A bizarre story of love.
A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his late wife.
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Character
Grave, nostalgic, bleak and meticulous.
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- warmbleak
- rawmeticulous
- sparerichly built
Who loves it, who doesn't
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Where do you stand?
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“Is Cliff Robertson the best thing in Obsession?”
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“Is the nostalgia doing the heavy lifting?”
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“Is this Brian De Palma's best work?”
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A yes-or-no question, answered from what people wrote here, on TMDB and on Wikipedia. Never made up.
Video reviews
From critics we follow, and from Buds here.
Everything GREAT About Obsession!
CinemaWins · Sep 2026
Obsession - Movie Review
Jeremy Jahns · May 2026
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- John Chardon TMDB · Feb 20148/10
Déjà vu and Déjà vu. Obsession is directed by Brian De Palma and written by Paul Schrader. It stars Cliff Robertson, Genevieve Bujold and John Lithgow. Music is by Bernard Herrmann and cinematography by Vismos Zsigmond. You either love him or hate him, it seems. Brian De Palma that is. He's an amazing stylist who made some piercingly great thrillers in the tradition of Maestro Hitchcock, or he's a knock off artist using style to hide his inadequacies as a story teller? One thing for sure, for a good portion of the 70s and 80s his films would not be ignored, for better or worse depending on your own proclivities of course. Obsession, as has been noted numerous times, is De Palma's homage to Hitchcock's masterpiece, Vertigo. It's not a straight out copy as some reviewers have somehow managed to convince themselves, but narrative drive is similar. Robertson in grief for a passed on wife (Bujold) and daughter meets a doppelganger (also Bujold) of his dead wife 16 years down the line and becomes obsessed with her. As the new woman reciprocates the attraction, the relationship becomes wrought and borderline unhealthy, reaching a crescendo when muddy waters are stirred and revelations for
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Cast
- Cliff RobertsonMichael Courtland
- Geneviève BujoldElizabeth Courtland / Sandra Portinari
- John LithgowRobert Lasalle
- Sylvia Kuumba WilliamsMaid
- Wanda BlackmanAmy Courtland
- J. Patrick McNamaraThird Kidnapper
- Stanley J. ReyesInspector Brie
- Nick KreigerFarber
- Stocker FontelieuDr. Ellman
- Don HoodFerguson
Crew
- Brian De PalmaDirector
- Paul SchraderScreenplay
- Vilmos ZsigmondDirector of Photography
- Bernard HerrmannOriginal Music Composer
- Paul HirschEditor
- Harry N. BlumProducer
- George LittoProducer
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Similar in taste
Closest on the same fourteen dimensions, from everything scored on Tastebuds Other media included when they land close.
Cold in July 201478% alikeBoth grave, nostalgic.
Black Widow 198775% alikeBoth grave, nostalgic.
Crimson Peak 201572% alikeBoth grave, nostalgic.
Manhattan Night 201670% alikeBoth grave.
Unforgiven 201370% alikeBoth grave, nostalgic, bleak.
New York, New York 197769% alikeBoth grave, nostalgic.
China Moon 199468% alikeBoth grave.
Mildred Pierce 194568% alikeBoth grave.
FEUD 201770% alikeTelevision · Both grave, nostalgic.
Kathy Rain 201669% alikeGame · Both grave, nostalgic.
Often watched with
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