Set in the shadow of the Berlin Wall, infused with Cold War-era paranoia and tension, Possession is a film that defies classification. One of the most tortured portraits of a disintegrating marriage ever presented on screen, visionary director Andrzej Żuławski masterfully blends horror and thriller conventions into an utterly unique cinema experience drawing on his own traumatic divorce and creative blacklisting in his native Poland.
Spy Mark (Sam Neil) returns to West Berlin after a mission to find that his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce. She is having an affair, but insists that isn't the reason. When Mark hires a private detective to get to the truth, an even more disturbing secret is uncovered Anna keeps a separate apartment housing an otherworldly, tentacled creature with a ravenous sexual appetite (created by special effects legend Carlo Rambaldo of Alien fame).
So continues the descent into a nightmarish maze of jealousy, carnality devoid of satisfaction, insanity, terror and murder where identity and reality are almost impossible to distinguish. Notorious for the demands it placed on its stars, Adjani's searing performance earned her the Best Actress award at Cannes in 1981. Savagely cut for the US market by bewildered distributors, banned in the UK for almost two decades, this restored edition showcases Possession as the director intended. It remains every bit as powerful and shocking today as it was on release.
Please note: Due to COVID-19 directly impacting supply chains, Possession (Beyond Genres) will be placed in a blue case temporarily, rather than the original clear ones. We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience. We are working hard to resolve this.
Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Cast: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen
Extras:
Audio commentary with Director Andrzej Żuławski
Audio commentary with Co-writer Frederic Tuten
The Other Side of the Wall: The Making of Possession
Interview with with Director Andrzej Żuławski
US Cut of Possession
Repossessed – Featurette on the US Cut of Possession
A Divided City – Location Featurette
The Sounds of Possession – Interview with Composer Andrzej Żuławski
Our friend in the West – Interview with Producer Christian Ferry
Basha – Poster Analysis Featurette
International Theatrical Trailer
US Theatrical Trailer
