Following news that Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski‘s banned and freakish film “Possession” would be heading to Fantastic Fest 2021 in September with a new 4K restoration, Metrograph Pictures has announced they’ll be releasing the film theatrically and digitally this fall.
READ MORE: The Essentials: The 5 Best Andrzej Zulawski Films
Featuring Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani in outstanding performances, outlandish, melodramatic and just emotionally terrifying, “Possession” centers on a marriage that falls apart once a sinister and mysterious possession of some kind takes hold of the wife. A cult favorite amongst cinephiles, the film has only has grown in stature over the years since its release and is very ripe for a larger cinematic reevaluation. The movie is so beloved, expect that to happens when the film arrives in October. Out of print for years, a proper DVD/Blu-Ray will surely follow after the indie-rep theater run. Here’s the official synopsis:
Professional spy Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin home to find his wife Anna (Isabelle Adjani, in a role that earned her Best Actress at Cannes) insistent on a divorce. As Anna’s frenzied behavior becomes ever more alarming, Mark discovers a truth far more sinister than his wildest suspicions. With its pulsating score, visceral imagery, and some of the most haunting performances ever captured on screen, Possession is cinematic delirium at its most intoxicating.
The film was banned upon its original release in 1981, Andrzej Żuławski’s stunningly choreographed nightmare of a marriage unraveling is an experience unlike any other and should be seen to be believed. This should be exciting for cinephiles that haven’t been able to enjoy the film on the big screen and subsequently can also enjoy it home at their leisure if that option is more comforting.
Kiwi actor Sam Neill would later be known for the Australian-set drama “A Cry In The Dark” opposite Meryl Streep, his work with John Carpenter on “Memoirs of An Invisible Man” and the Lovecraftian-inspired “In The Mouth of Madness,” the latter releasing a year after leading Steven Speilberg‘s monster hit “Jurassic Park” made him known across the globe. Isabelle Adjani never quite received the same acclaim, but she’s terrific and worked with many of the greats during her active years: François Truffaut’s “The Story of Adele H.,” Roman Polanski‘s “The Tenant,” Walter Hill‘s “The Driver,” Werner Herzog‘s “Nosferatu the Vampyre,” Elaine May‘s “Ishtar” and dozens more.
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