- Actors: Clara Calamai, Massimo Girotti, Dhia Cristiani, Elio Marcuzzo, Vittorio Duse
- Directors: Luchino Visconti
- Writers: Luchino Visconti, Alberto Moravia, Antonio Pietrangeli, Gianni Puccini, Giuseppe De Santis
- Producers: Libero Solaroli
- Format: PAL
- Language Italian
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Number of discs: 1
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Umbrella Entertainment
- DVD Release Date: 25 Feb 2005
- Run Time: 140 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B000CCKTNY
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 123,320 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
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Australia released, PAL/Region 0 DVD: LANGUAGES: Italian ( Dolby Digital 2.0 ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: Biographies, Black & White, Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: Often considered one of the first examples of Italian neo-realism, Luchino Visconti's first film was this adaptation of James M. Cain's steamy novel The Postman Always RingsTwice, which would also be made twice in the US, first in 1946 with Lana Turner and John Garfield and then in 1981 with Jack Nicholson and Jessica Lange. Massimo Girotti stars as a drifter named Gino, who gets a job at a provincial inn. The handsome wanderer attempts to resist the advances of Giovanna (Clara Calamai), the estranged wife of nasty innkeeper Bragana (Juan De Landa), but he eventually gives in. Gino then allows her to talk him into killing Bragana to get the insurance money, with predictable results. Although the melodramatic story is a far cry from the post-war social statements of such later neorealist classics as Roberto Rossellini's Rome Open City (1945) and Vittorio DeSica's Bicycle Thieves (1948), the movie began to feature some of neo-realism's defining characteristics: above all, an emphasis on outdoor shooting and natural light and a relentless focus on the lives of the poor. Ossessione caused a sensation not just because of its lurid subject matter but also because Visconti's realist style makes you practically feel the heat and dirt and sweat of the film's environment.
...Ossessione
...Ossessione
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
`Ossessione' was Visconti's first film - and what a classic he produced! He had of course learned much of his trade in the 1930s with Jean Renoir, but one is quite astounded at how masterfully he frames his shots and forges atmosphere in this film. Visconti was unquestionably a natural-born director with an eye for detail in both the technical and artistic matters of film-making. `Ossessione' is seen by some as the first of the Italian neo-realist movies with its richness to incidental detail and use of scenes and people incidental to the plot. And already Visconti is at home with large set pieces and long takes, such as the singing contest at Ancona.
The story of Gino and Giovanna's illicit affair and their murder of Giovanna's husband - a story as old as history - was filmed in the Po delta region of Italy, a flat landscape of marshes and reeds - and long causeways on which traffic passes by the hostelry run by Giovanna and her husband. On a hot summer's day, the vagabond Gino happens to drop by, setting in motion the chain of events that will lead to more than one death. This is one film where the ending is made more effective by its very inconclusiveness.
The erotic charge of the whole film is framed around Gino, and not Giovanna; indeed, we first only ever see a close-up of Gino's face through Giovanna's look of lust at first sight. This is not a gay movie, but there are - as usual with a Visconti film - strong homoerotic undertones. The character of the Spaniard, for instance, has an ambiguous sexuality, and some have seen him as Visconti's representative of the anti-Fascist. (The film was made in 1942.)
The quality of the transfer to DVD is not always good, both visually and aurally (there is some hiss on the soundtrack), but the film is nevertheless very watchable. In his book on the director, Henry Bacon says that the original negative was seized by the Fascists so extant copies had to be made from a duplicate. Bacon sees the film as a basic conflict between the insecurity of freedom on the road and the security of societal confinement.
The accompanying commentary is by David Forgacs (Professor of Italian at University College, London) and Lesley Caldwell (Associate Fellow in the Italian Department). They are not film historians, but what they have to say is both informative and insightful. The other extra is a short biography of Visconti.
The story of Gino and Giovanna's illicit affair and their murder of Giovanna's husband - a story as old as history - was filmed in the Po delta region of Italy, a flat landscape of marshes and reeds - and long causeways on which traffic passes by the hostelry run by Giovanna and her husband. On a hot summer's day, the vagabond Gino happens to drop by, setting in motion the chain of events that will lead to more than one death. This is one film where the ending is made more effective by its very inconclusiveness.
The erotic charge of the whole film is framed around Gino, and not Giovanna; indeed, we first only ever see a close-up of Gino's face through Giovanna's look of lust at first sight. This is not a gay movie, but there are - as usual with a Visconti film - strong homoerotic undertones. The character of the Spaniard, for instance, has an ambiguous sexuality, and some have seen him as Visconti's representative of the anti-Fascist. (The film was made in 1942.)
The quality of the transfer to DVD is not always good, both visually and aurally (there is some hiss on the soundtrack), but the film is nevertheless very watchable. In his book on the director, Henry Bacon says that the original negative was seized by the Fascists so extant copies had to be made from a duplicate. Bacon sees the film as a basic conflict between the insecurity of freedom on the road and the security of societal confinement.
The accompanying commentary is by David Forgacs (Professor of Italian at University College, London) and Lesley Caldwell (Associate Fellow in the Italian Department). They are not film historians, but what they have to say is both informative and insightful. The other extra is a short biography of Visconti.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Visconti's 'Ossessione' was his debut feature, and one made during the war years that got a release as Mussolini approved of it (!) It is the defintive adaptation of James M. Cain's 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' - much better than the 40s film noir of that or the overblown take of it in the 1980s (Albert Camus' 'The Outsider'/'The Stranger' would also be influenced heavily by Cain's novel). It should be noted though, that it was an unofficial version of 'The Postman...', like 'Le Dernier Tournant' in 1939...
While films such as 'Rome, Open City' (1945, Roberto Rossellini) & 'The Bicycle Thieves' (1948, Vittorio de Sica) are cited as formative examples of the movement that would be known as 'Italian Neo-Realism', it's really 'Ossessione' that deserves that status. The use of amateur-actors (or unknowns) and the "realistic" look would be key - and lead towards those celebrated films mentioned previously.
As a debut feature, I think it's great and proves that Cain's dark-tale of adultery and murder could translate into something universal. 'Ossessione' was the start of one of the careers of one of the great European auteurs of the twentieth-century, and deserves to be seen alongside other brilliant works by Visconti such as 'The Leopard', 'Rocco and His Brothers' & 'La Terra Trema.'
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A ground-breaking and spellbinding film marvelously understated and very accomplished acting from all involved. Subtle and gripping. A daring film for its time and well worth watching. A very special film.
p.s. Also worth doing some contextual reading about the making of this film.
p.s. Also worth doing some contextual reading about the making of this film.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
The Italian 'The Postman Always Rings Twice'...
I've always enjoyed the story that spawned two Hollywood adaptations, largely laden with sex, written by James M Cain, both called The Postman Always Rings Twice'. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Tim Kidner
Superb Visconti Debut
Luchino Visconti's 1942 debut film Ossessione is based on James M Cain's short novel The Postman Always Rings Twice. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Keith M
Very poor quality print
This refers to the BFI issue of this very good and properly appreciated Visconti debut. Be aware, though, that the transfer has been made from a very poor print. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Pascal Simon Adams
Groundbreaking film deserves better transfer
This review applies to the Australian DVD on the Umbrealla World Cinema label. There's no doubting the importance or impact "Ossessione" had on Italian neo-realist cinema, but... Read more
Published on 23 Mar 2009 by Arbiter of Good Taste
Key work of Italian Cinema
Ossessione is a key work of Italian cinema, cited by writers such as Marcia Landy as the first work of Italian Neo-Realism (rather than the more frequently cited Rome, Citta... Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2002 by Jason Parkes
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