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Andrzej Zulawski's Possession
MONDO VISION Special Edition Blu-ray, Special Edition
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Product Description
DEEP-CUTTING CINEMA THAT REACHES THE SOUL
A spiral staircase movie, a never-ending metaphysical game of cat-and-mouse, a moral aspiration to the Heavens, a “spotlight” on God, a scornful detective movie, a horror movie and frightful, high-octane baroque work – Possession is all of that at once. It is a film that provokes, but it provokes intelligence above all – not just the merry continuation of our little social mechanisms.
Possession is a visionary, scathing attack on what could be called an “alien” from within. It is a movie that deliberately goes against the new “dominant ideology”, and takes huge risks. This deep-cutting, biological cinema, delves into the guts to reach the soul. Through its fire, it revives something that a lot of contemporary movies have lost: emotion, and the prospect of the audience reacting, perhaps even throwing up (figuratively?) in front of a screen displaying their own fantasies.
AWARDS:
Cannes Film Festival (1981)
- Winner Best Actress, Isabelle Adjani
- Nominee Palme D'or
Cesar Awards, France (1982)
- Winner Best Actress, Isabelle Adjani
Sao Paulo International Film Festival (1981)
- Winner Critics Award
Fantasporto International Film Festival (1983)
- Winner Audience Jury Award - Special Mention
- Winner Best Actress, Isabelle Adjani
- Nominee Best Film
BLU-RAY DISC CONTENTS:
MONDO VISION presents the first ever North American Blu-ray release of Andrzej Zulawski's POSSESSION (1981) in an all new 2K digital transfer supervised and approved by the director. UNCUT & Fully Uncensored, this edition also marks the first ever release of the film in North America in its original Director's Cut.* The film is presented in the original aspect ratio of 1.66:1 along with an uncompressed mono audio soundtrack. This Dual Layer disc has been transferred and encoded using a high-frequency process which preserves as much of the detail and texture from the original film as is possible on the Blu-ray format.
DISC 1 : THE FEATURE FILM
- Digitally Restored 1080p HD Transfer Approved by Director Andrzej Zulawski [124min]
- The Other Side of The Wall: The Making of POSSESSION [52min]
- Audio Commentary with Director Andrzej Zulawski [124min]
- Video Interview with Director Andrzej Zulawski [36min]
- Video Interview with Translator Eric Veaux [22min]
- Theatrical Trailer [3min]
- More from Mondo Vision [11min] [collection of 4 trailers from Andrzej Zulawski films]
2) L'important C'est Da'imer
3) La'mour Braque
4) Szamanka
PLUS :
- 24pg Booklet - Featuring an Essay by Daniel Bird
This edition of POSSESSION features a fully illustrated matte laminated 6pp foldout Digipak with heavy-duty 400gsm Hardcover Slipcase with wrap-around Belt and a pull-out ribbon. It comes with a shipping weight of 1 pound (0.45kg) and the following dimensions:
In Inches: 7.6" (H) x 5.6" (W) x 0.7" (D)
In Millimeters: 194 (H) x 143 (W) x 18 (D)
H= Height W= Width D=Depth
Technical Details:
Run Time: 2 Hr. 4 Mins.
Audio Tracks:
1. Original English Mono [dts-HD Master Audio]
2. Audio Commentary
3. Unauthorized Alternate Audio *
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish (optional, in White or Yellow)
Image Format: 1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio
Disc Type: Dual Layer BD-50
UPC: 091037398659
Catalog#: MVSE005
* This audio track features alternative music. It is not the director's approved version, and is included for completeness. Most notable is the addition of the piano theme during the subway miscarriage scene, and the removal of music during a pivotal scene. A handful of releases, including POSSESSION’s first U.S. DVD release (ironically billed as the “Director’s Cut”) were issued only with this audio track. This additional music although composed by Andrzej Korzynski was never used by the director in the final cut of the film. It is strongly recommended to watch the film with the original director's approved audio.
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.66:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : NR (Not Rated)
- Package Dimensions : 7.1 x 5.42 x 0.58 inches; 2.93 ounces
- Director : Andrzej Zulawski
- Media Format : Blu-ray
- Run time : 2 hours and 4 minutes
- Release date : June 15, 2014
- Actors : Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neil, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer
- Studio : Mondo Vision
- ASIN : B00RBPYA9O
- Number of discs : 1
- Best Sellers Rank: #32,564 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,489 in Horror (Movies & TV)
- Customer Reviews:
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Top reviews from the United States
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The Umbrella 4K UHD edition looked great and had lots of interesting extras.
