If The Unenthusiastic Critic could see the future, she probably would have avoided our 2019 Halloween Movie Marathon completely. As she can't, however, we're proceeding with an undisputed horror classic: Nicolas Roeg's Don't Look Now (1973), starring Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie.
Since the movie hinges on a man's ability to believe in the supernatural, we're starting out this week with a discussion of what we believe in. Ghosts? Aliens? Psychic phenomena? (And, in the process, Nakea tries to justify her narrow-minded cultural biases, since she has no trouble believing in demons or witches, but draws the line at leprechauns and—WTF?—selkies.)
Then, we're sitting down for Nakea's first viewing of Don't Look Now, an exquisitely edited masterpiece of grief, marital disintegration, and impending doom. (Or, in other words, it's just another week here at The Unenthusiastic Critic.)
Program
0:00: Prologue: "Appointment in Samarra" (from Sherlock 4×01)
1:25: Preliminary Conversation: What Do You Believe?
20:29: Interlude: from The X-Files 1×13
20:54: Cultural Osmosis: Pre-Viewing Discussion
26:45: Interlude: Original Trailer
28:45: The Verdict: Post-Viewing Discussion
1:10:38: Outro and Next Week's Movie
1:02:59: Outtake
Notes and Links
—Movie Reviewed: Don't Look Now (dir. Nicolas Roeg, Lion International, 1973).
—Prologue: Benedict Cumberbatch telling the story of "Appointment in Samarra," from Sherlock 4×01, "The Six Thatchers."
—Interlude: from The X-Files 1×13, "Beyond the Sea."
—References and Resources: "The 100 Best British Films," Time Out; "Nicolas Roeg Obituary: One of British Cinema's Greatest Visionaries," David Thompson, BFI; "Nicolas Roeg's Masterpiece 'Don't Look Now' is Re-released," Nigel Andrews, Financial Times; "From the Outrageous to the Intimate: Peter Bradshaw's Top Five Sex Scenes," Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian; "Fixed Images of Eternity: Time, Perception, and Grief in 'Don't Look Now'," Jasun Horsley, Cinephilia & Beyond; "Nicolas Roeg’s ‘Don’t Look Now’ is a special kind of a supernatural thriller that aptly deals with subjects far from supernatural," Cinephilia & Beyond; "Don’t Look Now, it's the BEST HIDDEN MEANING in horror movies EVER," video by Smiles for Cinephiles, YouTube.
—Find additional episodes, leave a comment, or make a donation to support the podcast at unaffiliatedcritic.com.
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—Saint-Saens' "Danse Macabre" by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under CC BY 3.0.
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