WOW! I wasn't really expecting a commentary from Roeg! Great news.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's going to be a 2-disc SE!



Just found out there's a remake in the works for 2007.

Optimum Don't Look Now - Special Edition

• Booklet
• Nic Roeg commentary
• Looking Back (The Making of) Documentary
• Intro by Alan Jones

The 20-minute featurette on the previous DVD was called Don't Look Now: Looking Back. Is this a longer version? If not, then I can't see how a second disc is justified. Not that it really matters as we have the ultimate extra anyway.

Terrible artwork, btw.

I did read one comment on another web-page (was just websurfing and can't recall the name of the site) that the extras listed are only those for Disk 1, and Optimum is still confirming rights, etc. for the extras on Disk 2.

Certainly makes a lot more sense than putting a 20 minute documentary onto a second disk (the movie itself is only about 100 minutes, so even at maximum bitrate, there would be plenty of space for the "Looking Back" featurette.)

Of course, the big question (and the reason I haven't pre-ordered it) is wether or not this version will finally have a decent audio-track. (My advice; don't just assume it will, no matter how many extras it has. I bought the Australian Special Edition of 'Pulp Fiction' a while ago (2-Disk set with lots of extras,) only to discover that it had an atrocious, interlaced transfer which had been ported over from the earlier release. On the subject of Optimum, given the amount of NTSC>PAL transfers they release on anime DVDs, and a goodly number of interlaced and non-anamorphic transfers elsewere, I wouldn't be surprised if they go for the cheapest option and retain the earlier soundtrack for Don't Look Now.)

Incidentally; I rather like the new art-work. It's something new (not just an image from the movie,) but very consistent with the film itself (very faded colors (taken to the extreme here; b&w) with a small amount of very bright red.)

Has anyone any idea what's the original aspect ratio of this film (or correct matting if this wasn't shot hard matte, don't know about these details anyway). The last time I saw this in a theatrical screening was about 1½-2 years ago, it was more like 1.66:1. When I watched the Paramount DVD I felt almost claustrophobic or like I was choking. The framing seemed WAAAAAYYYY too tight compared to that last 35mm screening I saw. I mean, on DVD Sutherland's groin was cut out from the bottom of the image and a cross on the hospital wall was not visible on this framing. Not that any of these really matter - visible or not - but these are just some details which I just happen to remember clearly and immediately noticed the different framing. Dicks and crosses... maybe I should get some sleep.

Still no clarification on the audio remaster but, at least, there's this:


Note Digitally Restored Feature above…

Indeed. Great to see Pino doing what seems to be his first DVD interview! The Roeg commentary is main draw, as far as extras go, so 1-disc or 2-disc is okay with me for the £12 I am paying.

It's official.


OK, so its digitially restored but the audio is DD2.0...

Ah, there it is then. Still, it gets me wondering why Optimum considered a 2-disc. Did they plan a longer documentary or something? Or was it just that those 44 minutes were going to constitute the second disc? That's was probably the case.

I see that the recent reissue by Optimum of The Deer Hunter has a new transfer (and 5.1 mix) evidence in the DVD Beaver comparison, so Don't Look Now is probably a genuine new "digitally restored" transfer - and maybe the sound transfer is new, too if the 5.1 on The Deer Hunter and mono on the theatrical version of The Wicker Man 3-disc is anything to go by.

DVD Times review

Beaver comparison review.

The transfer seems new, having slightly more detail and different cropping. The Roeg commentary is a bit of a disappointment, as Adam Smith asks a lot of dull questions and Roeg mumbles quite a bit, though he does provide a lot of interesting info. Pino Donaggio's interview is very good (produced by Blue Underground) and he shares some fascinating stories about how his illustrious career as a film composer began with this film. Alan Jones', in his intro seems like he is much more knowledgeable than Adam Smith regarding the film and Roeg's career in general and he would have been a better choice of moderator or even as a separate commentator. As with many of the films he has starred in, input from Donald Sutherland would have been greatly rewarding if his interview on the Casanova DVD is anything to go by. Definitely an improved edition, but slightly disappointing.

I'll have the chance to meet Nicolas Roeg on tuesday 29th April, 18:00 at the University of Aberdeen, where he'll be in discussion with Allan Scott (aka. Allan Shiach) who wrote the screenplay to Don't Look Now, Castaway, Cold Heaven, Samson and Delilah, Two Deaths and The Witches and. He'll be 80 in August. His 70s work still blows my mind and I have loads of questions to ask him. It will be a great honour to meet one of my Cinema idols in such an intimate setting.