Suspense Sequence 010 - Obsession (1976)

[Nighthawk5210]

I just watched this movie for the first time on TCM recently and loved it. Yes, it's similar to Vertigo but with a different twist. I loved the locales of Florence and NOLA, the score by Bernard Herrmann is breathtakingly beautiful and has now become my favorite score by him. Cliff Robertson and Genevieve Bujold are fantastic as is John Lithgow. For many years I considered Dressed To Kill my favorite De Palma movie, but it's been replaced now by Obsession. It's so haunting.

[tvpirate05]

That sent such a chill down my spine so heavy it's not even funny. They really don't make films like this anymore.

[invincibleironman3]

brilliant ... magnificent climax. love it everytime i watch it.

[puccini007]

First time I saw the ending it brought tears to my eyes, Miss Bujold's heartfelt performance, Herrmann's ethereal score, and the rolling camera... it all felt like a shattering an overwhelming moment, like dancing a waltz in the clouds with a woman you loved but lost...

[puccini007]

@puccini007 just a trivia for all you Herrmann-De Palma fans:

Composer Bernard Herrmann was sobbing at the end of the film, He cried for about ten minutes at the screening and told the director: "I want to tell you why I was so upset yesterday. When I saw the picture all finished, I felt as if those characters had left me" he gave the finished score to him inscribed "With thanks for the finest film of my musical life."

[Banner1979]

Very dramatic scene. Bujold was a terrific heroine in Coma which came 2 years later.

[SalaireDeLaPeur]

Ah, yes, the TWA flight from New Orleans to Rome!

[jarqq]

It's told that Genevieve Bujold kissed old Bernard Herrmann afterward for making love with his music.

[Raptor982]

One of the best. Superb ending!!!

[Enantiodromialist]

I saw this when it came out, when I was 10. It was the first film the made a strong impression on me, about a year before Star Wars. I watched it for maybe the second time since then a couple nights ago. It is INCREDIBLE - ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER MADE. Hitchcock critic Robin Wood says films can't "transcend Hitchcock" - this DOES. And yes, the Herrmann score is maybe his greatest - certainly one of his 2 or 3 best - the film is made as a setting for his score. Glorious - a masterpiece.

[alexalex3131]

My guess is DePalma instructed Herrmann to "give it everything you've got" in this final sequence. Which is, of course, all you would ever have had to say to him. Ms. Bujold obviously didn't hold back in this film as well, and she was wonderful in it. I also remember John Lithgow giving a striking dramatic performance.

[batlin]

@alexalex3131 Yes, Lithgow's character was written quite well, and he played it superbly. Great actor, it's a shame he's not in more films.

[spanishprisoner]

@alexalex3131 and Hermann responded with one of the greatest tracks ever to grace on screen with a visual like this!

[roybatty100]

a very beautiful sequence,the music i feel

creates a lot of emotion .

classic soundtrack as always by bernard

herrmann.

[StefanMcL]

This sequence makes one's flesh creep, doesn't it? The music by Bernard Herrmann and the camera work by Vilmos Zsigmond are a dream - pure cinema. I love it. Unfortunately, "Obsession" is widely unknown here in Germany. It's one of de Palma's best movies although many viewer criticize that the director stole a bit too much from Hitchcock's "Vertigo".

[spanishprisoner]

Compared to other DePalma movies, this one is widely ignored in favourite lists.. I think it is because of the middle part, where the setup of this last sequence depends on happens. Many people, including me ten years ago, when I saw this for the first time, were a bit put off by the lengthy 2nd act. But the end makes this one just a perl in cinema. Nothing comes close to Herman, Zigmond and DePalma combined into a showdown!

[DirectorBBrown]

Completely agree. The camera work and the score work hand-in-hand, and are truly amazing to see and hear on screen. This, to me, is by far Hermann's greatest score. I also think it's DePalma's greatest film. As for the debate regarding "Vertigo", I could see where Hitch's classic was referenced, but DePalma and Schrader certainly didn't "rip him off". There's plenty of originality in this film.

I'm waiting for a Criterion release on DVD!

[moomman89]

This was the second movie I saw Ms. Bujold in.The first was Earthquake.This was a very strange story line.With her marrying her own father.Still strange is they used the same names for characters as my name and my mothers name which I though a little strange.This is the film that made me fall in love with Genevieve Bujold. I have had a thing for her ever since.I would think of her every year,and wondered what happened to her. Till I started buying her films a year and a half ago.

[ck8returns]

This was a very "different" type of movie, but one of my favorites. Of course, I love Cliff Robertson in ANYTHING he does......