This may be the best, or at least the most unusual, film i've ever seen
The film, of course is amazing. I can finally toss my VHS tape.
Picture/audio/extras exceeded all expectations. And the packaging? Wow, I've never owned a movie in such a beautiful case. Fantastic.
Okay, there's an essay by a Daniel Bird. It reads like an old National Lampoon parody of a guy that stupid people find smart. Or is English not his first language? Bad translation from foreign text? Is he unaware that Great Directors (Kubrick, Polanski, Hitchcock,Philip Kaufman, Paul Schrader, and DePalma come to mind) have made Horror movies?
Samples:
"Traditional theology holds that God is both in and transcends the visible world."
"The identification of an adulteress chimes with a trend in Contemporary French philosophy [...]"
And other pearly gobs of wisdom.
It goes on like this. Ugh, what's with the college freshman gibberish?
This guy over-uses quotations (all cliches) big time. Whether to cite another's work or ironically (i.e., "fellow travelers" and "sacred and profane.")
Who knows, maybe this fella uses quotes with all his dreary cliches. Man, if I read this dreck whilst being unfamiliar with this movie... I'd stay away.
For the life of me, I don't know why the liner notes bugged me so much - they're actually kinda funny...
If only "someone" with that "colloquial touch" could've "penned" a "readable" yet "informative." A "stylist" or even a "Fan" capable of "holding a pen."
I mean, not a peep about French Sex Bomb, Isabelle Adjani? Possibly the most astonishing beauty to appear in the movies? He also might've mentioned that this is Sam Neill's finest performance - I guess he thinks this sorta thing is beneath him.
I need a Xanax, I guess... can't let the film nerds get you down. Refer to the late Rick Sullivan, writing in The Gore Gazette (mid-80s) for a more appropriate review.
My take, for what it's worth...
Andrzej Zulawski's 1981 masterpiece opens with the messy separation of a middle-class couple (Sam Neill, Isabelle Adjani), then goes on to imagine various catastrophic breakdowns—of interpersonal relationships, social order, and ultimately narrative logic itself. The film can be hilarious one moment and terrifying the next, and Zulawski's roving camera only heightens the sense of unpredictability. Few movies convey so viscerally what it's like to go mad: when this takes an unexpected turn into supernatural horror, the development feels inevitable, as though the characters had been bracing themselves for it all along. Adjani won the best actress prize at Cannes for her dual performance (as an unfaithful wife and her angelic doppelganger), but the whole cast is astonishing, exorcising painful feelings with an intensity that rivals that of the filmmaking. Performed in English and shot in Berlin by an international crew, this also conveys a sense of displacement that's always been crucial to Zulawski's work. A true masterpiece - horror or otherwise.
The supplemental extras are also phenomenal. I haven't watched it will the full-length commentary yet, but the interviews with Zulawsk greatly expand my understanding of the film. There are many extras that rival any Criterion or Arrow special edition.
While not a perfect film, I appreciated it so much more when I watched it this time. It's hard to classify, but it was probably a mistake to release it as a horror film, though you could draw some parallels to something like Kubrick's version of The Shining. The performances of the lead actors are phenomenal. While never happy, their descent into madness is palpable.
This is an underappreciated film (even by me), that finally received its due. At $40 it's not inexpensive, but I definitely feel it was worth it.
Top reviews from other countries
Als Mark (Sam Neill) nach einer Geschäftsreise zu seiner Frau Anna (Isabelle Adjani) und seinem Sohn Bob (Michael Hogben) nach West-Berlin zurückkehrt, merkt er schnell, dass etwas nicht stimmt. Anna gesteht ihre außereheliche Affäre. Er wirft sie hinaus und macht sich auf die Suche nach Heinrich (Heinz Bennent), ihrem angeblichen Geliebten. Doch auch Heinrich hat Veränderungen an Anna bemerkt – sie sei schon lange nicht mehr bei ihm gewesen. Daraufhin beauftragt Mark einen Detektiv, um den neuen Liebhaber zu finden. Bald macht er eine monströse Entdeckung...
