewed the film on its original release have offered re-evaluations. Roger Ebert, nearly thirty years after his original review, added ''Don't Look Now'' to his list of [[The Great Movies]], increasing the rating from three stars to his top rank of four stars. Ebert stated he had come to an "accommodation" with his reservations about what he termed the "admitted weakness of the denouement". Having gone through the film shot by shot, he came to the conclusion it is a "masterpiece of physical filmmaking, in the way the photography evokes mood and the editing underlines it with uncertainty". While the plot described in a brief summary would seem routine, it is the film's "visual style, acting, and mood that evoke its uncanny power [...''Don't Look Now''] works through apprehension, not plot or action."<ref name="Ebert (2002)"/>

''Don't Look Now'' is also well regarded by many film industry professionals. A survey of 1,000 people who work across the film and television industry, undertaken by the [[British Film Institute]] in 1999, saw the film ranked eighth on their list of [[BFI Top 100 British films|top 100 British films]] of the 20th century.<ref name="BFI (1999)"/> It also topped a similar list organised by ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]] London'' in 2011, in which 150 film industry professionals were polled.<ref name="Time Out (2011)"/> In 2012 ''Time Out'' also undertook a poll of the horror industry, in which more than 100 professionals who work within or have connections to the genre selected their favourite horror films, which saw ''Don't Look Now'' finish in twelfth position.<ref name="Time Out (2012)"/> It has also featured in ''Sight & Sound's'' directors poll—run in tandem with their critics poll—placing in the top 100 in 2012 and the top 50 in 2022.<ref name="sight and sound (2012)"/><ref name="sight and sound (2022)"/>

=== Influence ===
{{Quote box | quote = I just thought that it was a beautifully shot, really adult look at real-life horror stories, and there was a great degree of sexuality in it that, as a young kid, when I saw it, I remember I was very startled by. It felt very brave to me, and I think it still holds up. Nick Roeg is a brilliant director. | source = Ryan Murphy on ''Don't Look Now''.<ref name="Radish (2011)"/> | align = right | salign = right | width = 20em; | bgcolor = #F0EAD6;}}
''Don't Look Now'' has been much admired by and an influence on subsequent filmmakers.  [[Danny Boyle]] cites Nicolas Roeg as a key influence on his work and counts it amongst his favourite films,<ref name="Jones (2009)"/><ref name="Empire (2007)"/> considering it to be "one of the masterpieces of the last century".<ref name="Freer (2019)" /> [[Mark Gatiss]], [[Steve Pemberton]], [[Reece Shearsmith]], and [[Jeremy Dyson]] drew upon ''Don't Look Now'' considerably for their television series ''[[The League of Gentlemen]]''; Pemberton ranks it among the top three British horror films of the 1960s and 1970s, and says that he wants things he has written to make audiences feel the way he felt when he watched ''[[The Wicker Man (1973 film)|The Wicker Man]]'' and ''Don't Look Now''.<ref name="Walsh (2005)"/><ref name="McLean (2001)"/><ref name="Cavendish (2005)"/> Similarly, [[Ryan Murphy (producer)|Ryan Murphy]] considers his television series ''[[American Horror Story]]'' to be a throwback to '60s and '70s psychological horror, citing ''Don't Look Now'', ''[[Rosemary's Baby (film)|Rosemary's Baby]]'' and ''[[The Shining (film)|The Shining]]'' as particular examples.<ref name="Itzkoff (2011)"/> Thematic and narrative similarities with [[Lars von Trier]]'s ''[[Antichrist (film)|Antichrist]]'' have also been observed,<ref name="Emerson (2009)"/> with ''Antichrist's'' cinematographer, [[Anthony Dod Mantle]], commenting that he has watched ''Don't Look Now'' more times than any other film.<ref name="The Guardian (2009)"/> [[Fabrice Du Welz]], whose film ''[[Vinyan]]'' has often been compared to ''Don't Look Now'', has stated that it is a film he is "obsessed with", and one of his favourites,<ref name="Carnevale"/> while [[Lynne Ramsay]] cited it as an influence on ''[[We Need to Talk about Kevin (film)|We Need to Talk about Kevin]]'', which incidentally is also produced by Roeg's son, Luc.<ref name="Thorpe (2011)"/> [[Ami Canaan Mann]] has also acknowledged she was influenced by atmospheric thrillers such as ''[[Picnic at Hanging Rock (film)|Picnic at Hanging Rock]]'' and ''Don't Look Now'' while directing her debut feature, ''[[Texas Killing Fields (film)|Texas Killing Fields]]'',<ref name="Farber (2011)"/> and [[Ari Aster]] acknowledged that it was a key influence on ''[[Hereditary (film)|Hereditary]]''.<ref name="TIFF (2018)" />

