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  •  (5 out of 5 stars)

For De Palma fans, Obsession (1976) really is a work of cinematic ecstasy. After honing his stylistic craft for almost a decade, De Palma pays full homage to Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) climbing to intoxicating and often hilarious heights. In this tour de force, De Palma is working with one of the greatest cinematographers in Vilmos Zsigmond, one of the greatest editors in Paul Hirsch, one of the greatest screenwriters in Paul Schrader, and one of the greatest composers of all time in Bernard Herrmann (who died shortly before the film's release). The plot is kept appropriately simple for this ultimate exercise in De Palma's style. In New Orleans, Michael Courtland (Cliff Robertson) loses his wife Elizabeth (Genevieve Bujoldin) in a botched kidnapping. Fifteen years later he travels to Florence, Italy where he encounters an Italian woman named Sandra (also played by Genevieve Bujoldin) who looks exactly like his wife. Bujold is positively radiant in this role, and Michael becomes believably obsessed with her. While Cliff Robertson may not be on par with Jimmy Stewart, he is a fine vessel of De Palma's obsessions. Michael brings Sandra back to New Orleans to be married and the cyclical plot kicks in as Michael's obsession drives him to madness. John Lithgow has an excellent supporting role as Michael's business partner. While Obsession (1976) doesn't have the memorable set pieces of Carrie (1976) which would be a hit later that year, it is still Brian De Palma working at the height of his craft and it doesn't get much better than that.

(Summary from Wikipedia)

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