In der ersten Hälfte des Films gibt es keine Zeit für eine Atempause. Unaufhörlich dreht sich die Kamera um die beiden Protagonisten. Eine Gewitterwolke aus Wahnsinn, Eifersucht und Depression entlädt sich in aller Heftigkeit. Anna scheint wie auf Drogen, kann ohne ihren neuen Liebhaber nicht mehr leben. Mark ist rasend vor Wut, will die Tatsache nicht wahrhaben, dass Anna ihn für einen anderen verlassen hat. Es wird geflucht, gebrüllt und geschlagen. Ein elektrisches Brotmesser wird sogar zur Selbstverstümmelung genutzt. Es herrscht ständige Unruhe. Ein Gefühl der Ohnmacht macht sich breit.
Anna und Mark werden durch ein fast menschenleeres Berlin der 80er-Jahre gehetzt. Die kargen, verrotteten Bauten, die verwahrlosten Altbauwohnungen mit zerrissenen Tapeten – alles Anzeichen darauf, dass auch ihre Gefühle füreinander emotional erkaltet sind. Schließlich endet der Sturm in einer quälend langen Sequenz, in der Anna in einer Unterführung wie von einem Dämon besessen scheint. Dann ist erstmal Ruhe, zumindest kurzzeitig.
Die Phasen der Erkenntnis über das Ende der Beziehung von Anna und Mark sind noch einigermaßen nachzuvollziehen. Doch wenn zu Beginn noch grob ein narrativer Faden zu entdecken ist, wird die zweite Hälfte zunehmend abstrus, aber faszinierend zugleich. Bobs Lehrerin entpuppt sich bis auf die grünen Augen als Doppelgängerin von Anna – und dann wäre da noch der neue Mann in ihrem Leben, über den man nicht zu viel verraten sollte. Nur so viel: Neben Adjanis „Besessenheitsszene“ wird der Zuschauer auch eine außergewöhnliche Liebesszene nicht mehr aus dem Kopf bekommen.
Isabell Adjani und Sam Neill gehen mit ihren Darstellungen wahrlich an die Grenzen des Zumutbaren. Die damals 26-jährige Französin sagte in einem Interview, sie habe zwei Jahre gebraucht, um sich von der Rolle zu erholen.
Ingesamt ist „Possession“ eine bizarre Mischung aus Psychodrama und Arthaus-Kino in unterkühlten Bilder, angefüllt mit vielen Allegorien und manischen Exzessen, nicht leicht zu verstehen, aber auf seine Weise durchweg faszinierend.
Es ist tatsächlich so, wie es auf dem Cover steht: Man kann ihn nicht beschreiben. Man muss ihn erleben...
Well this wasn't made by Roeg but the same critical logic can be applied...it's not perfect- it's pretentious, it's ridiculous,(over)acted in no set styles, it has 'no logic',it's ugly,it's hysterical,it doesn't belong in any genre but I love this film , an Allegorical story about the struggle of a couple collapsing literally on the edge(the Berlin Wall during the 'cold war'),of everything & where all they & we knew could swiftly change while 'doubles' & a monstrous created entity are 'life improvements' . I won't try to convince you any further regarding the merits of this ,I CAN understand why some don't & wont like this ,but....the director Andrej Zulawski doesn't care what i or you think of it.
If you don't know anything about this film...It had the rare 'honour' of being on the D.P.P banned list (aka a 'video nasty'), winning a bafta award & was also being nominated at the Cannes film festival-with lead actress Isabelle Adjani winning 'best actress'.
After its eventual 'legal release' & various edits & minimal visibility It had a small but appreciative audience ,happy with a VHS copy & even happier with having it on a (film makers approved uncut )DVD release ...
With the bluray release Second Sight have done a great job with the film & its selection of extras...
...That are-a 51min 'making of' that covers much ground & a selection of those attached to the project at various times & is very entertaining..(this also has varied footage including scenes from the directors 'Devil'& '3rd part of the night')
A 36min interview with the director who gives his side of being 'out of favour' with his Polish controllers (who pulled the plug on his 'Silver Globe' film)& blacklisted him, resulting in him looking to work abroad- These 2 features are on 2nd sights DVD release.