Its imagery has been directly referenced in several works. The 2006 [[James Bond film]], ''[[Casino Royale (2006 film)|Casino Royale]]'' contains a small [[Homage (arts)|homage]] where [[James Bond (character)|James Bond]] pursues a female character through Venice, catching glimpses of her through the crowds wearing a red dress.<ref name="Sony Pictures (2006)"/> The Belgium set thriller, ''[[In Bruges]]'', starring [[Colin Farrell]], includes a number of explicit references;<ref name="Horne (2008)"/> director [[Martin McDonagh]] said that the "Venice of ''Don't Look Now''" was the template for the depiction of Bruges in his film,<ref name="Hammond (2008)"/> and the film includes numerous thematic similarities, including one character stating that the film she is working on is a "[[pastiche]] of ''Don't Look Now''". ''[[Flatliners]]'', a 1990 supernatural thriller directed by [[Joel Schumacher]], also draws explicitly on the red-coated childlike figure by having a character terrorised by a child wearing a red coat;<ref name="James (1990)"/> coincidentally, the character who is being tormented is played by [[Kiefer Sutherland]], Donald Sutherland's son.  In the 2007 stage play of ''Don't Look Now'', written by [[Nell Leyshon]] and directed by [[Lucy Bailey (director)|Lucy Bailey]], the play made a conscious effort to bypass the film and be a faithful adaptation of du Maurier's short story, but it did however retain the iconic red mac from the film as worn by the elusive childlike figure.<ref name="Walker (2007)"/><ref name="Cavendish (2007)"/>

Its influence is less obvious but still apparent in ''[[Out of Sight]]'', a 1998 film directed by [[Steven Soderbergh]]. The intercutting technique used in the sex scene was used to similar effect in a sex scene featuring [[George Clooney]] and [[Jennifer Lopez]].<ref name="Morrison (2006)"/><ref name="Clarke (2006)"/>  The film's imagery and stylistic techniques have served as an inspiration to films such as ''[[Schindler's List]]'' directed by [[Steven Spielberg]],<ref name="O'Sullivan (2000)"/> ''[[Memento (film)|Memento]]'' by [[Christopher Nolan]],{{sfn|Mottram|2011|loc=({{Google books|yGUIxwIvMJoC|online copy|page=172}})}}{{sfn|Kania|2009|p=133}}<ref name="Gilbey (2011-3-10)"/> ''[[The Dark (2005 film)|The Dark]]'' by [[John Fawcett (director)|John Fawcett]],<ref name="French (2006-4-9)"/> ''[[Frozen (2005 film)|Frozen]]'' by [[Juliet McKoen]],<ref name="French (2006-1-29)"/> ''[[Submarine (2010 film)|Submarine]]'' by [[Richard Ayoade]],<ref name="Bradshaw (2011-3-17)"/> and ''[[Snow White and the Huntsman]]'' by [[Rupert Sanders]].<ref name="Dodes (2012-5-24)"/> [[David Cronenberg]] regards it as the most frightening film he has seen,<ref name="Cronenberg (2014)"/> and its influence has been detected on Cronenberg's ''[[The Brood]]''.<ref name="Ebert (1979)"/> Paranormal investigator, [[Danny Robins]], presenter of the radio series  ''[[Uncanny (radio series)|Uncanny]]'', is a huge admirer, describing it as "a really beautiful, amazingly shot, artistic movie, and yet, it still manages to be really bloody scary". Robins wears a red coat in the television spin-off of his show as a homage.<ref name="Taylor (2023)" />

Roeg frequently drew upon the world of pop music for his work, casting [[Mick Jagger]] in ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'', [[David Bowie]] in ''[[The Man Who Fell to Earth (film)|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]'' and [[Art Garfunkel]] in ''[[Bad Timing]]'', and in turn his films have served as inspiration for musicians. [[Big Audio Dynamite]] wrote a tribute song to Roeg, called "[[E=MC2 (song)|E=MC<sup>2</sup>]]", which included lyrical references to ''Don't Look Now''—among Roeg's other films—along with clips from it in the video, directed by Luc Roeg,<ref name="Wood (2005)"/> while [[Sophie Ellis-Bextor]] performed a "pop synth homage" to ''Don't Look Now'' with her song, "[[Catch You]]",<ref name="Eyre (2007)"/> and portions of the film were sampled in the [[M83 (band)|M83]] song "America".<ref name="TheStar"/>