Obsession (Limited Edition)

Great thriller based on jealousy and murder - Robert newton gives a characteristically over-the-top performance, and it's brilliant!

This is a film that had long been on my “wanted” list, having stuck in my memory after seeing it on Channel 4, during its early days when vintage movies were frequently scheduled.When Clive Riordan (Robert Newton) finds out about his wife Storm’s (Sally Gray) latest affair, he plots the perfect murder by kidnapping her lover and holding him imprisoned in a derelict cellar before doing away with him in an acid bath. A creepy tale made memorable by creepy surroundings and fine performances from a top rate cast headed up by Newton (probably best known, these days, for setting the benchmark for pirates in 1950’s “Treasure Island”) that also includes Naunton Wayne as a Scotland Yard detective who enters the scene on the trail of a missing dog!Happily “Obsession” lives up to expectations and remains a riveting, edge-of-seat 96 minutes of British cinema given extra value with a crisp restoration for this limited edition BluRay release alongside several special features and an informative 36 page booklet. A forgotten gem that deserves attention from contemporary viewers.

Review of Powerhouse Films' Obsession, 2024 Blu-ray Disc.I'm usually delighted with Powerhouse's Blu-ray's as they're al least the equal and often better than similar vintage material from Network, StudioCanal, Arrow Films etc. But the image quality of this film is inconsistent and occasionally very rough. Put simply, it's not good enough to sell a 75 year old film and just go with the scan, probably 2k and hope for the best. Not when it's £17 either. This should have been a 4k scan with work done to stabilise the image and remove all the dirt and noise - and there's a lot. When the image looks good it's really good, so the patches that are bad were really crying out for a clean up. Yes, this is expensive but I'd gladly pay a few more quid for a pristine film you'll enjoy more than once. Perhaps Powerhouse consider the UK market too small, as they are putting out 4K UHD discs for the US (which also play on UK players anyway). Same with StudioCanal, who HAVE gone to the trouble of restored 4K scans but who then bung it onto a straightforward Blu-ray for the UK market.

My rating is not for the film: indisputably five stars.I originally only gave three stars due to my perception of the quality of the Fabulous Films/Fremantle Media production.First, I thought that the film was missing some of its running time. The DVD runs for 93 minutes and this matches the running time on radiotimes.com. However imdb.com gives a running time of 96 minutes, allmovie.com gives a running time of 98 minutes.When I lived in Vienna nearly ten years ago I watched the film via the web. When I first watched the DVD I believed that there was a missing scene where Bill was trying to get Monty to pull the plug out of the acid bath. In my memory it was a tense little scene; the dog failed, and Bill was overwrought, but it set up the later moment when before his losing consciousness Bill tells Doctor Riordan to check the contents of the acid bath.Having watched the DVD a second time, I am of the opinion that I misremembered the "missing" scene. I realise now that such a scene is not possible because Bill cannot see into the room with the acid bath. There was no way that he could have observed Monty try and fail to pull the plug. Therefore I must have confused this phantom scene with the actual scene in the film where Monty tries to pull the plug from Bill's bath and falls into the water.Still, I cannot account for the running time discrepancies, but I have nevertheless upped my rating to four stars.Second, though the print is certainly watchable, it is probably not a remastering of the camera negative. Sound and image would be much better on a properly restored negative. The film deserves better treatment. Although the film is a five-star film in my opinion, the DVD is not a five-star DVD.However, it has to be said that the image is never less than completely watchable, and mostly perfectly clear. It just does not have the appearance of a restored camera negative.Obsession is a great British noir, performed to perfection by a fine cast. Nobody will regret the purchase of this film, and it will give repeated pleasure.