Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Arianna Moses Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Anoushka Slater While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

dromasca They do not make films like this one any longer. Usually this sentence when found in the review of a movie is supposed to be appreciative. Not in the case of Brian De Palma's Obsession. The film is made in 1976, the year Hitchcock was making his last movie, and owes a lot to the style of story building and telling, and to the cinematographic tricks of the master. One thing is however missing - the element of novelty and permanent search that was characteristic to Hitchcock, which made each of his movie different from the previous. Obsession is a film a la Hitchcock without the surprises. Even worse, without the humor.The idea is interesting and 'Obsession' may have been one of the first to use it. A rich man's wife and girl are kidnapped and a fat ransom is demanded. The man (acted by Cliff Robertson) decides to call the police, and the story turns into a tragedy when the car with the kidnappers, the wife and the girl explodes in the events following the police action. The hero is overwhelmed by remorse and guilt for his decision to turn to the police rather than just pay the ransom. 16 years later, in the same place where he first met his wife, he meets a young woman with a striking resemblance. He falls for her, and ends by asking her into marriage. Actually, here are some of the good moments of the film. Is he really in love or is the guilt driving his actions? Is he attracted by the young girl or by the memory of the deceased wife (double role for Geneviève Bujold)? Can the past be really fixed that easy? All is almost fine with the questions, the problem is with the answers and the way these are given. The way the conflict is solved is predictable in the big lines. There are some surprises at the very ending, they do not change to much of the essence of the story, and make the final scenes very hard to sustain in facts and in the psychology of the characters. In order to present the facts in the past, director Brian De Palma uses a technique inside the flash-backs which I did not like too much, probably because it was not built well visually (cannot tell more, would be too much of a spoiler). Techniques from Hitchcock's films are reused intensively, especially the musical score, but they seem already out of fashion already for the mid-70s. So is the style of acting, especially of the lead character acted by Cliff Robertson. On the other hand watching Geneviève Bujold is a real pleasure, it is her that maestro Hitchcock would have loved to include in the cast of one of his movies.'Obsession' fails in my opinion and to my taste first of all because it tries to explain too much. I think that explaining less and trusting the cinema viewers to fill in the missing details would have been better.

tigerroux This has always been an interesting movie in that for one, I had once lived in New Orleans a big portion of my life, and so it made me a bit homesick watching it right after my leaving this city in 1975. The Garden District home portrayed is exactly how beautiful they really are. It looked as though they had filmed the office scenes in the International Trade Mart building. The biggest thing I liked about the movie, besides it being full of suspense and action, was the dreamlike mood the background chorus music created throughout. This made it very unusual compared to other movies at the time. It kept you mesmerized - as if you were falling in love too. It was one of the first films I ever saw where the camera circled the characters so dramatically in the scenes of the dinner dance, and at the very ending. I thought the actors and actresses were all very good in it.

Scott LeBrun Director Brian De Palma and screenwriter Paul Schrader pay tribute to Hitchcock's "Vertigo" with this slow, dreamy, romantic thriller, a fine and involving film with some great acting. Cliff Robertson plays Michael Courtland, a New Orleans businessman whose wife and daughter are kidnapped and held for ransom. The attempt to rescue them goes horribly bad and Michael's life is shattered. 17 years later, he and business partner Robert Lasalle (John Lithgow) are in Rome on business when Michael catches notice of Sandra (Genevieve Bujold), an art historian who is the spitting image of his wife, and he falls in love with her. Now, the twists coming at around the 80 minute mark make this all worth it. De Palma's theme of obsession has recurred in his work and in this case it's a romantic obsession as Michael is determined to right the wrong he feels he made and not lose the woman he loves for a second time. The pacing is deliberate but the atmosphere is excellent, with some great location shooting. And the music score by Bernard Herrmann is one of his absolute best, setting the mood for each and every scene. The acting is top notch; Bujold's classic beauty is well utilized in her multiple roles, and she's extremely appealing to boot. Lithgow is solid as always in his supporting role, while Robertson comes off as a little reserved, although it would be hard to watch this and not feel some sympathy for the guy. The story is entertaining and De Palma and company make this an appropriately somber affair, with not much in the way of humour, and handle the material with a fair amount of subtlety and dignity. It's very well shot in Panavision by the great Vilmos Zsigmond, and it just draws you right in, right from its unnerving first act to its final scene. It's a fine effort from all concerned. Eight out of 10.

Claudio Carvalho In 1959, in New Orleans, the businessman Michael "Mike" Courtland (Cliff Robertson) celebrates the tenth wedding anniversary with his beloved wife Elizabeth (Geneviève Bujold) with a party in his manor. Late night, Elizabeth and their daughter Amy are abducted and the kidnappers leave a note asking the ransom of US$ 500,000.00. However Mike calls the police but the rescue operation is a mess. When the criminals are pursued, there is a car crash and it explodes. Mike blames himself for the death of Elizabeth and Amy and builds a memorial in the location of the accident.In 1975, Mike travels with his partner Robert Lasalle (John Lithgow) to Florence in a business trip and when he goes to the church where he first met Elizabeth, he sees the worker Sandra Portinari (Geneviève Bujold) that is working in the restoration of a painting of Madonna and is a dead ringer of Elizabeth. Mike becomes obsessed in Sandra and dates her. When Mike travels back to NOLA, he brings Sandra planning to marry her. However, Sandra is also kidnapped and Mike finds a ransom note identical to the one he received when Elizabeth was abducted. Now Mike believes that destiny has given a second chance to him and he does not want to blow it. "Obsession" is an average thriller by Brian De Palma with a messy and chaotic screenplay. The greatest problem is the lead actor Cliff Robertson that keeps a wooden face with the same expression and never convinces. The plot is also silly and weak since Bob has waited fifteen years to lure Mike and take his real state. The incestuous romance between Mike and Sandra is also lame since she could be a "good catholic girl", but she certainly has had intimacies with her father in the name of revenge. Last but not the least, this is the first feature of John Lithgow, who has always been doomed to be the villain. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Trágica Obsessão" ("Tragic Obsession")