{"id":22284,"date":"2025-11-25T15:22:52","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T20:22:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=22284"},"modified":"2026-03-24T16:02:44","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T20:02:44","slug":"obsession-1976","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/?p=22284","title":{"rendered":"Obsession-1976"},"content":{"rendered":"

Obsession-1976<\/strong><\/p>\n

Director Brian De Palma<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starring Cliff Robertson, Genevi\u00e8ve Bujold, John Lithgow<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Scott’s Review #1,503<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Reviewed November 25, 2025<\/p>\n

Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n

Brian De Palma’s Obsession was made in 1976, the same year as his iconic horror film Carrie, which made him a household name. This kicked off a period of other great De Palma films, like Dressed to Kill (1980) and Blow Out (1981).<\/p>\n

The marginally successful film gained respectability because the director acknowledged that Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 masterpiece Vertigo heavily influenced Obsession, which undoubtedly drew many to sit up and take notice.<\/p>\n

Since Vertigo is a film I am ‘obsessed’ with, I can easily see the blueprint that it is on many levels.<\/p>\n

Film composer and Hitchcock stalwart Bernard Herrmann beautifully scores both movies, so the similarities are undeniable on both a musical and a plot level. I immediately recognized the orchestral and mysterious notes that fill Vertigo with intrigue and sophistication.<\/p>\n

A case of doppelgangers and an obsession with a presumed-dead character or the ghost of someone from the past are common elements in both, as a tangled web is spun.<\/p>\n

The heroic male character struggles with this obsession while spiraling out of control and making rash or poor decisions.<\/p>\n

The story begins in 1959 and centers on a prominent New Orleans businessman, Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson), who is riddled with guilt following the death of his wife, Elizabeth (Genevi\u00e8ve Bujold),<\/span> and daughter during a kidnapping-rescue attempt gone wrong.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 1975, and Brian, while traveling to Florence, Italy, meets and falls in love with a young woman who is the exact look-alike of his long-dead wife. He must do anything to have her and imagines she actually is his wife.<\/p>\n

While Obsession is a compelling film with an appropriate, suspenseful buildup and a startling twist during the final act, Vertigo’s influence also makes it a weakness for Obsession on its own merits.<\/p>\n

Since I knew it was patterned after such greatness, I also found myself constantly comparing it. While Obsession is good, it’s also more of an opening act to Vertigo’s headliner status.<\/p>\n

Some standard De Palma particulars are incorporated, which is what I waited for throughout, and some are not.<\/p>\n

The slow-motion sequence appears at the conclusion of the film, in a long shot of an airport terminal, as one character runs to another. The fact that one character weilds a hidden gun makes the perilous situation even more daring.<\/p>\n

The dreamlike quality is apparent, including a puzzling romance scene in which Michael imagines a marriage and a steamy bedroom sequence with Elizabeth. He also imagines the kidnapping events happening again.<\/p>\n

Is this real or imagined?<\/p>\n

The split screen, so potent in Sisters and Dressed to Kill, is abandoned altogether.<\/p>\n

De Palma also treads lightly on the subject matter of incest that could have made Obsession daring and cutting edge, but instead is softened considerably. This irritated me slightly, since I assumed there would be pushback from studio executives.<\/p>\n

Robertson and Bujold have adequate chemistry, and it’s a treat to see John Lithgow in what would be the first of several De Palma films.<\/p>\n

Obsession (1976) is worth a watch for De Palma fans because, like Sisters (1973), it offers a glimpse of the greatness he was about to achieve with grander, more fleshed-out efforts.<\/p>\n

Some early tools from the director’s arsenal are featured, making the watch enjoyable and a treat for anyone with a fondness for what air travel was like in the mid-1970s, well before terrorism and 9\/11 changed the world forever.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Obsession-1976 Director Brian De Palma Starring Cliff Robertson, Genevi\u00e8ve Bujold, John Lithgow Scott’s Review #1,503 Reviewed November 25, 2025 Grade: B+ Brian De Palma’s Obsession was made in 1976, the same year as his iconic horror film Carrie, which made him a household name. This kicked off a period of other great De Palma films, … Continue reading Obsession-1976<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[114,154,8598,855,1212,204],"tags":[115,155,8599,856,1213,258],"class_list":["post-22284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1976-films","category-briandepalmafilms","category-cliff-robertson","category-genevieve-bujold","category-john-lithgow","category-thrillers","tag-1976-movie-reviews","tag-brian-de-palma-films","tag-cliff-robertson","tag-genevieve-bujold","tag-john-lithgow","tag-thrillers"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22284"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22289,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22284\/revisions\/22289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/scottsfilmreviews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}