The Mystery of Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland's Sex Scene in Don't Look Now: Solved? (NSFW)
Long before we were launching investigations into whether or not a mediocre romantic comedy showed Jake Gyllenhaal's penis, the British classic Don't Look Now unleashed a cinematic sex mystery which puzzled film fans for years. Did Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland actually have sex in the film's affecting, explicit and totally groundbreaking love scene?
In Peter Bart's forthcoming book Infamous Players: A Tale of Movies, the Mob, (and Sex), the former Variety editor (and one-time Paramount executive) tells an anecdote from his visit to the set of the film in Venice. Apparently he happened to visit on the day of the love scene, and says of his reaction: "It was clear to me they were no longer simply acting: they were f*cking on camera." He then goes on to recall this exchange with director Nicolas Roeg:
Bart: Nic. Don't they expect you to say "cut?"
Roeg: I just want to be sure I have the coverage.
Bart: His d*ck is moving in and out of her. That's beyond coverage.
Bart apparently goes on to recount Warren Beatty's outrage upon seeing the first cut of the movie, which caused him to demand supervision over additional edits himself. Though, his words weren't so polite.
Roeg and everyone else involved have always played coy about the scene. Even recently, when Time Out London named Don't Look Now the best British film of all time, Roeg had this to say about the scene:
"Sex, whether you like it or not, is the prime force of life. There is no other reason to be here. For me, sex is very rarely rude. It's a fresh thing. The censors saw things that didn't happen in the sex scene. Did this happen? Did that happen? It's not unusual. The wonder of film is that because we relate to moments and emotions so deeply, we often see things that aren't there..."
Personally, my money's always been on Bart's conclusion. But I suppose since Christie and Sutherland have never definitively stated the same thing, one could argue the case is still slightly open. In any case, the scene, which again is NSFW, is below if you want to judge for yourself. Though honestly, if you haven't seen the entire film, now would be a great time to do so. It's still one of the scariest, most emotional and thought-provoking thrillers of all time.
Julie Christie - Don't Look Now par ukfox
· Forthcoming Peter Bart Book Answers Long-Simmering Question About Julie Christie Sex Scene (NSFW) [The Hollywood Reporter]
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Comments
This news is four weeks too late! Can you IMAGINE the sketch comedy gold that James Franco, Anne Hathaway and Bruce Vilanch could've whipped up based on this? You want a younger, hipper Oscars? Have two hot twenty-somethings engage in a bit of are they/aren't they public lewdness while over/under-selling their Borscht Belt repartee. No one would be lamenting Debbie Allen's absence had the Academy Awards gone straight for the V-Chip. Hell, I bet you Peter Bart INTENTIONALLY sat on this information as a favor to his ol' friend and steam bath buddy, Billy Crystal. In fact, f**k a Golden Globes investigation. I want the staff writers of every C.S.I., N.C.I.S. and Mayberry R.F.D to investigate this. VILANCH WAS A PATSY!
Don't Look now will always just be for me, another arty-farty sex movie that ends with a killer dwarf.
and a great film at that
At least Sutherland had the requisite 70s porn dude 'stache.
Hey, same for me! ... Except I think that's kind of great? Different strokes!
how great to see real god-given breasts on an actress! three cheers for julie and jill (clayburgh)
great memories of my prime...
Best British Movie Ever? Um, isn't it set in Italy? Isn't the only British person IN The film Julie Christie? I have never understood the pull of this film. And, like Morgo, "arty-farty...with a killer dwarf..." except I'd like to add "Old Lady" to the description of the dwarf.
Real sex or not, she was strikingly beautiful and incredibly sexy. They are both both very good actors, making it look real is what they do. They did it very well.
Believe one of the great thrillers of all time; Final scene with the
dwarf virtually made my blood run cold!
this movie scared the CRAP out of me when i saw it in 1973(4?). not so scary 10 years later, i must watch it again.
Loved the film. Donald Sutherland is one of our Canadian icons and a Maritimer at that. He was and,remains sexy. Who cares about the details of this scene.