Obsession 1976
6.7 / 10
Obsession
A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.
A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.
Videos & Photos
All 4 Videos & 15 Photos
cast
Full Cast & Crew
... Michael Courtland
... Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari
... Robert Lasalle
... Maid
... Amy Courtland
... Third Kidnapper
User reviews
See All 1 Reviews23 Jun 2021 by John Chard
Déjà vu and Déjà vu. Obsession is directed by Brian De Palma and written by Paul Schrader. It stars Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold and John Lithgow. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Vismos Zsigmond. You either love him or hate him, it seems. Brian De Palma that is. He's an amazing stylist who made some piercingly great thrillers in the tradition of Maestro Hitchcock, or he's a knock off artist using style to hide his inadequacies as a story teller? One thing for sure, for a good portion of the 70s and 80s his films would not be ignored, for better or worse depending on your own proclivities of course. Obsession, as has been noted numerous times, is De Palma's homage to Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo. It's not a straight out copy as some reviewers have somehow managed to convince themselves, but narrative drive is similar. Robertson in grief for a passed on wife (Bujold) and daughter meets a doppelganger (also Bujold) of his dead wife 16 years down the line and becomes obsessed with her. As the new woman reciprocates the attraction, the relationship becomes wrought and borderline unhealthy, reaching a crescendo when muddy waters are stirred and revelations force the can to open and worms to spill everywhere. When remembering that for a long time Vertigo was out of circulation in the 70s, Obsession was sure as hell a good second option for anyone hankering for a superbly stylish thriller boiling over with psychological smarts. Even if you buy into the style over substance argument, what style there is here though. Roving camera work, up tilts, haze surrounds, canted frames, pan arounds, dream shimmers and personalised focus. Add in the splendid use of New Orleans and Tuscany locations and Herrmann's sensually dangerous score (lifted in part and re-worked from Vertigo) and it has style to burn. While the big reveals at pic's culmination are in turn intriguing and daring; even if the original ending planned would have really put the cat among the pigeons and made for a more potent piece ripe for heated discussion. Lead cast are on fine form, Robertson plays it superbly as a wistful and damaged wastrel, guilt and obsession seeping from every pore. Bujold is just darling, a telling twin performance that actually doesn't demand to be noticed until late in the play. While Lithgow stomps around the edges of the frame like some shyster lawyer whose tie is on too tight. Ultimately Obsession is a film crafted in the mode of Hitchcock, but not in anyway disgracefully so. This is no illegitimate relation to Vertigo, it's more like a reliable brother-in-law. Pulpy, Trashy but also Classy. Great. 8/10
Release Date:
Aug 01, 1976 (United States)
Run Time:
1hr 39`
MMPA Rating:
PG
Original Language:
English
Production Countries:
United States
Status:
Released
Plot Keywords:
Related Movies To
Obsession
Déjà vu and Déjà vu. Obsession is directed by Brian De Palma and written by Paul Schrader. It stars Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold and John Lithgow. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Vismos Zsigmond. You either love him or hate him, it seems. Brian De Palma that is. He's an amazing stylist who made some piercingly great thrillers in the tradition of Maestro Hitchcock, or he's a knock off artist using style to hide his inadequacies as a story teller? One thing for sure, for a good portion of the 70s and 80s his films would not be ignored, for better or worse depending on your own proclivities of course. Obsession, as has been noted numerous times, is De Palma's homage to Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo. It's not a straight out copy as some reviewers have somehow managed to convince themselves, but narrative drive is similar. Robertson in grief for a passed on wife (Bujold) and daughter meets a doppelganger (also Bujold) of his dead wife 16 years down the line and becomes obsessed with her. As the new woman reciprocates the