Only a few weeks ago, blue underground was scheduled to rerelease it, as they do with so many old anchor bay titles, but this has either been delayed or canceled entirely, which is very unfortunate. There is just something about this movie i cant explain. Its certainly no coincidence that the film opens with shots of armed soldiers. I take possession to be a movie which has been imprinted with one of its characters inner thoughts and feelings. Like the wail of a banshee, possession is demented and frightful. And isabelle adjani having sex with a tentacled doomsday harbinger. Here the protagonists inner evil takes on a living form of a wiggling slimy creature. The plot obliquely follows the relationship between an international spy and his wife, who begins exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking him for a divorce. Since possession s release in 1981, critics have encountered enormous difficulty with its classification. Mar 16, 2018 the wonderful actress isabelle adjani giving a performance show on the subway scene in the film possession 1981.
So, since our heavyweight post this year has been our explanation of the. If this movie is a cult classic then thats one more reason to be thankful im not in a cult. Questions about possession 1981 so i just watched possession. It not as if no one ever mentions it but i really feel like it should be one of the. Desperate marc sam neill trying to interrogate straying wife anna isabelle adjani whos fooling with kitchen tools, reminders that this is also a horror film, in director andrzej zulawskis possession, 1981. Possession 1981 a film belonging to no wave, in the words of its director, a film that, deceptively, wears the mask of a horror film while also dipping into cold war espionage and domestic melodrama, andrzej zulawskis possession 1981 arises from, and stays terrifyingly within, an experience of traumatic loss.
Possession is a 1981 psychological horror drama film directed by andrzej zulawski, written by zulawski and frederic tuten, and starring isabelle adjani and sam neill. Theres plenty of scary stuff and creepy special effects screaming, eyes rolling back in heads, etc. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. It isnt really much of a horror film in the classic. By the end of the movie, with the egos of both men in shards at her feet, the woman seems more desirable than we could have imagined possible. Welcome to, the most extensive horror movie collection on earth and the favorite destination for millions of our horror genre fans for more than 20 years. If you end up buying a nonspecial edition of the film, ive got the directors commentary here. The film and isabelle adjanis performance was and remains the stuff of legend. I recently rewatched andrzej zulawskis possession 1981 for the first time in 5 years. The trolls movies, like many childrens entertainments, function by way of. Blood, slime and isabelle adjani if there is a movie deserving the tag psychological horror, it is possession. I dont think ive been this awed and confused by a movie in ages. In this supernatural thriller an ailing rock star and his nurse head for an isolated mountain retreat so he can relax. In a placid west berlin cafe, newly estranged marc sam neill and anna isabelle adjani discussing their son, then blowing up, another weird scene from director andrzej zulawski, in possession, 1981 view the tcmdb entry for possession 1981.
Possession is a 1981 film directed by andrzej zulawski, written by zulawski and frederic tuten, and starring isabelle adjani and sam neill. However, very few directors are able to use cinematic space as zulawski does in this film. Possession the night the screaming stops 1983 rotten. The emotionally devastating story of a marriage in ruins. The monster evolves into a replicate of her husband her idealized husband. Since possessions release in 1981, critics have encountered. The marriage of anna and mark is symbolic of the wall that divided germany for many years. A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior after asking her husband for a divorce. I think its one of the best horror movies ever made, but many aspects of it are really baffling. Going up up and away into spiritual voids, clamoring against love and all that it stands for but not what it instills in us. Possession is a 1981 psychological horror drama film directed by andrzej zulawski, written by. From this point onward, i wont be talking about the plot from here on out so much as reading it of the many ways one could read possession, the most correct reading, i find, is the fact that most of the events of the movie are lensed through marks eyes.
Its over the top performances, its brutal scenes of argument, its horrifying visuals, its exploration of marital disintegration and disbelief in god. Subsequent events, however, proved to be too much like the movie itself. We start with my dinner with andre, but theres a point to it all, stick with it. Possession is far from a normal horror movie and its even further from a normal drama, but for the miniscule audience that enjoys obscure movies involving extramarital affairs with mysterious. Its a movie that doesnt happen in the same place as other movies. Andrzej zulawskis 1981 masterpiece, butchered upon its original. Possession is a great, great movie, but in the time since i wrote that piece, it has become somewhat difficult for me. With isabelle adjani, sam neill, margit carstensen, heinz bennent. See this movie before you go through one, you will want to deal with things in a more humane and controlled manner.
I do not care if it is considered a cult classic i never want to see this movie again, it makes me feel dirty just watching it. Possession 1981 the emotionally devastating story of a marriage in ruins. In the beginning of possession, they meet and try to explain to each other, in a relatively calm fashion. Like with movies such as the neon demon, possession almost belongs to a class of film one might call pure or hard cinema. The monster is actually the product of adjanis internal guilt, shame and deep sexual desires that have been physically manifested into the external reality. Unbeknownst to either of them, the house has a dark secret and the nurse is. Suspicions of infidelity soon give way to something much more sinister. What pain he must have suffered if possession is the product of his divorce.
Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing possession 1981 near you. I do not care if it is considered a cult classic i never want to see this movie. In this episode, i will explore the spiritual themes of andrzej zulawskis 1981 film possession and how it relates to the films characters and atmosphere as. There is really only one way to experience possession, and that is to watch it. That film, with a screenplay by harold pinter, added a modern couple that didnt exist in the john fowles novel, and had both couples played by meryl streep and jeremy irons. What happens in possession is not the same, but it is similar enough to explain. Its a scene which immediately made heinrich my favorite thing in the movie, but he becomes even more amazing after learning the love triangle actually has.
Something weird i noticed in possession 1981 duration. Ending spoilers possession 1981 discussion moviechat. You might know possession as that weird movie in which isabelle adjani has sex with a hideous monster. Perhaps my vision is too materialistic, but my impression was that the pink socks society was a sort spy organization that developed some kind of bioweapon, mark was exposed and impregnated anna. Nov 29, 2011 a ndrzej zulawskis possession, a frenchgerman coproduction filmed on location throughout west berlin and hitting many of the same spots wim wenders would later use in wings of desire, likewise bears the benchmarks of an entity divided against itself. Director zulawski created this movie from the destruction of his own then current marriage. If the subject interests you, move fast, before wolfen closes. The subway hall scene is the most famous from this movie, and for good reason. Sudden bursts of bloody violence and slimy creature. In this episode, i will explore the spiritual themes of andrzej zulawskis 1981 film possession and how it relates to the films characters and. Andrzej zulawskis possession was initially unleashed to its first audience 35 years ago at the cannes film festival.
My interpretation possession 1981 discussion moviechat. Possession prances through a prism of explicit insanity, morphing into its true form while screams and orgasmic whimpers echo across infinite spaces of desolation. Moviechat forums possession 1981 discussion ending spoilers ending spoilers. Possession is far from a normal horror movie and its even further from a normal drama, but for the miniscule audience that enjoys. Possession 1981 ending explained haunting tube youtube. A woman starts exhibiting increasingly disturbing behavior. In possession 1981, east germany is a kafkaesque place of fear, oppression, paranoia, and repression. Like a few choice movies i could name, possession leaves its. Zulawski wrote the script after his marriage to malgorzata braunek the polish star of his first two movies hit the rocks and it was left to him to take care of their son xawery. You will find all of this and significantly more in director andrzej zuwalskis possession 1981, an unsung masterpiece of horror which treads carefully between the realms of art house and. Sometimes it gets hard for me for example to differentiate the look and feel of one noir from the other, one nyc crime flick from the other. In which isabelle adjanis sex scene with a monster isnt the odd part. In the way it moves between two couples in two periods, possession is like karel reiszs the french lieutenants woman 1981.
Possession 1981 cast and crew after anna isabelle adjani reveals to her husband, mark sam neill, that she is having an affair, she leaves him and their son. Despite the fact that it stars albert finney, was directed by michael wadleigh woodstock, and is an uncommonly intelligent treatment of a theme that is usually just exploited, the movie. I am a person who is generally explaining movies to other people, but after i saw this. A young sam neill stars in director andrzej zuwalksis disturbing possession. Isabelle adjani, sam neill, margit carstensen screenplay.
No exorcist can handle possession far flungers roger ebert. Possession 1981 a film belonging to no wave, in the words of its director, a film that, deceptively, wears the mask of a horror film while also dipping into cold war espionage and domestic melodrama, andrzej zulawskis possession 1981 arises from, and stays terrifyingly within, an. Parents need to know that the possession is a demon possession horror movie thats supposedly based on a true story. Possession the night the screaming stops critics consensus. Possession 1981 after anna isabelle adjani reveals to her husband, mark sam neill, that she is having an affair, she leaves him and their son. It was originally released here in a cut that made no sense like brazil 1985, but now thats extremely hard to find. Shock was pretty decent but theres something about possession that struck me. Mar 21, 2012 you will find all of this and significantly more in director andrzej zuwalskis possession 1981, an unsung masterpiece of horror which treads carefully between the realms of art house and. Moviechat forums possession 1981 discussion my interpretation. Judging from the above, possession is not exactly the kind of movie youd.
The east germany locations are part of what makes possession 1981 a special piece of film. Its an artfilm dramahorror hybrid from polish exile director andrzej zulawski made in west berlin in 1981. Possession is a 1981 french horror film that shows how insane some people can be. Possessao 1981 cena sinistra no metro possession 1981. This is a movie that i still cant quite wrap my head around, but its one that just completely transfixed me. I wont lie and say i got everything on the first pass, so not to be dramatic, but its a movie that i need to sit with for a good long while to really digest. This doesnt appeal to your rational part, its supposed to connect with you on spiritual or deeply emotional level, its supposed to appeal to something in you that cant be rationalized or explained verbally. Im in absolute love with videodrome, naked lunch and eraserhead. Possession is just one of those films that unfortunately doesnt get the credit it deserves. Unfortunately, i dont think theres any unified explanation to your questions and its just up to your own interpretation which i think makes it more fun. The film was in part based on director zulawskis own ruined marriage and the film on some level explores the devastating effects of divorce and the stress upon the children involved. Jul 19, 2019 welcome to, the most extensive horror movie collection on earth and the favorite destination for millions of our horror genre fans for more than 20 years. The film shows this since it can dawn on someone that, even when you think you know somebody, sometimes you only see what they want you to see instead of their true selves.
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