John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura Baxter (Julie Christie) are in Venice when they meet a pair of elderly sisters, one of whom claims to be psychic. She insists that she sees the spirit of the Baxters' daughter, who recently drowned. Laura is intrigued, but John resists the idea. He, however, seems to have his own psychic flashes, seeing their daughter walk the streets in her red cloak, as well as Laura and the sisters on a funeral gondola. Composer Pino Donaggio teamed with filmmaker Brian DePalma to forge one of the most memorable collaborations in cinema history, writing a series of suspenseful, hauntingly atmospheric scores evoking Bernard Herrmann's landmark work for Alfred Hitchcock. Born Giuseppe Donaggio in Venice, Italy, on October 24, 1941, he was the product of a family of musicians, and began studying violin at the age of ten. Living and working in Venice instead of Hollywood and channeling most of his efforts into the Italian film industry, where he scored features for filmmakers including Roberto Benigni, Liliana Cavani, and Massimo Troisi. But Donaggio first entered the world of cinema with this film of Nicholas Roeg, a score that won wide acclaim for its uncommon grasp of atmosphere and suspense.
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