Ossessione (1943)

Director:

Luchino Visconti

Writers:

Luchino Visconti (scenario & dialogue) &
Mario Alicata (scenario & dialogue) ...
(more)

Release Date:

9 February 1959 (Sweden)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Gino, a young and handsome tramp, stops in a small roadside inn run by Giovanna. She is unsatisfied...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Italy | Death | Drifter | Blood

Cast

Clara Calamai	...	Giovanna Bragana
Massimo Girotti	...	Gino Costa
Dhia Cristiani	...	Anita
Elio Marcuzzo	...	Lo spagnolo
Vittorio Duse	...	L'agente di polizia
Michele Riccardini	...	Don Remigio
Juan de Landa	...	Giuseppe Bragana (as Juan De Landa)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Michele Sakara	...	Il bambino (uncredited)

Directed by
Luchino Visconti

Writing credits
James M. Cain		(novel "The Postman Always Rings Twice") uncredited
Luchino Visconti		(scenario & dialogue) &
Mario Alicata		(scenario & dialogue) &
Giuseppe De Santis		(scenario & dialogue) &
Gianni Puccini		(scenario & dialogue)
Alberto Moravia		uncredited
Antonio Pietrangeli		uncredited

Produced by
Libero Solaroli	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Giuseppe Rosati

Cinematography by
Domenico Scala		(photographed by)
Aldo Tonti		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Mario Serandrei

Art Direction by
Gino Franzi

Set Decoration by
Gino Franzi

Costume Design by
Maria De Matteis

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Giuseppe De Santis	....	assistant director
Antonio Pietrangeli	....	assistant director

Art Department
Italo Tomassi	....	scene painter (uncredited)

Sound Department
Tommaso Barberini	....	sound recordist (as Barberini)
Arrigo Usigli	....	sound recordist (as Usigli)

Camera and Electrical Department
Osvaldo Civirani	....	still photographer
Gianni Di Venanzo	....	camera operator (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Vincenzo Genesi	....	negative cutter: Tecnostampa

Music Department
Fernando Previtali	....	conductor

Other crew
Camillo Pagani	....	production coordinator
Giovanna Valeri	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Industrie Cinematografiche Italiane (ICI)

Distributors

• Industrie Cinematografiche Italiane (ICI) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Les Films du Siècle (1959) (France) (theatrical)
• Urania Film (1986) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Ajay Film Company (1976) (USA) (subtitled)
• Arthaus Filmverleih (2013) (Germany) (DVD) (Luchino Visconti Edition)
• Collection Ciné-Club (1999) (France) (DVD) (extended version)
• Films sans Frontières (France) (DVD) (restored version)
• Homescreen (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Homescreen (2009) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Image Entertainment (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• International Media (2001) (USA) (VHS)
• Kinokuniya (2004) (Japan) (DVD) (restored version)
• Mainostelevisio (MTV3) (1968) (Finland) (TV)
• Ripley's Home Video (2009) (Italy) (DVD)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Orchestra Sinfonica dell'EIAR  orchestra

Also Known As:

"Obsession" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

140 min | Germany:104 min (cut version) | Japan:118 min (cut version) | USA:112 min (cut version) | USA:134 min (International Media print)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:12 | Germany:18 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | Australia:PG | UK:PG | USA:TV-14 (TV rating) | Finland:K-16 (1986)

Filming Locations:

Ancona, Marche, Italy

Company:

Industrie Cinematografiche Italiane (ICI)

Trivia:

First film directed by Luchino Visconti.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender (1997)

Soundtrack:

Je crois entendre encore

Obsession

Luchino Visconti was light years ahead of his contemporaries. The great directors of Italy of the 40s and 50s were men who understood the medium, but it was Luchino Visconti, a man of vision, who dared to bring a film like to show what he was capable of doing. He clearly shows his genius early on in his distinguished career with "Ossessione", a film based on James Cain's "The Postman Always Ring Twice", which was later made by Hollywood, but that version pales in comparison with what Visconti achieved in the movie. Luchino Visconti and his collaborators on the screen included an uncredited Alberto Moravia, a man who knew about the effect of passion on human beings.

The film has been well preserved in the DVD format we watched recently. The film is a must for all serious movie fans because we can see how Visconti's vision translated the text into a movie that rings true in a plausible way, something the American version lacked.

What comes across watching the movie, is the intensity which the director got from his key players. The magnificent Clara Calamai does an amazing job as Giovanna, the woman who has married an older man, but when Gino appears in her life, all she wants to do is rid herself of the kind man who gave her an opportunity in life. Giovanna is one of the best creations in Ms. Calamai's achievements in the Italian cinema. The last sequence of the film shows Ms. Calamai at her best in the ironic twist that serves as the moral redemption for the monstrous crime that was committed.

Equally excellent is Massimo Girotti, one of the best actors of his generation who appears as Gino, the hunky man that awakens the obsessive passion in Giovanna. Gino is the perfect man for Giovanna, something that Mr. Girotti projects with such ease and sophistication not equaled before in the screen. Mr. Girotti makes the man come alive in a performance that seems so easy, yet with another actor it might not have been so apparent. Juan DeLanda is seen as Giuseppe, the older man who fell in love with Giovanna. In fact, his character rings truer than his counterpart in the American film, where he is seen more as a buffoon.

The film is beautifully photographed by Domenic Scala and Aldo Tonti. They gave the film a naturalistic look that was the way Italian directors of the era favored. The original musical score of Giuseppe Rosati is perfect. Visconti, a man who loved opera and was one of the best directors, also includes arias by Bizet and Verdi that fit well in the context of the movie.

"Ossessione" is a film to treasure because we see a great Luchino Visconti at the top of his form.