Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Obsession Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 8, 2025

Edward Dmytryk's "Obsession" a.k.a. "The Hidden Room" (1949) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films. The supplemental features on the release include archival audio conversation between Edward Dmytryk and critic John Baxter; new program with critic Richard Dyer; new audio commentary by critics Thirza Wakefield and Melanie Williams; vintage promotional materials; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

All murderers are amateurs. Nobody makes a profession out of murder. The only professionals in the game are those who try to catch the murderers. This rather peculiar revelation emerges in the second half of Edward Dmytryk’s film Obsession. However, from start to finish, Obsession works hard to prove that every bit of it is accurate. It is what makes it an enormously entertaining film.

In Obsession, the main protagonist is Dr. Clive Riordan (Robert Newton), a man with an impressive IQ, who has discovered that his younger and stunningly beautiful wife, Storm (Sally Gray), has a lover. The lucky guy that has replaced him is Bill Kronin (Phil Brown), an American, who, like his cheating wife, has an inferior IQ, but is confident his charm and eloquence are enough to outmaneuver him. To expose the players’ intellectual inferiority and punish them for permanently draining his life of the happiness that has made it worth living, Riordan has cooked up a brilliant plan, beginning with their public humiliation and ending with a perfect murder. At the right moment, fully in control of his emotions, Riordan begins executing it.

The plan has three phases. In the first, as expected by Riordan, his cheating wife and her lover take his bait and, while claiming to be innocent, repeatedly compromise themselves. After the kabuki performance ends and the two admit defeat, Riordan flawlessly welcomes them into the second phase of his plan, where the two are promptly separated. The American disappears without a trace, the clueless cheating wife announces that her lover is sending her letters that can destroy her husband, and Riordan begins preparing for the grand finale where the fireworks go off and he emerges an undisputed winner. In the third phase, the American, whom Riordan has secretly taken hostage and chained in the basement of an abandoned building near his home, is told that he is indeed going to disappear -- this time permanently. Riordan will put a bullet in his head, dismember him, and then use a special acid-based concoction to evaporate his flesh and bones. The American’s permanent disappearance will be the culmination of a flawless lesson, revenge, and murder, each brilliantly choreographed by Riordan. But while preparing the right amount of the acid-based concoction in his lab, Riordan is visited by the greatest mind in Scotland Yard, Superintendent Finsbury (Naunton Wayne), who announces that he has been asked to help his cheating wife locate her favorite pup, Monty. As a result, for the first time, Riordan begins improvising.

Edward Dmytryk’s film Obsession shares a lot of the wit and darkness of another, much bigger and better film that was released a few months before it, Robert Hamer’s Kind Hearts and Coronets. However, instead of delicious dark humor, Obsession utilizes soulless pragmatism to defend the accuracy of its message about murderers and murder.

It is because Riordan, while also seeking revenge, is a different type of murderer. He is a special pragmatist who prepares to take the American’s life like a researcher would work to get his desired result. For Riordan, witnessing the American’s misery, as well as the ongoing humiliation of his cheating wife, is just a perk, not the driving factor behind his actions. The catalyst of Riordan’s satisfaction is the bullet-proof efficacy of his plan, which he is convinced reflects his brilliance.

But in less than fifteen minutes Finsbury forces Riordan to consider a different possibility, which is that murder is a game with constantly evolving rules and outcomes, and as such, one whose progression cannot be accurately predicted by soulless pragmatism. Riordan’s gradual realization that Finsbury’s grasp of it is more accurate not only resets the balance of power but also places a giant question mark next to his supposedly impressive IQ.

Obsession is not an unfunny film. However, it takes some time to figure out that just like Riordan basks in his intellectual superiority, Obsession does the same while actively toying with its star and, rather brilliantly, with its audience.

The appropriately tense soundtrack was created by the great Italian maestro Nino Rota, who some years later would score Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece The Godfather.

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.37:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Obsession arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Indicator/Powerhouse Films.

Exclusively restored in 4K, the film looks lovely in high-definition. There are a few areas with small blemishes and density fluctuations, but delineation, clarity, and depth are consistently very pleasing. There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. The grayscale is very convincing. Blacks appear lush but never produce crushing, while the grays and whites are very nicely balanced. All three are very healthy, too. Image stability is very good. Also, I projected the film and thought that the combination of fine density levels and good fluidity gave the visuals a very nice cinematic quality. All in all, this release offers a very fine organic presentation of a film that has never looked this good before. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

All dialog is clear and easy to follow. There are no stability issues. In different areas of the film, Nino Rota's soundtrack is quite active too, though all dynamic contrasts are small and conveying typical for post-war films weaknesses. Early in the film, mild background hiss is often easy to notice. It is never distracting, but if you turn up the volume of your system enough, I think that it will be impossible not to acknowledge its presence.

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Richard Dyer: A Man About a Film - in this new program, critic Richard Dyer discusses the stylistic identity of Obsession and specifically its "Britishness", as well as its story, characters, and dilemmas they face. Australian writer Alec Coppel and his novel, which inspired Obsession are addressed, too. In English, not subtitled. (35 min).

• The John Player Lecture with Edward Dmytryk - presented here is an audio conversation between Edward Dmytryk and critic John Baxter, conducted at the National Film Theatre in London on April 16, 1972. In English, not subtitled. (74 min).

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Thirza Wakefield and Melanie Williams.

• The BEHP Interview with Gordon K. McCallum - presented here is an audio conversation between sound recordist Gordon K. McCallum and critic Alan Lawson. The conversation was recorded on October 11, 1988. In English, not subtitled. (99 min).

• Image Gallery - presented here is a collection of original promotional materials for Obsession.

• Commentary - an exclusive booklet with a new essay by Fintan McDonagh, archival articles on Edward Dmytryk's period in Britain and the making of Obsession, an archival interview with actor Naunton Wayne, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and technical credits.

Obsession Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Are all murderers amateurs? Obsession offers a short answer that cannot be misinterpreted. However, the more intriguing revelation emerging from it is that murder is a game with constantly evolving rules and outcomes, and as such, one whose progression cannot be flawlessly managed. Is this true? Some of the all-time greatest murderers were great improvisors, but some were not. The smartest ones, I think, figured out that the game of murder is too risky, so instead of playing it, they reffed it, leaving other people to do the risky 'work' on their behalf. In Obsession, a married man with an impressive IQ tests the game, convinced that he has a perfect plan to get a perfect result, but a smarter stranger forces him to begin improvising. Indicator/Powerhouse Films' release introduces a wonderful new 4K restoration of Obsession, which is available on an identical release on the other side of the Atlantic as well. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.