Editing Don't Look Now (section)

== Production ==
''Don't Look Now'' was produced through London-based Casey Productions and Rome-based Eldorado Films, by producer Peter Katz and executive producer [[Anthony B. Unger]].{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|p=81}}<ref name="AFI" /> The script based on [["Don't Look Now"|the short story]] by [[Daphne du Maurier]] was offered to [[Nicolas Roeg]] by scriptwriter [[Allan Scott (Scottish screenwriter)|Allan Scott]], who had co-written the screenplay with [[Chris Bryant (writer)|Chris Bryant]],{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=74–75}} while [[Julie Christie]] and [[Donald Sutherland]] were cast in the principal roles. Filming began in England in December 1972, breaking off for Christmas, and resuming in January 1973 for seven more weeks in Italy.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=17–19}}

{| class="floatright" style="padding: 1em; border-spacing: 1px; border: 1px solid darkgray; background-color: #F8F9FA; width:22em; font-size: 90%"
|-
! style="text-align: left;" | Actor
! style="text-align: left;" | Role <!-- or "Character" -->
|-
| [[Julie Christie]]
| Laura Baxter
|-
| [[Donald Sutherland]]
| John Baxter
|-
| [[Hilary Mason]]
| Heather
|-
| [[Clelia Matania]]
| Wendy
|-
| [[Massimo Serato]]
| Bishop Barbarrigo
|-
| [[Renato Scarpa]]
| Inspector Longhi
|-
| {{ill|Giorgio Trestini|it}}
| Workman
|-
| [[Leopoldo Trieste]]
| Hotel Manager
|-
| [[David Tree]]
| Anthony Babbage
|-
| Ann Rye
| Mandy Babbage
|-
| Nicholas Salter
| Johnny Baxter
|-
| Sharon Williams
| Christine Baxter
|-
| {{ill|Bruno Cattaneo|it}}
| Detective Sabbione
|-
| Adelina Poerio
| Dwarf
|}

=== Casting ===
''Don't Look Now'' was Roeg's third film as director, following ''[[Performance (film)|Performance]]'' (1970) and ''[[Walkabout (film)|Walkabout]]'' (1971). Although real-life couple [[Natalie Wood]] and [[Robert Wagner]] were suggested for the parts of Laura and John Baxter, Roeg was eager to cast Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland from the very start. Initially engaged by other projects, both actors unexpectedly became available.  Christie liked the script and was keen to work with Roeg, who had served as cinematographer on ''[[Fahrenheit 451 (1966 film)|Fahrenheit 451]]'', ''[[Far from the Madding Crowd (1967 film)|Far from the Madding Crowd]]'' and ''[[Petulia]]'' in which she had starred. Sutherland also wanted to make the film but had some reservations about the depiction of [[clairvoyance]] in the script. He felt it was handled too negatively and believed that ''Don't Look Now'' should be a more "educative film", and that the "characters should in some way benefit from [[Extrasensory perception|ESP]] and not be destroyed by it". Roeg was resistant to any changes and issued Sutherland an ultimatum.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=17–19}}

Roeg wanted Julie Christie to attend a [[séance]] prior to filming. [[Leslie Flint]], a [[Mediumship#Direct voice|direct voice]] [[Mediumship|medium]] based in Notting Hill, invited them to attend a session which he was holding for some American [[parapsychologist]]s, who were coming over to observe him.  Roeg and Christie went along and sat in a circle in the pitch dark and joined hands. Flint instructed his guests to "uncross" their legs, which Roeg subsequently incorporated into the film.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=76–78}}

Adelina Poerio was cast as the fleeting red-coated figure after Roeg saw her photo at a casting session in Rome. Standing at only 4'2" tall, she had a career as a singer.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=74–75}} [[Renato Scarpa]] was cast as Inspector Longhi, despite not being able to speak English and so he had no idea what he was saying in the film.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|p=49}}

=== Filming ===
The drowning scene and house exteriors were filmed in Hertfordshire at the home of actor [[David Tree]], who also plays the headmaster at the son's boarding school.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=17–19}} Shooting the sequence was particularly problematic: Sharon Williams, who played Christine, became hysterical when submersed in the pond, despite the rehearsals at the swimming pool going well.  A farmer on the neighbouring land volunteered his daughter who was an accomplished swimmer, but who refused to be submerged when it came to filming. In the end, the scene was filmed in a water tank using three girls.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=74–75}} Nicolas Roeg and editor [[Graeme Clifford]] showed the opening sequence to some friends before filming resumed on the Venice segment, and Clifford recalls it making a considerable impression.<ref name="Gregory (2002)"/>

The Venice locations included the Hotel Gabrielli Sandwirth—the lobby and exteriors standing in for the film's fictional Europa Hotel, although the Baxters' suite was located at the Bauer Grunwald (which better accommodated the cameras)—and the [[San Nicolò dei Mendicoli]] (the Church of St. Nicholas of the Beggars), located on the outskirts of Venice. Finding an appropriate church proved difficult: after visiting most of the churches in Venice, the Italian location manager suggested constructing one in a warehouse. The discovery of San Nicolò was particularly fortunate since it was being renovated and the scaffolding was already in place, the circumstances lending themselves well to the plot of the film. Roeg decided not to use traditional tourist locations to purposefully avoid a travel documentary look. Venice turned out to be a difficult place to film in, mainly due to the tides, which caused problems with continuity, and the transporting of equipment.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=19, 71–73}}<ref name="Reeves (2011)"/>

