''Death Watch'' () is a 1980

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

directed by

Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (; 25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, ...

. It is based on the 1973 novel '' The Unsleeping Eye'' by

David G. Compton David Guy Compton (19 August 1930 – 10 November 2023) was a British author who wrote science fiction under the name D. G. Compton. He used the name Guy Compton for his earlier crime novels and the pseudonym Frances Lynch for his Gothic novels. ...

. The film was entered into the

30th Berlin International Film Festival The 30th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 18–29 February 1980. The Golden Bear was jointly awarded to '' Heartland'', directed by Richard Pearce, and '' Palermo or Wolfsburg'', directed by Werner Schroeter. The retros ...

. The film had 1,013,842 admissions in France and was the 35th most attended film of the year.

Plot

The film is set in a near-future where death from illness has become rare. When Katherine Mortenhoe is diagnosed as having an incurable disease, she becomes a celebrity and is besieged by journalists. Vincent Ferriman, top executive at the television company NTV, offers her a large sum of money if she will allow her last days to be filmed and made into a reality television show called ''Death Watch.'' They have already secretly recorded her being told her diagnosis, as her doctor is colluding with them and has given her what are allegedly painkillers but will in fact make her increasingly ill. She accepts £300,000 cash upfront and, after giving the money to her husband, goes on the run in disguise. At a night shelter for down-and-outs she is found by Roddy. The audience knows – but she does not – that Roddy is a senior NTV cameraman who has undergone an experimental implant of cameras and transmitters behind his eyes, so that everything he sees is fed back to NTV, who edit it for their reality show. Roddy has done this mainly for money to give his estranged wife and their son. A side-effect is that he will go blind if he experiences more than a short period of darkness, so he has to stay awake by shining a small flashlight on his eyes at night. As Katherine is liable to be recognised in the city, she asks Roddy to take her far away into open country. In fact she is heading for the home of her first husband Gerald, whom she wants to see before she dies. To prepare for meeting him, she asks Roddy to go into a town and buy her some make-up. Dropping into a bar, he sees the primetime screening of ''Death Watch'', and on his way back to their hide-out has an emotional breakdown, during which he throws his flashlight in the water. He is soon overcome with pain and tries helplessly to find the flashlight. Katherine comes to look for him and finds the flashlight, but it is too late and he goes blind. She guesses, and he admits, who he is and what he is doing. As the feed to NTV has ended, Vincent takes off in a helicopter with a film crew to find the pair, who successfully evade them and reach Gerald's house. He knows about the TV show and, though deeply sad for Katherine, is glad she has come to him. Vincent telephones Gerald to say that, if she arrives, she is not dying and must stop taking the medicine. But Katherine has reached the end of the road: despite Gerald's pleas, she takes all the remaining pills and dies. When Vincent's helicopter arrives, it includes Roddy's wife, who takes care of her traumatised blind husband. Gerald promises to kill Vincent if he does not fly away immediately.

Filming

Much of the filming took place in and around

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, including:

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian era, Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have ...

Glasgow Cathedral Glasgow Cathedral () is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. It was the cathedral church of the Archbishop of Glasgow, and the mother church of the Archdiocese of Glasgow and the province of Glasgow, from the 12th ...

, the former Queen's Dock on the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

and the

Glasgow City Chambers The City Chambers or Municipal Buildings in Glasgow, Scotland, has functioned as the headquarters of Glasgow City Council since 1996, and of preceding forms of municipal government in the city since 1889. It is located on the eastern side of the ...

. The film is dedicated to deceased film director

Jacques Tourneur Jacques Tourneur (; ; November 12, 1904 – December 19, 1977) was a French-American filmmaker, active during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known as an auteur of stylish and atmospheric genre films, many of them for RKO Pictures, including ...

Home media

In 2012

Shout! Factory Shout! Factory, LLC, doing business as Shout! Studios (formerly doing business as Shout! Factory, its current legal name), is an American home video and music distributor founded in 2002 as Retropolis Entertainment. Its video releases, issued i ...

released the film on Blu-ray in Region 1, whilst Park Circus handled the Region 2 release.

Cast

Romy Schneider Rosemarie Magdalena Albach (23 September 1938 – 29 May 1982), known professionally as Romy Schneider (), was a German and French actress. She is regarded as one of the greatest screen actresses of all time and became a cult figure due to ...

as Katherine Mortenhoe *

Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor and film producer, known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running associatio ...

as Roddy *

Harry Dean Stanton Harry Dean Stanton (July 14, 1926 – September 15, 2017) was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than six decades, Stanton played supporting roles in films including ''Cool Hand Luke'' (1967), '' Kelly's Heroes'' (1970), '' Dilling ...

as Vincent Ferriman * Thérèse Liotard as Tracey *

Max von Sydow Max von Sydow (; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish and French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...

as Gerald Mortenhoe *

Caroline Langrishe Caroline Langrishe (born 10 January 1958) is an English actress. Early life Born in London, Langrishe is the elder daughter of Patrick Nicholas Langrishe (1932–2022), of The Manor House, Sellindge, Kent, a Lieutenant in the 11th Hussars, late ...

as Girl in the Bar * William Russell as Dr. Mason *

Vadim Glowna Vadim Glowna (; 26 September 1941 – 24 January 2012) was a German actor and film director. Since 1964, he appeared in more than 150 films and television shows. He directed the 1983 film '' Dies rigorose Leben'', which won an Honourable Mentio ...

as Harry Graves * Bernhard Wicki as Katherine's Father *

Robbie Coltrane Anthony Robert McMillan (30 March 195014 October 2022), known professionally as Robbie Coltrane, was a Scottish actor. He gained worldwide recognition in the 2000s for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the ''Harry Potter'' film series. He was appointe ...

as Limousine Driver *

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work in numerous stage, television and film productions, he has received several awards including a British Academy Film Award and a Golden Globe Award, and ...

as Man in 'Harriet Scene'(uncredited)

References

External links