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Death Watch

Original title: La mort en direct
  • 1980
  • R
  • 1h 57m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
3.7K
YOUR RATING
Romy Schneider in Death Watch (1980)
In a future where dying of illness is exceedingly rare, a terminally ill woman becomes a celebrity and a man with camera implants goes to secretly record her for a morbid TV show.
Play trailer1:54
2 Videos
32 Photos
DramaSci-FiThriller

In a future where dying of illness is very rare, terminally ill Katherine Mortenhoe becomes a celebrity and Roddy, a man with camera implants in his brain, secretly records her for a morbid ... Read allIn a future where dying of illness is very rare, terminally ill Katherine Mortenhoe becomes a celebrity and Roddy, a man with camera implants in his brain, secretly records her for a morbid TV show called Death Watch.In a future where dying of illness is very rare, terminally ill Katherine Mortenhoe becomes a celebrity and Roddy, a man with camera implants in his brain, secretly records her for a morbid TV show called Death Watch.

  • Director
    • Bertrand Tavernier
  • Writers
    • David Compton
    • David Rayfiel
    • Bertrand Tavernier
  • Stars
    • Romy Schneider
    • Harvey Keitel
    • Harry Dean Stanton
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    3.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Bertrand Tavernier
    • Writers
      • David Compton
      • David Rayfiel
      • Bertrand Tavernier
    • Stars
      • Romy Schneider
      • Harvey Keitel
      • Harry Dean Stanton
    • 31User reviews
    • 46Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 8 nominations total

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 1:54
    Trailer
    Death Watch
    Clip 2:19
    Death Watch
    Death Watch
    Clip 2:19
    Death Watch

    Photos32

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    + 26
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    Top cast28

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    Romy Schneider
    Romy Schneider
    • Katherine Mortenhoe
    Harvey Keitel
    Harvey Keitel
    • Roddy
    Harry Dean Stanton
    Harry Dean Stanton
    • Vincent Ferriman
    Thérèse Liotard
    Thérèse Liotard
    • Tracey
    Max von Sydow
    Max von Sydow
    • Gerald Mortenhoe
    • (as Max Von Sydow)
    Caroline Langrishe
    Caroline Langrishe
    • Girl in the Bar
    William Russell
    William Russell
    • Dr. Mason
    • (as William Russel)
    Vadim Glowna
    Vadim Glowna
    • Harry Graves
    Eva Maria Meineke
    Eva Maria Meineke
    • Dr. Klausen
    Bernhard Wicki
    Bernhard Wicki
    • Katherine's Dad
    • (as Bernard Wicki)
    Freddie Boardley
    • Technician
    Robbie Coltrane
    Robbie Coltrane
    • Limousine Driver
    Julian Hough
    • Young Doctor
    Peter Kelly
    • Technician
    Boyd Nelson
    • Policeman
    Billy Riddoch
    • Truck Driver
    • (as Bill Riddoch)
    Derek Royle
    • Matthieson
    Ida Schuster
    • Old Woman
    • Director
      • Bertrand Tavernier
    • Writers
      • David Compton
      • David Rayfiel
      • Bertrand Tavernier
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews31

    6.53.7K
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    Featured reviews

    9fwatherton

    Prescient dark film - how long 'til we're watching "Deathwatch"?

    This movie foretold the downside of the "reality TV" craze twenty years before it happened. Wonderful brooding cinematography around greater Glasgow at its most depressed. This is definitely a film which deserves to be in greater circulation and better known than it currently is. Romy Schneider's last film, ironically enough, and an excellent very real performance in a fairly artsy 70s vein. I should note I saw this in Glasgow some years ago, and it was the European cut, not what sounds to be a bowdlerized American version which misses some of the point.
    brianhart64

    dark

    I just finished watching this movie in a pitch black room and boy was it dark.Several sequences bordered on the invisible as Harvey Keitel descends into a cameraman´s room 101. Romy Schneider a revelation and spreading compassion on all throughout. The cityscapes are glorious and the faceless people of Glasgow add to the alienation expressed by the script. Excellent shift of pace as Max von Sydow enters to fulfill Romy Schneiders dreams. Great cast, though Harry Dean Stanton under-used, and a sin that this is not more widely recognised.
    8euskir

    One of Tavernier's best films.

    A great film, and quite scary, specially for Tavernier's view over the media (television here, but just replace that word, and nothing will be different), in a not so far future. Sad, because was Romy Schneider's last film. She, and Harvey Keitel, are in the leading roles, under Tavernier's direction the two in top form. In a way, this was ahead of other future "prophecy films", sure one of the best.
    zazu-6

    great film

    I don't know if it is on video, but I wish I could watch this film again, after 20 years the idea still feels fresh and alive. even though there is truman show, it is not even getting close to the greatness of this film. Today, I have told a writer who is working on a cyberfilm script, to go watch this film first. technology is only a tool (most scifi films tend to forget) in telling the story of 2 suffering souls. The humans are not lost behind the scifi gimmicks, the film is about us humans. watch this film, you really won't be disappoi
    Carlo Houtkamp

    One of Romy Schneider's greatest films.

    When I first saw this film at the age of seven, I was left highly impressed. From that moment on, Death Watch (La Mort en Direct) has been one of my favourite films. Although there are some weaker moments (a dull voice-over from a supporting actress, a climax that does not really hit the spot, French opening titles) the acting, the dialogues, haunting soundtrack and the charisma of Schneider and Keitel make watching this film a very good experience. Credit also to the director of photography and his camera crew, whose wonderful style may remind you of Dean Cundey's work on Halloween (1978).

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    Related interests

    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi
    Cho Yeo-jeong in Parasite (2019)
    Thriller

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      At one point in the film, Gerald Mortenhoe (Max von Sydow) tells some historical facts about the Medieval French Composer Robert De Bauleac, while listening to one of his works on a record player. When the film was released, numerous music lovers tried to get a copy of the same record in specialized stores, which could never provide any for a very good reason: Robert De Bauleac has never existed, and the composition heard in the film is Antoine Duhamel's work. However, the concerned piece of music, "Robert De Bauleac's Lament," has been since available as part of the complete movie soundtrack.
    • Quotes

      Vincent Ferriman: Look how shy we've become about death. It's the new pornography.

    • Connections
      Featured in Romy, femme libre (2022)
    • Soundtracks
      For The Love Of The Golden City
      Written by Antoine Duhamel, Produced by Gabriel Boustiani

      Performed by The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Harry Rabinowitz

      Performed by Roger Mason

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    FAQ17

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 1982 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • France
      • West Germany
    • Languages
      • English
      • French
      • German
    • Also known as
      • Death in Full View
    • Filming locations
      • Mull of Kintyre, Kintyre, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK
    • Production companies
      • Selta Films
      • Little Bear
      • Sara Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 57m(117 min)
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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