Critic Reviews

• Tom Huddleston, Time Out

  While it may be conceptually rooted in science fiction, 'Death Watch' is essentially melodramatic in tone and execution: it was shot in late '70s Glasgow with not a shiny jumpsuit or flying car in sight.

• Ian Berriman, SFX Magazine

  It's a curiously unsatisfying film in some ways: a little too restrained; too detached.

• Adam Lippe, Examiner.com

  Tavernier slips in subtle touches that seem meaningless and would normally have a big circle around it and an arrow pointing at it and saying "look at me, I'm important," but instead reinforce the droning, impersonal nature of this particular society.

• Philip French, Observer [UK]

  It's an exciting tale about self-respect and personal autonomy in a society where privacy and personal identity are being steadily eroded and it's as topical today as when it was made.

• Shaun Munro, What Culture

  Much like Lumet's Network, Death Watch grows only more unsettling as the years pass.

• Anton Bitel, MovieScope

  So deliriously improbable is its blend of contributing elements, and so prescient is its peculiar version of the future, that you can almost forgive this curio the rather tepid character drama that holds together all its odd particulars.

• Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

  It is a prescient but lugubrious sci-fi satire about reality television, though a more low-key satire can hardly be imagined.

• Allan Hunter, Daily Express

  A true cult classic.

• David Jenkins, Little White Lies

  Romy Schneider positively sizzles while the atmosphere remains suitably chilly.

• Philip Kemp, Total Film

  It's let down by preachy dialogue, but makes striking use of the Scots locations.

• Hannah McGill, The List

  Its plot is a credibility stretch even in these days of de rigueur media paranoia, and its relentlessly murky, moody tone might raise the odd giggle, but Tavernier's long-neglected sci-fi curiosity is compelling nonetheless.

Read all 11 critic reviews