Filming the scene in which John nearly falls to his death while restoring the mosaic in San Nicolò church was also beset by problems, and resulted in Donald Sutherland's life being put in danger.  The scene entailed some of the scaffolding collapsing leaving John dangling by a rope, but the stuntman refused to perform the stunt because the insurance was not in order. Sutherland ended up doing it instead, and was attached to a [[kirby wire]] as a precaution in case he should fall. Some time after the film had come out, renowned stunt co-ordinator [[Vic Armstrong]] commented to Sutherland that the wire was not designed for that purpose, and the twirling around caused by holding on to the rope would have damaged the wire to the extent that it would have snapped if Sutherland had let go.<ref name="Cousins (2001)"/>

While many changes were due to the logistics of filming in Venice, some were for creative reasons, the most prominent being the inclusion of the love scene. The scene was in fact an unscripted last minute improvisation by Roeg, who felt that without it there would be too many scenes of the couple arguing.<ref name="O'Hagan (2006)"/> The scene set in the church where Laura lights a candle for Christine was also mostly improvised. Originally intended to show the gulf between John's and Laura's mental states—John's denial and Laura's inability to let go—the script included two pages of dialogue to illustrate John's unease at Laura's marked display of grief. After a break in filming to allow the crew to set up the equipment, Donald Sutherland returned to the set and commented that he did not like the church, to which Julie Christie retorted that he was being "silly", and the church was "beautiful". Roeg felt that the exchange was more true to life in terms of what the characters would actually say to each other, and that the scripted version was "overwritten", so opted to ditch the scripted dialogue and included the real-life exchange instead.{{sfn|Sanderson|1996|pp=76–78}}

The funeral scene at the end of the film was also played differently from what was originally intended. Julie Christie was supposed to wear a veil to hide her face, but prior to filming Roeg suggested to Christie that she should play it without the veil and smile throughout the scene. Christie was initially sceptical, but Roeg felt it would not make sense for the character to be heartbroken if she believed her husband and daughter were together in the afterlife.<ref name="Gregory (2002)"/>

=== Scoring ===
{{listen
|filename=Don't Look Now score.ogg
|title=Pino Donaggio – Don't Look Now
|description=Sample from "Laura's Theme"
}}
The [[Film score|score]] was composed by [[Pino Donaggio]], a native Venetian who was a popular singer at the time (he had a hit with "lo Che Non Vivo" which was covered by [[Dusty Springfield]] in 1966 as "[[You Don't Have to Say You Love Me]]"); prior to ''Don't Look Now'', Donaggio had never scored a film. Ugo Mariotti, a casting director on the film, spotted Donaggio on a [[Vaporetto]] on the [[Grand Canal (Venice)|Grand Canal]] in Venice, and believing it to be a "sign", contacted him to see if he would be interested in working on the film. Donaggio was reluctant at first because he did not understand why they would be interested in someone who had no experience of scoring films.<ref name="Gregory (2006)"/>

Donaggio had no interest in making soundtracks for films at the time, but was introduced to Nicolas Roeg who decided to try him out and asked him to write something for the beginning of the film. Roeg was enthusiastic about the result but the London-based producers were resistant to hiring someone who had no background in films. The film's financiers were pleased with Donaggio's work and overruled the producers. As well as composing the score, Donaggio performed a substantial portion of it himself. The [[piano]] pieces were performed by Donaggio, despite the fact that he was not very accomplished at playing the piano. The piano pieces are usually associated with Christine in the film, and Roeg wanted them to have an innocent sound reminiscent of a little girl learning to play the piano. Donaggio claims that since he was not very good at playing the piano, the pieces had an unsure style to them, perfect for the effect they were trying to capture.<ref name="Gregory (2006)"/>

The only disagreement over the musical direction of the film was for the score accompanying the love scene.  Donaggio composed a grand [[orchestra]]l piece, but Roeg thought the effect was excessive, and wanted it toned down. In the end the scene just used a combination of the piano, the [[flute]], an [[acoustic guitar]] and an [[acoustic bass guitar]]. The piano was played by Donaggio again, who also played the flute; in contrast to his skill as a pianist, Donaggio was an accomplished flautist. Donaggio conceded that the more low-key theme worked better in the sequence and ditched the high strings orchestral piece, reworking it for the funeral scene at the end of the film.<ref name="Gregory (2006)"/>

Donaggio won a "best soundtrack of the year" award for his work on the film, which gave him the confidence to quit his successful singing career and embark on a career scoring films. Donaggio became a regular composer for [[Brian De Palma]], and credits Nicolas Roeg with giving him his first lesson in writing film scores, and expressed a desire to work with him again.<ref name="Gregory (2006)"/> Donaggio's score later achieved newfound recognition for its inclusion in the fourth episode of [[HBO]] series ''[[Euphoria (American TV series)|Euphoria]]''; music supervisor Jen Malone noted that the cues used were the most difficult to obtain out of all of the music used in the series.<ref name="Variety (2019)" />