The Bluray 'special features' are 'Repossesed' -about the US cut(& cut it was -40mins worth!),trying to make it look like some alien/Amityville/Exorcist hybrid, hoping to sell it to exploitation/B Movie/2nd run cinemas?(12mins).
A 19min feature with composer A.Korzynski, whose score is vital to the atmosphere of the film . 'Divided City' a then & now look at the 'real life' Berlin locations(7mins)..
'Our friend in the West'(6mins) is a short interview with Christian Ferry, the very helpful French producer who gave Zulawski a chance to direct abroad
'Basha'- a well deserved feature dedicated to Barbara Baranowska,celebrated poster designer & creater of the striking image used on its poster & the discs cover(6)mins..+ A trailer..
& 2 commentaries : one with co-writer Fredric Tuten,the other with Zulawski (both 'moderated' by a Daniel Bird)..Commentaries with directors or those involved with a film in question are often dull & often without add little -these are NOT..being full of insights & stories that are sometimes barely believable, funny, ridiculous but surprisingly seemingly mostly objective. Tutens is more relaxed & 'considered' while Zulawski is not interested in putting on a 'promotional stance' or concerned with who he may offend when stating what he does or doesn't like- he is generous with his compliments to many that worked on the different levels of this film though..
The film in 1:66-1 ratio is in print quality & colour range very good('1080p 23.98fps'). The sound 'original mono' is fine. 124mins.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2019
Well this wasn't made by Roeg but the same critical logic can be applied...it's not perfect- it's pretentious, it's ridiculous,(over)acted in no set styles, it has 'no logic',it's ugly,it's hysterical,it doesn't belong in any genre but I love this film , an Allegorical story about the struggle of a couple collapsing literally on the edge(the Berlin Wall during the 'cold war'),of everything & where all they & we knew could swiftly change while 'doubles' & a monstrous created entity are 'life improvements' . I won't try to convince you any further regarding the merits of this ,I CAN understand why some don't & wont like this ,but....the director Andrej Zulawski doesn't care what i or you think of it.
If you don't know anything about this film...It had the rare 'honour' of being on the D.P.P banned list (aka a 'video nasty'), winning a bafta award & was also being nominated at the Cannes film festival-with lead actress Isabelle Adjani winning 'best actress'.
After its eventual 'legal release' & various edits & minimal visibility It had a small but appreciative audience ,happy with a VHS copy & even happier with having it on a (film makers approved uncut )DVD release ...
With the bluray release Second Sight have done a great job with the film & its selection of extras...
...That are-a 51min 'making of' that covers much ground & a selection of those attached to the project at various times & is very entertaining..(this also has varied footage including scenes from the directors 'Devil'& '3rd part of the night')
A 36min interview with the director who gives his side of being 'out of favour' with his Polish controllers (who pulled the plug on his 'Silver Globe' film)& blacklisted him, resulting in him looking to work abroad- These 2 features are on 2nd sights DVD release.
The Bluray 'special features' are 'Repossesed' -about the US cut(& cut it was -40mins worth!),trying to make it look like some alien/Amityville/Exorcist hybrid, hoping to sell it to exploitation/B Movie/2nd run cinemas?(12mins).
A 19min feature with composer A.Korzynski, whose score is vital to the atmosphere of the film . 'Divided City' a then & now look at the 'real life' Berlin locations(7mins)..
'Our friend in the West'(6mins) is a short interview with Christian Ferry, the very helpful French producer who gave Zulawski a chance to direct abroad
'Basha'- a well deserved feature dedicated to Barbara Baranowska,celebrated poster designer & creater of the striking image used on its poster & the discs cover(6)mins..+ A trailer..
& 2 commentaries : one with co-writer Fredric Tuten,the other with Zulawski (both 'moderated' by a Daniel Bird)..Commentaries with directors or those involved with a film in question are often dull & often without add little -these are NOT..being full of insights & stories that are sometimes barely believable, funny, ridiculous but surprisingly seemingly mostly objective. Tutens is more relaxed & 'considered' while Zulawski is not interested in putting on a 'promotional stance' or concerned with who he may offend when stating what he does or doesn't like- he is generous with his compliments to many that worked on the different levels of this film though..
The film in 1:66-1 ratio is in print quality & colour range very good('1080p 23.98fps'). The sound 'original mono' is fine. 124mins.