Possession (1981)

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been opened! It's just patently ridiculous, an insult to both folklore and religion in one fell swoop. having been deeply influenced by the Friedkin film). A sweet little suburban girl gets taken over by demonic spirits and Audio Commentary - co-producer Frederic Tuten recalls his work with director Andrzej Zulawski on Possession and offers his interpretation of the film's complex message. (The Polish director views Possession as an autobiographical film, but Mr. Tuten's take on it is rather different). There is plenty of interesting information about the trips that were made to West Berlin, where the film was shot, Isabelle Adjani's performance and her image in Europe after the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival, etc. Mr. Tuten also shares some very interesting information about a project with Nastassja Kinski that never materialized, etc. Also contributing to this commentary is biographer Dan Bird. In English, not subtitled. A difficult film to encapsulate in trailer form and I'm not sure this rather scattershot one nails it. It also shows way too much of the creature. summary

The film was first restored a few years ago by Zulawski himself but the master had colorometry problems. Problems fixed, for the majority, on previous BLURAY releases abroad. A commentary-free look at how much or how little the Berlin locations used in the film have changed in the 31 years since the film was made. spirit"? But that's the general set up of The Possession. Oh, yes, lest I forget, we have actual human interest No one has claimed with certainty that Second Sight was delivered the finished SDR-graded 4K master for Possession, in which case the latitude for corrections would indeed be limited. Why exclude the possibility they got a log scale master on top of which they could make sensible grading choices? I would assume that the 4K scan and most restoration work were performed with the widest possible latitude (and then grading being the last step) and as such, these materials should be readily available. I know there's been controversy with this film in the past. Weren't there two distinctly different HD grades supervised and/or approved by the director or am I misremembering?her money that Bernie Madoff made off with), as well as their two emotionally roiled daughters who are not responding The film is perhaps most famous for a scene of Isabelle Adjani suffering a violently-animated miscarriage in a subway, which many continue to take out of context, treating it as humorous instead of horrifying. However, it plays a part in a larger story about the disintegration of two people, not just from each other, but from themselves as well. Amazing cinematography, incredible monster effects by Carlo Rambaldi, and a go-for-the-throat acting and story approach make Possession one of the most amazing pieces of filmmaking ever mounted. Whether you like the film or not, you won’t soon forget it. Director Andrzej Zulawski, most ably prompted by Daniel Bird, comments in impeccable English on all aspects of the film, including how the project developed, his specific reasons for shooting in Berlin, casting the lead roles, the use of specific colours, the doppelgänger motif, working with the crew, the autobiographical elements, and a whole lot more. It's a little unsettling to discover that the man his own partner left him for had the same name as his on-screen equivalent and that Mark's later assault on him was driven primarily by Zulawski's hatred of the man. Specific scenes are explored in detail and there's even the occasional bit of lively verbal sparring between the two when Zulawski disagrees with a point Bird is making. Surprisingly, perhaps, Bird doesn't challenge Zulawski when he claims that the Steadicam wasn't yet invented when they shot the film, given it's prominent use three years earlier in John Carpenter's seminal Halloween. Perhaps my favourite Zulawski quote of all here comes late in the commentary when he complains that "most of the good films have disappeared because they don't want to bite any more." Absolutely. A first-rate extra. follow along in the chanted liturgy on High Holy Days, or stumbling through various Biblical passages to see what they

As is stated more than once in the extra features, Possession is a film you either love or hate, and if you loathe it then too bad because I adore every minute of the bold bugger. Gorgeously directed and featuring two genuinely extraordinary central performances, it's a unique and almost unclassifiable film, part relationship drama, part horror, part political allegory, and a good deal more. Second Sight has done the film proud with this Blu-ray, with a solid transfer of the director's cut of the film supported by an excellent selection of top quality special features. Highly recommended. Umbrella’s release of Possession isn’t the final word on the film, but it certainly offers plenty of great bonus material, as well as a fine presentation. Both fans and newcomers looking for a cheaper alternative to Mondo Vision’s now fairly-pricey Blu-ray releases should be more than happy with this. really available to me, or frankly the desire to attend regular services, I turned instead to folklore and some of the really That said, director Ole Bornedal has a fine, if too precious, visual sense. Bornedal repeatedly uses an aerial

freely admits in his commentary is supposed to give the viewer the idea that "someone—or something—is watching us", Second Sight - We are making a new restoration based on directors grading notes and the camera operator's approval the same thing, rather ineptly it must be stated, with Orthodox Judaism (I'm assuming the Jews on display here are