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Obsession
1976
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 38m
New Orleans businessman Michael Courtland's life is shattered when his wife and daughter are tragically killed in a botched kidnap rescue attempt... (imdb)
Directed by:
Brian De PalmaObsession
1976
Drama, Suspense/Thriller
1h 38m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 53.82% from 447 total ratings
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Rated 28 Jan 2012
80
78th
Its Vertigo shot through Italian genre cinema, but is something unique, a Brian De Palma film, something I haven't seen in a long while. The final twists suspend disbelief, and yet I have to admire a film that a) becomes a beautifully melancholic romance in the middle, and b) has a dreamlike mood that is artificial yet potent, the films of the 1950s (Bernard Herrmann's score links this to its Hitchcockian forefather) brought to De Palma's era where not all is what it seems even more so.
Rated 28 Jan 2012
Rated 25 Feb 2010
5
81st
There's a slew of both cult and popular elements De Palma's toying with here, Hitchcock being the easy choice with the initial plot pieces & evocative score by Herrmann. It goes into some insane territory, yet it hardly seems to matter, it almost seems predestined. Truly twisted.
Rated 25 Feb 2010
Rated 12 Mar 2009
90
86th
Most of Brian de Palma is for me unwatchable. But here like an oasis is this lovely remix of VERTIGO that really had an impact on me when I first saw it. I can't describe my favorite shot as it would spoil the ending -- but it remains one of my favorite scenes in any film, ever, and Bujold knocks it out of the ballpark. Robertson is given the full emotional palette to play with, and he really delivers. A very immersive and seductive movie, if one is willing to meet it halfway.
Rated 12 Mar 2009
Rated 05 Nov 2022
71
49th
As per typical De Palma, this goes from wild opening to something completely different by the film's conclusion. I like my Hitchcock homages with a bit of sleaze and you will get there with this if you are patient. Love to see some 70s New Orleans.
Rated 05 Nov 2022
Rated 31 Jul 2020
68
35th
This is De Palma doing pure Hitchcockian thriller. The plot is clearly inspired by Vertigo, but De Palma and scriptwriter Paul Schrader take their own modern spin on it. The cheesy romance in the second act drags at parts and the characters one-dimensional. But the mystery of it is intriguing enough to keep the movie engaging. The slomo ending is De Palma at his best. The reveal of the twist works surprisingly well. It's painful how much better John Lithgow is than everybody else.
Rated 31 Jul 2020
Rated 29 May 2014
74
52nd
John Lithgow's version of a Nah'Leans accent had me yelling "Oh Belvedere, Come Here Boy!" at my tv.
Rated 29 May 2014
Rated 07 Jan 2014
85
92nd
It feels almost if Hitchcock's Vertigo was turned into a glossy and heartwarming melodrama -- but still filled with De Palma's plot twists and visual remarks. More than just a meditation on Hitch's film, Obsession operates as a pictorial study of what we see or what we want to see, which is the very inner tension of every shot in the filmmaker's oeuvre. Schrader deserves a big credit too, as sexuality here (new woman is the daughter!) has a morality that goes beyond beautiful framing.
Rated 07 Jan 2014
Rated 29 Aug 2012
80
77th
The middle act fizzles a little bit, but the rest of the film is an absolutely exhuberant, romantic and marvelously excessive delight.
Rated 29 Aug 2012
Rated 03 Feb 2011
4
51st
It's decent, sure, but let's be honest here: it's kind of hard to fuck up when your chief inspiration is something as flawless as Vertigo. To Brian De Palma's credit, he's actually found a way to make the story even crazier. And I know I'm retarded for even characterizing this as a flaw, but my god is this cheesy. It's cheesier than a pizza at a Fat Pride convention. It fucking oozes it. That's part of the appeal, I suppose, so if you're in the mood for that, go for it. Fatty.
Rated 03 Feb 2011
Rated 24 Feb 2010
71
60th
I've only seen a very poor copy of this but I kinda liked it, it had a soapy, dream-like feel to it reminiscent of the works of David Lynch.
Rated 24 Feb 2010
Rated 28 Sep 2024
45
17th
An actor who plays as stiff as a brick, an over-the-top and intrusive music, an implausible script - there are so many flaws in this film that it's hard to appreciate the final result..
Rated 28 Sep 2024
Rated 31 Jul 2024
60
35th
My head is still (dizzyingly) spinning after this one. I can't say "Hitchcock but with more melodrama" is something I'd been hankering to see. This story with all its bizarre turns (both literal and figurative) just felt too much like a copy (not an homage), and the blurred flashbacks were overused.
Rated 31 Jul 2024
Rated 19 Feb 2024
35
15th
A gloriously bogus story (again) from De Palma who, unfortunately, buggers it up with oddly lackadaisical pacing, as opposed to the far more entertaining Dressed to Kill. I've been convinced for a while that, if all it takes to ruin a film is to have the conclusion revealed to you, it can't be a very good film. I think this film falls into such a category. I was enjoying Bernard Hermann's overwhelming score until it became totally inappropriate as the story unfolded.
Rated 19 Feb 2024
Rated 17 Jan 2023
88
63rd
zsigmond's soft dream-like cinematography, hermann's sumptuous score and a vertigo inspired narrative add up to quite the no holds bar ode to hitchcock's masterpiece. the first big box office film from mr. de palma. a must see for any hitch fan.
Rated 17 Jan 2023
Rated 21 Aug 2022
75
64th
De Palma does not give a shit how much he rips off Hitchcock, and it's great. If you are this good, I don't mind seeing a wilder Hitchcock. I don't usually criticize actor's performances, because I just like people having fun, but I have to agree with De Palma, Robertson is the weak link to this film.
