Obsession (1976 film)
| Obsession | |
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Original theatrical poster
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| Directed by | Brian De Palma |
| Produced by | George Litto |
| Written by | Paul Schrader |
| Starring |
Cliff Robertson Geneviève Bujold John Lithgow |
| Music by | Bernard Herrmann |
| Cinematography | Vilmos Zsigmond |
| Edited by | Paul Hirsch |
| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $1,400,000 (estimate) |
| Box office | $4,468,000 (rentals) |
Obsession is a 1976 psychological thriller/mystery film directed by Brian De Palma, starring Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, John Lithgow, and . The screenplay was by Paul Schrader, from a story by De Palma and Schrader. Bernard Herrmann provided the film's soundtrack. The story is about a New Orleans businessman who is haunted by guilt following the death of his wife and daughter during a kidnapping-rescue attempt. Years after the tragedy, he meets and falls in love with a young woman who is the exact look-alike of his long dead wife.
Both De Palma and Schrader have pointed to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) as the major inspiration for Obsession's narrative and thematic concerns. Schrader's script was extensively rewritten and pared down by De Palma prior to shooting, causing the screenwriter to proclaim a complete lack of interest in the film's subsequent production and release. Completed in 1975, Columbia Pictures picked up the distribution rights but demanded that minor changes be made to reduce potentially controversial aspects of the plot. When finally released in the late summer of 1976, it became De Palma's first substantial box office success and received a mixed response from critics.
In 1959, Michael Courtland (Robertson), a New Orleans real estate developer, has his life shattered when his wife Elizabeth (Bujold) and young daughter Amy are kidnapped. The police recommend that he provide the kidnappers with a briefcase of shredded blank paper instead of the demanded ransom, as the kidnappers will then be more likely to surrender when cornered, rather than attempt to escape with cash in hand. Courtland agrees to this plan. This leads to a bungled car chase in which both kidnappers and victims are killed in a spectacular explosion. Courtland blames himself for the deaths of his wife and daughter.
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