Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.5

Obsessions Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 30, 2017

Pim de la Parra's "Obsessions" (1969) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Cult Epics. The supplemental features on the disc include an original Dutch trailer for the film; original promotional materials; new video interview with director Pim de la Parra; new video interview with actor and producer Dieter Geissler; printed interview with Martin Scorsese; and more. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

What are you doing there?

This small but very atmospheric film directed by Dutch helmer Pim de la Parra probably would have been extremely difficult to see outside of the Netherlands and Germany had it not been for the fact that in the late 1960s Martin Scorsese put the final touches on its English-language script. Interestingly enough, around the same time and thanks to Francois Truffaut's efforts, Parra was also able to secure the rights to some previously composed music from Bernard Hermann, which also helped the film get better exposure in foreign markets.

In a small but chic apartment somewhere in Amsterdam, medical student Nils Janssen (producer Dieter Geissler) spends the majority of his time secretly observing his neighbor through a tiny hole on the wall in his bedroom. Initially he does it because he is fascinated by the sounds that are frequently coming from the other side of the wall, but when he eventually sees his neighbor making love to a beautiful young girl and then abandoning her unresponsive body he decides to break into his apartment and find out if he has witnessed a cold-blooded murder.

Some time before Nils enters the apartment his beautiful fiancée Marina (Alexandra Stewart, Day for Night, Emmanuelle 3), who works for a prestigious magazine, reveals to him that she has started investigating a complicated murder case. There are multiple leads, but just like Nils she chooses to be an observer and wait for the right time to come before she makes a decisive move. Marina occasionally mentions the murder case to Nils and assumes that his sudden interest in his neighbor’s love life is just too silly to address, but when it evolves into a very unhealthy obsession that threatens to collapse their relationship she becomes seriously concerned. Much to her surprise, however, she also finds it impossible to completely ignore the strange neighbor and the even stranger noises penetrating the thin wall separating his and her lover’s bedrooms.

There are two major shifts in the narrative that make it painfully obvious that Parra simply did not have a crystal clear idea what type of identity his film should have had -- and yet, strangely enough, this is the main reason why the end result does not disappoint. To be perfectly clear, one half of the film rehashes some of the more interesting ideas and possibilities that Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom works with, but then Parra enters a territory that various European genre films from the 1960s and 1970s explored. For example, Lucio Fulci’s One on Top of the Other a.k.a. Perversion Story, which was completed in the same year Obsessions was, basically undergoes the same transformation -- it starts as a crime thriller then becomes a psychedelic love story and eventually wraps up with a short but pretty interesting social analysis -- but with a much clearer direction in mind. In the second half of this film, Parra does some interesting experimenting but unlike Fulci has a difficult time giving the new material a cohesive structure. So for a while it appears that there is a much bigger puzzle that is going to be solved at the end, but the big revelation never materializes.

As it is often the case with these types of low-budget films, however, there is plenty of nice atmosphere and very beautiful actresses that are doing their best to impress.

Obsessions Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Pim de la Parra's Obsessions arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Cult Epics.

The film was remastered fairly recently and the overwhelming majority of it looks very healthy. With a few minor exceptions where some fluctuations emerge, possibly because the quality of the element that was used to prepare the master was not optimal, density is indeed very pleasing. Overall image stability is also very good. However, the entire film has a rather awkward color scheme that leads me to believe that either the 35mm element that was accessed during the remastering process had some native issues that were too expensive to fully address (quite likely) or there was simply no reference work done to ensure that film looks as it should. Either way, while there are some very nice organic qualities, the color scheme is unusual to say the least. (I actually would not be surprised if the master was struck from a surviving 35mm print, because the dynamic range of the new transfer reveals the type of limitations that can be retained if a print is scanned, rather than an interpositive or the OCN). Ultimately, there is more to like here than to dislike, but there is no doubt that ideally the film could look better in high-definition. (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).

Obsessions Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are not provided for the main feature.

The audio was almost certainly remastered because there are no distracting imperfections to report. The film's original sound design is very modest, so even though ideally there should have been a lossless track, I would say that the current lossy track actually serves the film exceptionally well. I also wish to mention that there are some sporadic unevenness, but it is easy to tell that some overdubbing was done and the unevenness is part of the original audio mix.

Obsessions Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Introduction by Pim de la Parra - newly filmed video introduction. In English, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080p).

• Introduction by Dieter Geissler - newly filmed video introduction. In German, with imposed English subtitles. (1 min, 1080p).

• Trailer - original Dutch theatrical trailer for Obsessions. In Dutch, with printed English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Dieter Geissler - in this new video interview, producer and actor Dieter Geissler recalls how he entered the film business, the shooting of Klaus Lemke's cult film 48 Hours to Acapulco a.k.a. 48 Stunden bis Acapulco (winner of Bambi Award for Best German film in 1967) which initiated his career as an actor and producer, his involvement with Obsessions, his initial impressions of the script for the film and Martin Scorsese's contribution, the film's structure, its success in Europe, the emergence of Doeter Geissler - Filmproducktion in 1968, etc. In German, with imposed English subtitles. (23 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Pim de la Parra - in this brand new video interview, director Pim de la Parra discusses in great detail the production history of Obsessions, his decision to shoot the film in English, his work with Martin Scorsese, how Bernard Herrmann allowed him to use some previously composed music in his film, the casing of Alexandra Stewart, etc. In English, not subtitled. (21 min, 1080p).

• Scorpio Films - a short but very informative video piece about the legendary Dutch production company and the success of Obsessions. With clips from interviews with actress Sylvia Kristel (Emmanuelle), producer Frans Rasker, director Pim de la Parra, cameraman Frans Bromet, and director Paul Verhoeven (Showgirls), amongst others. In Dutch and German, with imposed English subtitles. (4 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Martin Scorsese - presented here is an interview with director Martin Scorsese which was conducted by Bor Beekman for Volkskrant on February 12, 2017. The American director recalls his first trip to Amsterdam in the late 1960s and work with Pim de la Parra on Obsessions. The interview is presented in text-format.

• Original Script Notes by Martin Scorsese - original reprinted hand-written comments by Martin Scorsese.

• Photo Gallery - original arhcival promotional materials for Obsessions. With music. (3 min, 1080p).

Obsessions Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Dutch producer and director Pim de la Parra was clearly inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's work when he decided to shoot Obsessions in the late 1960s, though I think that his film actually has a lot more in common with the various psychedelic erotic thrillers that began emerging in Italy and France around the same time. It is a bit chaotic at times, but it has plenty of that really great period atmosphere that makes these types of films attractive. Cult Epics' new release of Obsessions is sourced from a recent remaster and has a very good selection of new and archival supplemental features that focus on the film's production history and the state of the Dutch film industry before and after its theatrical premiere. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.