attraction, the relationship becomes wrought and borderline unhealthy, reaching a crescendo when muddy waters are stirred and revelations force the can to open and worms to spill everywhere. When remembering that for a long time Vertigo was out of circulation in the 70s, Obsession was sure as hell a good second option for anyone hankering for a superbly stylish thriller boiling over with psychological smarts. Even if you buy into the style over substance argument, what style there is here though. Roving camera work, up tilts, haze surrounds, canted frames, pan arounds, dream shimmers and personalised focus. Add in the splendid use of New Orleans and Tuscany locations and Herrmann's sensually dangerous score (lifted in part and re-worked from Vertigo) and it has style to burn. While the big reveals at pic's culmination are in turn intriguing and daring; even if the original ending planned would have really put the cat among the pigeons and made for a more potent piece ripe for heated discussion. Lead cast are on fine form, Robertson plays it superbly as a wistful and damaged wastrel, guilt and obsession seeping from every pore. Bujold is just darling, a telling twin performance that actually doesn't demand to be noticed until late in the play. While Lithgow stomps around the edges of the frame like some shyster lawyer whose tie is on too tight. Ultimately Obsession is a film crafted in the mode of Hitchcock, but not in anyway disgracefully so. This is no illegitimate relation to Vertigo, it's more like a reliable brother-in-law. Pulpy, Trashy but also Classy. Great. 8/10
Cast & Crew of
Obsession
Directors & Credit Writers
Cast
... Michael Courtland
... Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari
... Robert Lasalle
... Maid
... Amy Courtland
... Third Kidnapper
SJR
Stanley J. Reyes... Inspector Brie
NK
Nick Kreiger... Farber
... Dr. Ellman
... Ferguson
... D'Annunzio
TC
Thomas Carr... Paperboy
... Italian Businessman
... Mrs. Portinari
... Justice of the Peace
RC
Regis Cordic... Newscaster
... Jane
... Ticket Agent
FMC
Fain M. Cogrove... Secretary
... Man in Airport (uncredited)
Produced By
Videos & Photos of
Obsession
Videos ( 4)
Official Trailer
YouTube
Obsession ≣ 1976 ≣ Trailer
YouTube
Obsession (1976) - Movie Trailer
YouTube
Photos ( 15 )
Related Movies To
Obsession
Final Destination Bloodlines (2025)
0 /10
Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.
Run Time: 1hr 50` . MMPA: R . Release: 14 May 2025
Director: Emely Martin , Carl Mason , Carl Mason
Producer: Dave Neustadter , Devon Downie , Andrew Lary
Stars: Tony Todd , Melissa Barrera , Anna Lore , Renata Vaca , Teo Briones , Quintessa Swindell
The Amateur (2025)
0 /10
After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.
Run Time: 2hr 3` . MMPA: PG-13 . Release: 09 Apr 2025
Director: James Hawes , Svetlana Punte
Producer: Jonathan Hook , Dan Wilson , Rami Malek
Stars: Rami Malek , Rachel Brosnahan , Caitríona Balfe , Laurence Fishburne , Jon Bernthal , Holt McCallany
STRAW (2025)
0 /10
What will be her last straw? A devastatingly bad day pushes a hardworking single mother to the breaking point — and into a shocking act of desperation.
Run Time: 1hr 45` . MMPA: R . Release: 05 Jun 2025
Director: Felix Jordan , Matt Hendren , Roger Berard
Producer: Andy Norman , Nadia Brown , Angi Bones
Stars: Taraji P. Henson , Sherri Shepherd , Teyana Taylor , Sinbad , Rockmond Dunbar , Ashley Versher
Diablo (2025)
0 /10
Ex-con Kris Chaney seizes the daughter of a Colombian gangster to fulfill a noble promise to the young girl's mother. When her father enlists both the criminal underworld and a psychotic killer to exact his revenge, Kris relies on everything he's ever learned to stay alive and keep his word.
Run Time: 1hr 31` . MMPA: R . Release: 13 Jun 2025
Director: Ernesto Díaz Espinoza
Producer: Jason Gurvitz , Grady Craig , Francisco Carrillo
Stars: Scott Adkins , Marko Zaror , María del Rosario , Diana Hoyos , Lucho Velasco , Alanna de la Rosa
Life After Fighting (2024)
0 /10
Retired martial arts world champion Alex Faulkner has settled into a simple life, when the disappearance of two of his students leads to an unthinkable discovery close to home. Just when all hope of finding the children is lost, he locates the imprisoned girls and unsurfaces an international child trafficking operation, which draws him back into the fight of his life against those behind it.
