Magnificent Obsession [Criterion Collection]

Director: Douglas Sirk Douglas Sirk

Overview

This second film version of Lloyd C. Douglas' spiritual novel Magnificent Obsession is in its own way as successful as the first (filmed in 1935) in glossing over the plot holes and logic gaps in the original novel. Rock Hudson plays Bob Merrick, a reckless playboy who is indirectly responsible for the death of a kindly and much-beloved doctor. The dead man's wife, Helen Phillips (Jane Wyman), refuses to accept Bob's apologies. When Helen is accidentally blinded, Bob decides to "do right" by her anonymously, illustrating author Douglas's curious edict that the best sort of good deed is the one for which you're not rewarded. In record time, Bob becomes a brilliant physician, and it is he who performs the sight-restoring surgery on Helen. Rather than fade into the woodwork unheralded, Bob is at last forgiven by Helen, who has fallen in love with him during her sightless months without even knowing it. Luxuriously produced by Ross Hunter and directed con brio by Douglas Sirk, Magnificent Obsession was one of the most successful of Universal's big-budget "weepers" of the 1950s.

Product Details

Release Date:	01/20/2009
UPC:	0715515034821
Original Release:	1954
Source:	Criterion Collection
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Mono]
Language:	English
Time:	1:48:00
Sales rank:	13,303

Special Features

Disc 1:; Restored high-definition digital transfer; Audio commentary featuring film scholar Thomas Doherty; Video interviews with filmmakers Allison Anders and kathryn Bigelow, in which they pay a tribute to Douglas Sirk; Theatrical trailer; ; Disc 2:; Magnificent Obsession (1935, 102 minutes), a new digital transfer of John M. Stahl's earlier version of the film; From UFA to Hollywood: Douglas Sirk Remembers (1991, 82 minutes), a rare documentary by German filmmaker Eckhart Schmidt in which Sirk reflects on his career; Plus a booklet featuring a new essay by critic Geoffrey O'Brien

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Rock Hudson	Bob Merrick
Jane Wyman	Helen Phillips
Barbara Rush	Joyce Phillips
Agnes Moorehead	Nancy Ashford
Otto Kruger	Rudolph
Gregg Palmer	Tom Masterson
Sara Shane	Valerie
Paul Cavanagh	Dr. Giraud
Judy Nugent	Judy
George Lynn	Williams
Richard Cutting	Dr. Dodge,Dr. Derwin Dodge
Will J. White	Sgt. Ames
Helen Kleeb	Mrs. Eden
Rudolph Anders	Dr. Fuss
Fred Nurney	Dr. Laradetti
John Mylong	Dr. Hofer
Jack Kelly	First Mechanic
Lisa Gaye	Switchboard Girl
William Leslie	Customer
Lance Fuller	Customer
Brad Johnson	Customer
Myrna Hansen	Customer
Alexander Campbell	Dr. Allan
Joseph Mell	Dan
Harold Dyrenforth	Mr. Jouvet
Norbert Schiller	Mr. Long
Kathleen O'Malley	Switchboard Girl
Joy Hallward	Maid
Lee Roberts	Second Mechanic
Harvey Grant	Chris
Robert B. Williams	Sgt. Burnham
Gail Bonney	Phyllis
Lucille Lamar	Nurse
George Brand	Doctor
Jack Chefe	Waiter
Jack Gargan	Doctor
Herschel Graham	Bit Role
Bob Herron	Taxi Driver
Bradford Jackson	Bar Patron
Mae Clark	Mrs. Miller
Lucille LaMarr	Nurse
Frank Skinner	Composer

