‘Don’t Look Now’: The true story behind one of the most controversial sex scenes of all time
The 1973 thriller Don’t Look Now is rightfully hailed as one of the most important works of its era. A psychological examination of parental grief after the death of a child, the substance of Daphne du Maurier’s original story was augmented by director Nicolas Roeg employing an inventive editing style with recurring motifs and themes which bring the postulations to the forefront. From this aspect to the absurd final twist, the film contains many moments of note. However, none are as notorious as the sex scene involving stars Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie.
Without spoiling it for those who haven’t seen the movie, the scene occurs halfway through the film, with it one of the most sensual and raw depictions of lovemaking in cinema history. Adding to its outstanding quality, Roeg interspersed the sequence with images of Sutherland and Christie’s characters getting ready for dinner. Incredibly forward-thinking for the time and remaining so in contemporary times, it saw Don’t Look Now earn an R-Rating from the MPAA and an X certificate in the UK.
Most of the infamy the scene acquired was because of a rumour that Sutherland and Christie had actual sex on camera. Speculation abounded at the time of release and continued until recently, with the stars and those involved in production constantly refuting the rumour. Things weren’t helped in 2011 when producer Peter Bart claimed in his memoir Infamous Players: A Tale of Movies, the Mob (and Sex) that Sutherland and Christie had engaged in coitus and that he’d witnessed it.
He claimed: “My gaze shifted to the actors, and I was riveted. By their shifting positions, it was clear to me they were no longer simply acting: they were f***ing on camera.”
Bart’s account, however, was rubbished by all involved. Sutherland was so incensed that he issued a statement counter-claiming that Bart wasn’t even in the room during filming. He maintained that the only people there were himself, Christie, Roeg and cinematographer Anthony B. Richmond.
Richmond supports Sutherland’s argument in the production notes for the 2019 Blu-ray release of Don’t Look Now. “There was already a great deal of trust between Julie and Nic, who’d done four movies together,” he explains. “And the other thing is that in the script the love scene is an integral part of the movie, it’s not just put in gratuitously”.
He adds: “We did a good job, it’s very real. People still say they actually made love, but they didn’t.” Also quoted is screenwriter Allan Scott, who is more definitive in his rejection of Bart’s claim. He says that the producer’s account was total “bullshit”.
Elsewhere, Christie had her say during an interview with Film4. She recalled that it was nothing more than “pretend sex” that left her and Sutherland both “dreadfully embarrassed” as it was captured towards the beginning of the filming schedule. She then added: “After the film came out, my stepfather said to me, ‘I hope you’re not doing any writhing in your next one.'”
It wasn’t only her stepfather that reacted negatively to the scene, however. Her then-boyfriend, Warren Beatty, was said to be furious. “Warren Beatty flew around the world, trying to get the film killed and prevent it from being distributed,” Scott says. Richmond reinforces this by claiming that Beatty told Bart he had to “cut that scene, pubic hair by pubic hair”.
When speaking to Vulture in 2018, Sutherland offered some more thoughts on the scene. He echoed Christie’s comments about the pair being nervous. “I was shy. For a couple of very specific reasons, [Julie] was physically shy,” he said. “But we got over our shyness, went into the room, and were standing like Adam and Eve waiting for somebody to give us an apple.”
Ultimately though, Sutherland said he was “very proud” about what Roeg accomplished with the scene.