Run Time: 2hr 6` . MMPA: . Release: 07 Jun 2024
Director: Bren Foster
Producer: Chelsea Jean Foster , Bren Foster , Navid Bahadori
Stars: Bren Foster , Cassie Howarth , Luke Ford , Annabelle Stephenson , Anthony Nassif , Arielle Jean Foster
The Accountant² (2025)
0 /10
When an old acquaintance is murdered, Wolff is compelled to solve the case. Realizing more extreme measures are necessary, Wolff recruits his estranged and highly lethal brother, Brax, to help. In partnership with Marybeth Medina, they uncover a deadly conspiracy, becoming targets of a ruthless network of killers who will stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried.
Run Time: 2hr 13` . MMPA: R . Release: 23 Apr 2025
Director: Fernando Chien , Gavin O'Connor , Alina Gatti
Producer: Allen Kupetsky , Mark Williams , Jeanne McCarthy
Stars: Ben Affleck , Jon Bernthal , J.K. Simmons , Cynthia Addai-Robinson , Daniella Pineda , Alison Robertson
Sinners (2025)
0 /10
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
Run Time: 2hr 18` . MMPA: R . Release: 16 Apr 2025
Director: Marvin Williams , Amir R. Khan , Ryan Coogler
Producer: Francine Maisler , Ammar Mohamed , Zinzi Coogler
Stars: Michael B. Jordan , Jack O'Connell , Delroy Lindo , Jayme Lawson , Wunmi Mosaku , Hailee Steinfeld
28 Years Later (2025)
0 /10
Twenty-eight years since the rage virus escaped a biological weapons laboratory, now, still in a ruthlessly enforced quarantine, some have found ways to exist amidst the infected. One such group lives on a small island connected to the mainland by a single, heavily-defended causeway. When one member departs on a mission into the dark heart of the mainland, he discovers secrets, wonders, and horrors that have mutated not only the infected but other survivors as well.
Run Time: 1hr 55` . MMPA: R . Release: 18 Jun 2025
Director: Sarah Mulberge , Lucy Hatherley , Danny Boyle
Producer: Rebecca Farhall , Cillian Murphy , Alex Garland
Stars: Cillian Murphy , Aaron Taylor-Johnson , Jodie Comer , Charlie Hunnam , Jack O'Connell , Ralph Fiennes
Crypto Legacy (2020)
2.5 /10
Troy Morgan doesn't like his family's farm. The place creeps him out. After spotting some strange lights one evening, Troy and his little sister Carrie go to investigate the creepy barn.
Run Time: 1hr 11` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2020
Director: Charles Townsend
Producer: Charles Townsend
Stars: Sheri Gill Dixon , Brian Kunz , Brandon Young , Nathaniel Barton , Linzi Gray , Thalia Reynolds
The Twisters (2024)
0 /10
A deadly patchwork of destructive cyclones is on an apocalyptic path of convergence at a populated Midwest city center. There, the twisters will merge into one mega tornado that threatens to obliterate the cities for hundreds of miles around.
Run Time: 1hr 27` . MMPA: . Release: 28 Jun 2024
Director: Michael Su
Producer: James Mahoney , Brendan Petrizzo , Paul Bales
Stars: Kayla Fields , Mark Justice , Paul Logan , Curtis Strong , Tiffany , Sofia Riba
Conjuring the Cult (2024)
0 /10
After discovering his blood-soaked daughter dead in the bathtub, David Bryson attends a self-help group to help save him from his ghostly nightmares. But when a group of mysterious cult-like women offer to help him resurrect his daughter. David's choices will not just decide his fate... but the fate of his dead daughter's SOUL.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: . Release: 01 Oct 2024
Director: Calvin Morie McCarthy
Producer:
Stars: Neil Green , Elissa Dowling , Chynna Rae Shurts , BJ Mezek , Jason Brooks , Brad Littlefield
Utopia (2024)
0 /10
A soldier searching for his missing wife breaks into a high-tech facility, believing she's been caught in a human trafficking ring. But beyond its walls, he finds a surreal, futuristic fantasy park where reality and illusion blur. As he navigates this seductive and dangerous world, a shocking truth pulls him deeper into a deadly game where nothing is as it seems.
Run Time: 1hr 33` . MMPA: R . Release: 09 Dec 2024
Director: James Bamford
Producer: Kyle Otto , Scott Karol , Danail Hadzhiyski
Stars: Moe Dunford , Charlotte Vega , Michael D. Xavier , Daniel Bernhardt , Jason Flemyng , Wanda Banda