Disc Reviews
Possession 4K Review
Some films out there are just born to be controversial. Say hello to Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981s Art-Horror-Psychological-Thriller-Drama film, Possession!
Sam Neill stars as a man who returns to his family in Berlin. It’s immediate that he is estranged from his wife and child. His wife (Isabelle Adjani) is distant and needs space and the two very quickly end up in a messy break up. The wife starts to exhibit very strange behaviour, and disappears for longs spells of time and his behaviour is not far behind her. What happens from then until the end of the film is anyone’s guess! Is it about divorce? Is it about family?
Yes, the word CULT springs to mind immediately, and regardless of the success of the film, it deserves the label. It isn’t just the strange premise (if you can even figure out what this is a start), but it’s the actors studio approach to the characters. Everything is oblique and the players are free pretty much to do what they like with their faces, with the tone of their voice, with the space and objects around them – and oh boy do they use it all and ramp it right up to maximum. If you are not prepared for this approach to the film then you are in for a surprise, so knowing this will help.
Neill and Adjani throw themselves (and each other) around the space as violently as they can. It’s like an actors’ studio out of control. This film makes no apologies for what it does and explains little to nothing to you – you are stuck with it and that is that.
Expect to mouth the letters W, T, and F on a regular basis. A particularly disturbing scene taking place in a subway tunnel in particular, is fairly nasty.
But there is plenty to admire about the film. It’s very brave with its performances, particularly Adjani. It’s brave with its Genre hopping as well, and it is never for one second boring! So, if like this reviewer, you somehow managed to let this one slip past you and you like cult horror, you then it is definitely mandatory that you put it on your list.
BONUS FEATURES
The extra material is surprisingly plentiful. There are no fewer than four commentary tracks.
Two are archival, one with the director and one with the co-writer (both moderated by Daniel Bird). Bird also co-hosts a new commentary with critic Manuela Lazic over the North American Re-edit of the film, which you can also select to watch. The fourth commentary is from a couple of scholars (Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor), no surprise that you should focus on the first three.
Guillermo Del Toro shows up as a fan of the film to talk about the influence it has had on him. There is an essay about the film-by-film critic, Kat Ellinger. There is a look at the Berlin locations. There is also a look at the film’s UK and US reception.
There are several other interviews with the producer, the poster artist, the composer and the director. Oh, and there’s actually a lengthy making of documentary as well. All of this material is well worth sticking on. It’s all very welcome and well curated by second sight, who again provide a great 4K transfer. The sound, well, they do what they can with it, but it’s probably where the upgrade suffers the most. Overall all though, this is a prime package and is likely to go down well with the cult collectors out there.
Steven Hurst
Special Features
- A new Producer approved 4K restoration presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
- Dual format 3 disc edition including 1 UHD and 2 Blu-rays with main feature and bonus features on both formats
- The North American Re-edit: newly restored from an archive print
- New Audio Commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor
- Audio Commentary by Director Andrzej Żuławski moderated by Daniel Bird
- Audio Commentary by Frederic Tuten moderated by Daniel Bird
- New Audio Commentary by Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic (The North American Re-edit)
- The Horror of Normality: Guillermo del Toro on Possession
- The Shadow We Carry: Kat Ellinger on Possession
- Repossessed: The Film’s UK and US Reception
- Andrzej Żuławski: Director: archive documentary
- A Divided City: The Berlin locations
- The Sounds of Possession: an interview with Composer Andrzej Korzynski
- Our Friend in the West: an interview with Producer Christian Ferry
- Basha: a featurette on poster artist Barbara ‘Basha’ Baranowska
- The Other Side of The Wall: The Making of Possession
- Archive interview with Andrzej Żuławski
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailer
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with Basha’s original theatrical artwork
- 220-page hardback book with new essays by Daniel Bird, Elena Lazic and Alison Taylor, ‘The Creature: Preliminary Sketches’, ‘Filming Possession’, ‘The Poster of Possession’, pressbook feature, archive articles and interviews and Behind the Scenes gallery
- 211-page original shooting script book with notes by Andrzej Żuławski and Frederic Tuten
- 6 collectors’ art cards
Possession is out on 4K Blu-ray December 15th