Obsession is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological thriller film directed by Brian De Palma, starring Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, and John Lithgow. The screenplay was written by Paul Schrader, based on a story by De Palma and Schrader. The music was composed by Bernard Herrmann, who received a posthumous Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.
Plot
In 1959, New Orleans real estate developer Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) sees his wife Elizabeth and daughter Amy kidnapped. Following police advice, he delivers a briefcase filled with blank paper instead of ransom money. A botched police chase results in a fiery explosion, and the kidnappers and victims are presumed dead. Sixteen years later, a guilt-ridden Courtland travels to Florence, Italy, on business and meets Sandra Portinari (Geneviève Bujold), a young woman who is the exact double of his late wife. He becomes obsessed, courts her, and brings her back to New Orleans to marry. On their wedding night, Sandra is kidnapped under circumstances mirroring the original crime. Courtland discovers that his business partner Robert LaSalle (John Lithgow) engineered both kidnappings to seize his fortune, and that Sandra is actually his daughter Amy, who survived the original incident and was raised in Italy under LaSalle's manipulation.
Cast
- Cliff Robertson as Michael Courtland
- Geneviève Bujold as Elizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari
- John Lithgow as Robert LaSalle
- Sylvia "Kuumba" Williams as Judy
- Wanda Blackman as Amy Courtland
Production and Background
Both De Palma and Schrader cited Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) as the major inspiration. The film was originally titled Déjà Vu and later Double Ransom before settling on Obsession. Schrader's original screenplay included a third act set in 1985, which De Palma cut, causing Schrader to disavow interest in the final production. Principal photography began on February 3, 1975, in Florence, Italy, and continued in New Orleans and Los Angeles. The film was produced by George Litto and Harry N. Blum, with cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond and editing by Paul Hirsch.
Columbia Pictures, which distributed the film, requested minor changes to obscure the incest theme. Editor Paul Hirsch suggested re-framing the wedding and consummation as a dream sequence, which was implemented through dissolves and visual ripples.
Release and Reception
Obsession premiered in New York City on August 1, 1976, and was released nationwide on August 20, 1976. It was De Palma's first substantial box-office success, earning approximately $4.5 million in domestic rentals against a budget of $1.4 million.
Initial critical reception was mixed. Roger Ebert praised it as "an overwrought melodrama" that he relished, while Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that audiences would "probably have figured out the mystery very early." Pauline Kael dismissed it as "no more than an exercise in style." However, the film was named one of the Top Ten Films of 1976 by the National Board of Review.
Decades later, the film's reputation improved. On Rotten Tomatoes, it holds a 77% approval rating, with the consensus: "Obsession suffers in comparison to the Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece that it mirrors, but director Brian De Palma's unique preoccupations give this thriller its own compulsive, twisted fingerprint."
Soundtrack
Bernard Herrmann's score, one of his last completed works before his death in December 1975, was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Score. The soundtrack has been released on CD by Music Box Records and other labels.
Awards and Nominations
- Academy Award nomination: Best Original Score (Bernard Herrmann)
- National Board of Review: Top Ten Films of 1976
