Obsession — Obsession( Blu Ray)
Obsession is a late 1940s British noir/ thriller regarding a psychiatrist who decides to kidnap his wife's lover and carry out the perfect murder. The film weaves clever/well-realized plotting, with moments of tension & subtle dark humor. Here from Powerhouse- both in the UK and stateside- is a new Blu-Ray release, a 4k scan of the picture, a commentary track, and a few other extras.
Obsession ( aka The Hidden Room, Man About a Dog ) is from the year 1949, It was directed by British Columbia, Canada-born Edward Dmytryk. Between the mid 30’s and mid 70’s he helmed an impressive fifty-three features. These went from action-crime drama Television Spy (1939), Mutiny (1952) an 1812 US war set adventure, romantic drama The Carpetbaggers (1946), and drama thriller The 'Human' Factor (1975).
The film opens with middle-aged London psychiatrist Clive Riordan(Robert Newton) returning early one evening after a cut-short trip. He finds his wife Storm( Sally Gray) with a younger American man Bill( Phil Brown)- after questioning them it becomes clear an affair has been going on between the two- this is one of many affairs the blond-haired & glamorous Storm has had. Clive rather calmly pulls out a gun, and one thing leads to another & he & Bill head out into the fog-hazed London streets
We move forward a week or so and find out via new paper reports that Bill is missing. It’s revealed fairly soon that Clive has kidnapped Bill, chained up in a room with a bed & two bathrooms- one he can reach, the other he can’t. As the days tick by he’s brought food by Clive- who is also filling up water bottles in his lab with some form of liquid- which he pours into the bath Bill can’t reach.
The just over an hour and a half film is extremely well & cleverly plotted- been wonderful tense & engaging throughout, as it seems sure that Clive will manage to carry out the perfect murder. Newton is wonderful as the (largely) cool, calm, and calculated psychiatrist. Brown as his captive moves from being politely puzzled, mocking & frustrated, to being desperate & scared. Gray works well as the cheating wife- who with time decides to uncover what happened to her lover. Other worthy mentions/ key players are Naunton Wayne as the ponderous/pipe-smoking Supt. Finsbury.
Obsession is a most rewarding thriller- the only thing that slightly let it down to me is the whole things resolve, which felt somewhat rushed and a bit too cheesy – but I guess you have to take in the 1940s date the film was released- and most films of this period finished in this way.
This Blu-Ray features a nice clean & crisp 4k- giving great clarity to the black and white print. The audial element of the print is good too, though at points the score felt a little overtly loud at points. But all in all a great new scan.
On the extras side, we get a good selection of things. On the new side, we have a commentary track from film historians/ academics Thirza Wakefield and Melanie Williams- this took a little time to warm up, feeling initially a little clunky/ unfocused- but as it goes on they make some interesting observations/ worthy points. They begin by touching on how this film is part of a cycle of morbid & gritty noir/ thrillers of the time. Comment on the themes of time & timekeeping in the film, and the key use of language/ dialogue to the film's unfold/ resolve. They touch on the elements of secrecy in the film, and point out character/ lead actors – giving more in-depth bios to some. We get brief snippets of reviews from the time, and audio elements relating to both the husband & the lover. They comment on the film's set dressing, and talk about the circulation of locations in the film. Touch on the lead actors chilling performance, and the use of a bomb site in the film. Later on, they comment on the use of camera work & mirroring. The meaning of white carnations, and more.
The other new thing here is A Man About a Film ( 34.16) which finds academic and author Richard Dyer discussing the film. He moves from talking about the film's meeting of the British & the American elements/ crew/cast. He discusses Alec Coppel- who wrote the original story/script for the film, touching on other notable pictures he was connected with. He talks about the film's mix of the comic & the serious, and the different ending in the book. He talks about the film's key cast, and the film's director. Well worth a look.
On the archive side, we have The John Player Lecture with Edward Dmytryk (74 mins) a 1972 audio recording of the prolific director in conversation with author and critic John Baxter, recorded at London’s National Film Theatre. The BEHP Interview with Gordon K McCallum (99 mins) a 1988 audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring Obsession’s sound recordist in conversation with Alan Lawson. And an Image gallery: featuring promotional and publicity materials.
The finished release comes with a thirty-six-page booklet with a new essay by Fintan McDonagh, archival articles on the making of Obsession featuring interviews with Dmytryk and actor Naunton Wayne, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.
It’s wonderful to see Powerhouse reissuing this British noir, as it is a most compelling and clever thriller. This new disc takes in a splendid 4k scan, and a worthy selection of extras too. Another great release from the label.