Technical Credits

Robert Blees

Lloyd C. Douglas

Finley Peter Dunne

Victor Heerman

Sarah Y. Mason

Wells Root

Douglas Sirk	Director
Robert Blees	Screenwriter
Ross Hunter	Producer
David S. Horsley	Special Effects
Lloyd C. Douglas	Screenwriter
Finley Peter Dunne	Screenwriter
Leslie I. Carey	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Corson Jowett	Sound Effects
Victor Heerman	Screenwriter
Sarah Y. Mason	Screenwriter
Wells Root	Screenwriter
Corson Jowett	Sound/Sound Designer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- Magnificent Obsession - 1954
1. A Reckless Moment [4:47]
2. The Resuscitator [4:55]
3. "A Complete Waste" [3:43]
4. Secrets and Debts [5:48]
5. Revelations [4:02]
6. "Using It All Up" [2:43]
7. Haunted [5:50]
8. "The Source of Infinite Power" [5:27]
9. A Good Deed Not Repaid [3:19]
10. Tragic News [1:54]
11. Making Strides [3:42]
12. Stranger at the Cove [5:17]
13. Merrick Schemes [4:45]
14. Helen's News [3:54]
15. Doubt Sets In [5:39]
16. Disappointment in Switzerland [3:08]
17. Reunion [7:42]
18. A Night to Remember [5:22]
19. Uncertainty and a Departure [6:41]
20. A Magnificent Obsession [3:19]
21. A New Addition and an Old Friend [3:04]
22. "Chance in a Million" [4:15]
23. Repaying Old Debts [3:30]
24. Tomorrow [4:55]
25. Color Bars
1. The Dread Enemy [4:47]
2. Douglas Sirk [4:55]
3. Credibilty and John Stahl [3:43]
4. Gender Contract [5:48]
5. Helen's Resistance [4:02]
6. Rooted in Time [2:43]
7. Hollywood in the '50s/Art [5:50]
8. Hudson's Persona/"Phillipsism [5:27]
9. Sonic Communication [3:19]
10. Melodrama [1:54]
11. Playing Blind [3:42]
12. Subversiveness [5:17]
13. Marketing [4:45]
14. Hudson and Wyman [3:54]
15. Uncomplicated Masculinity/Universal [5:39]
16. Craziness, Trash, and Art [3:08]
17. Feminism/Catharsis [7:42]
18. Fassbinder [5:22]
19. Articulations/Todd Haynes [6:41]
20. Double Entendres [3:19]
21. Divine Doctors [3:04]
22. Below the Surface [4:15]
23. Over-the-Top [3:30]
24. A Bastard Offspring [4:55]
25. Color Bars
Disc #2 -- Magnificent Obsession - 1935
1. Happy Family [3:43]
2. Tragic Timing [3:00]
3. "Used It All Up" [4:59]
4. Bob Merrick [6:37]
5. Breakdown [4:47]
6. The Escapee Returns [2:20]
7. Boys' Night Out [5:02]
8. Haunted [3:52]
9. "The Source of Infinite Power" [7:24]
10. Doing Good [4:26]
11. Accident [4:10]
12. Stranger in the Park [7:36]
13. Good News for Mrs. Hudson [6:17]
14. Disappointment in Paris [2:27]
15. Reunion [7:13]
16. A Night to Remember [6:12]
17. Unexpected Departure [3:37]
18. Triumphant Return [3:00]
19. A Magnificent Obsession [5:04]
20. The Operation [4:45]
21. Tomorrow [5:24]
1. Discovery in Vienna [16:32]
2. A Skeptical Person [5:10]
3. Film Culture USA [5:22]
4. The Star System [7:45]
5. Theater/Film [6:19]
6. Written on the Wind [15:59]
7. The Tarnished Angels [11:38]
8. The Craftsman [4:16]
9. The Sirk Style [9:29]

Menu

Disc #1 -- Magnificent Obsession - 1954
   Play the Movie
   Chapters
   Commentary
      Recorded Exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 2008, This Commentary Features Film Scholar Thomas Doherty, Author of Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I Breen and the Production Code Administration: Off
      Recorded Exclusively for the Criterion Collection in 2008, This Commentary Features Film Scholar Thomas Doherty, Author of Hollywood's Censor: Joseph I Breen and the Production Code Administration: On
      Index
   Tributes to Sirk
      Allison Anders
      Kathryn Bigelow
   Trailer
Disc #2 -- Magnificent Obsession - 1935
   John M. Stahl's Magnificent Obsession (1935)
      Play
      Index
   From UFA to Hollywood: Douglas Sirk Remembers
      Play
      Index
   Subtitles
      On
      Off

Editorial Reviews

Magnificent Obsession is arguably director Douglas Sirk's masterpiece, even though there are many who find it campy or ridiculous. Indeed, the plot of Obsession is ridiculous (just as it was in its original version), something of which Sirk himself was aware. But the screenplay and direction make an asset of this fact, accepting it at face value and saying, "So it's ridiculous? It's unreal and artificial? So what? Why does a film have to be realistic rather than fantastic?" Sirk and his screenwriters create their own cinematic reality, and it at times is in stark contrast to our own, so much so that it inspires laughter. But it also inspires devotion; Sirk's dedication and commitment to creating this world are so total that one can't help but be drawn in. Even those who do manage to resist Obsession's pull are likely to be impressed by Sirk's visual skill. The film drips with rich Technicolor hues and revels in glorious straight-lined architecture broken up with surprising skewed interruptions. Russell Metty's camerawork is evocative, often amazing, utilizing Sirk's obsession with mirrors like never before. The cast is also a big plus, with Rock Hudson turning in a more than respectable performance, Jane Wyman turning in an exceptional one, and fine support from Agnes Moorehead, Barbara Rush, and in a role that is something of a Sirk stand-in, Otto Kruger. Taken on its own terms, the philosophy espoused in the screenplay is a bit over the top; however, read as a creed about the obsession that drives the artistic creative force (and has artists such as film directors playing a kind of god themselves), it becomes rather fascinating. Magnificent Obsession is that rare film that inspires a kind of obsession in many viewers itself.

All Movie Guide - Craig Butler