Rated 21 Aug 2022
Rated 12 Jun 2022
70
54th
Obsession maintains tribute to Vertigo even in the final act, by being overly expository and a little less than satisfying. I've never been one to think Vertigo is the perfect beast its reputation would suggest, and that's certainly not the case here. Though if De Palma's intent was to mirror the original, warts and all, then in that respect it's entirely successful. He even added more warts... This goes into considerably darker territory.
Rated 12 Jun 2022
Rated 22 Oct 2019
80
79th
This is quite a suspenseful film - a real chilly thriller of sorts. It features a heavy use of stringed instruments to really bring home the Hitchcockian tension. Its, needless to say, quite claustrophobic and I noticed towards the end there appeared to be a mistiness around the bottom of the screen, which gives it a bit of a dream like sense. I felt John Lithgow gave a particularly good performance in this film and its somewhat memorable - certainly not a bad film, I'd recommend it.
Rated 22 Oct 2019
Rated 15 Mar 2019
7
58th
Goes from cheesy kidnapping flick to even cheesier Vertigo update, but then Schrader slaps you in the face with a "ooh no, he didn't" plot twist that is all kinds of fucked up as you replay the entire movie in your head. Great score by Bernard Herrmann and that ending is classic De Palma.
Rated 15 Mar 2019
Rated 29 Dec 2018
50
46th
More melodrama than horror. The cover art overpromised: "imagine the most terrifying dream you ever had"
Rated 29 Dec 2018
Rated 07 Oct 2017
43
4th
When a film's twist is this insultingly obvious, it seems the characters have to act in the most ludicrously oblivious ways that has you screaming at them through the TV screen. Robertson's acting is perfect for this, as he can barely register any grief or longing, his face is just an ambiguous quandary throughout the whole film. Only Lithgow manages to have fun with the more Schrader-esque lines, but the rest of the script is naff, wasting the awesome music and quality editing.
Rated 07 Oct 2017
Rated 09 Sep 2017
65
48th
kamerayı bu kadar iyi kullanan bir adamın anlatım tekniğinde sese de bu kadar yaslanıyor olması sinemasına dair net bir fikir veriyor. obsession da -schrader'a rağmen- hem tarz hem konu olarak tam bir de palma filmi, ama en iyilerinden ziyade en denemelilerinden biri olarak oturuyor filmografisine. final sahnesi, o dönemeçe rağmen filmin en iyi yanı olmayı başarıyor ayrıca, çünkü çocuk-ebeveyn ilişkisine dair de komik bir katman koyuyor.
Rated 09 Sep 2017
Rated 19 Sep 2016
85
91st
Wonderfully made piece of camp. The ending is particularly amusing.
Rated 19 Sep 2016
Rated 10 Dec 2015
72
56th
Competently twisted riff on Vertigo. Pulpy and cheesy but in a very measured and stylish way.
Rated 10 Dec 2015
Rated 21 Feb 2015
50
15th
Well, that seemed a bit far-fetched. lol More over-the-top crap from DePalma, culminating in that merry-go-round final scene (making me even queasier than the prom whirligig in Carrie). When oh when will I learn to stop getting suckered in by a DVD box from that guy?
Rated 21 Feb 2015
Rated 01 Sep 2013
45
34th
On man's secret desire to kill off his wife so he can marry his daughter (touched on as well in AGUIRRE), this seemed less to follow a dream logic than to have been a somnambulistic experiment conducted under hypnosis (as Herzog, again, did in fact do, with greater success). Overall, a VERTIGO-type melodrama that was too overwrought, silly and predictable for this viewer's taste.
Rated 01 Sep 2013
Rated 07 Mar 2013
70
53rd
Great film, but I was hoping for a different ending...
Rated 07 Mar 2013
Rated 12 Jul 2012
76
72nd
gerilim, gizem, kacirmak, fidye, rehin, patlayan araba, polis, ölen ese benzeyen kadin (vertigo), esin yerine eve gelen kadin (rebecca), sirtindan vurulmak, ortak, entrika
Rated 12 Jul 2012
Rated 20 Jun 2012
90
80th
Movie 1100. Lets hope this gets a good release soon, so that the nice cinematography could be better appreciated. De Palma uses a slew of crazy shots in this one - some of them could be construed as superfluous, but some of them serve a good purpose and they all look cool. The performances are all great - the always-reliable Lithgow, Cliff Robertson and Genevieve Bujold who, given this twisted material, gets to go a little crazy and shines as a result. Definitely going to rewatch this one.
Rated 20 Jun 2012
Rated 25 Dec 2011
87
97th
best ***** ending ever.
and how freakin awesome is that childhood flashback?!?!?!
Rated 25 Dec 2011
Rated 07 Aug 2011
6
40th
MVPs: Bernard Herrmann, Vilmos Zsigmond
Rated 07 Aug 2011
Rated 20 Jul 2011
65
27th
Well that was predictable (and totally ridiculous).
Rated 20 Jul 2011
Rated 06 Nov 2010
30
78th
"Another of De Palma's fearlessly experimental whims." - Eric Henderson
Rated 06 Nov 2010
Rated 21 Nov 2009
64
33rd
It benefits from De Palma's usual flair, but the story is far-fetched, and the twist is predictable.
Rated 21 Nov 2009
Rated 17 Jul 2009
71
52nd
Obsession
Rated 17 Jul 2009
Rated 19 Apr 2009
60
14th
Lots of cheese. Stylish cheese.
Rated 19 Apr 2009
Rated 26 Feb 2007
70
75th
A very interesting movie that deceptively misrepresents itself as hard to believe... and I don't expect you to get what that means until you've watched this. The filtered picture and awkwardly minimal dialogue help make this look a bit like a soap opera. I am not a De Palma fan, but strangely, this movie is actually helped by his otherwise corny kind of filmmaking.
Rated 26 Feb 2007
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