Bad Timing (1980)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Nicolas Roeg

Writer:

Yale Udoff (screenplay)

Release Date:

October 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

His terrifying obsession took them to the brink of death and beyond. [Video Australia]

Plot:

The setting is Vienna. A young American woman is brought to a hospital after overdosing on pills, apparently in a suicide attempt...

Plot Keywords:

Voyeurism | Female Nudity | Secret Past | Nudity | Late Night Radio

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Art Garfunkel	...	Alex Linden
Theresa Russell	...	Milena Flaherty
Harvey Keitel	...	Inspector Netusil
Denholm Elliott	...	Stefan Vognic
Daniel Massey	...	Foppish Man
Dana Gillespie	...	Amy Miller
William Hootkins	...	Col. Taylor
Eugene Lipinski	...	Hospital Policeman
George Roubicek	...	Policeman #1
Stefan Gryff	...	Policeman #2
Sevilla Delofski	...	Czech Receptionist
Robert Walker	...	Konrad
Gertan Klauber	...	Ambulance Man
Ania Marson	...	Dr. Schneider
Lex van Delden	...	Young Doctor

Also Known As:

Bad Timing: A Sensual Obsession (USA)
Illusions (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | German | Czech | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Singapore:R21 | Canada:18+ (Ontario) | UK:18 | West Germany:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:R | UK:X (original rating) (cut) | USA:R | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company:

Rank Organisation, The

Trivia:

Dana Gillespie's scenes were severely cut before release, in the process completely deleting her scene with Carolyn Seymour.

Quotes:

Milena Flaherty: I'm not ambitious, not an artist, not a poet, not a revolutionary.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Game-On: Bad Timing (#1.3)" (1995)

Soundtrack:

An Invitation To The Blues

The ultimate feel-bad movie

No! This is NOT a good date movie! In fact, it is one of the most unrelentingly grim films, I have seen in a long time. And I loved it! One night in Vienna, a young woman(Theresa Russel) are bought to the hospital, after a suicide attempt with booze and pills. Nicholas Roeg use the same kind of breaks in the ordinary narrative structure, that he presented really good in 'Dont Look Now'. During the operation, it is revealed in flashbacks, how she could take such a drastic action. A pretty dysfunctional relationship with a egocentric psychiatric(Art Garfunkel), put both of them out on the edge, since he cant accept when she act against his greasy mind. Combined with emotional manipulation and her self-destructive behavior, it is all set to end fatal. And it really do! The final between these two, is truly sick and nasty and had Me on the edge of my seat. Teresa Russel is one of these few actresses who can be repulsive without really being it, she really suits the movie well. The characters are all very complex, at one point I cared for them, at another I wanted to beat them real hard. This is really powerful, and sleazy, art-house drama. While I'm not in a hurry to re-watch it, I should not be late to call the movie a masterpiece.