Obsession (aka "The Hidden Room") Blu-ray - Robert Newton / Sally Gray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "The Hidden Room" or "Man About a Dog")

Directed by Edward Dmytryk
UK 1949

Starring Robert Newton (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands), Phil Brown (The Camp on Blood Island), Sally Gray (They Made Me a Fugitive), and Naunton Wayne (Alfred Hitchcock’s The Lady Vanishes), Obsession takes a dark and unsettling journey into the mind of a murderer.

When psychiatrist Clive (Newton) learns that his wife, Storm (Gray), is having an affair, he resolves to take revenge by kidnapping and murdering her lover, Bill (Brown), and dissolving his corpse in acid. As Bill languishes in Clive’s cellar, Detective Finsbury (Wayne) doggedly pursues the case...

Written by Alec Coppel (Vertigo), scored by Nino Rota (8½, The Godfather), and directed by Edward Dmytryk (The Sniper) during his blacklist-induced exile in Britain, Obsession’s original release was delayed due to the ongoing court case of real-life ‘Acid Bath Murderer’ John Haigh.

***

Certainly Dmytryk's best British film, made after his blacklist exile and before freedom from the Hollywood system led him into the pretensions of Give Us This Day. Adapted by Alec Coppel from his own novel, it's an intriguing 'perfect murder' thriller in which an obsessively jealous husband lures his rival to a cellar on a bomb site, keeping him chained there until the coast is clear and his own grimly meticulous preparations for disposing of the body in an acid bath are complete. Perhaps only Buñuel could have done justice to the flavour as the avenger sadistically torments his victim during the wait, and an odd intimacy starts to spring up between them. Here both dialogue and performances (with Newton doing much less eye-rolling than usual) stay a little too close to the surface, but it has much the same narrative grip as Dmytryk's earlier Hollywood movies like Murder My Sweet...

Excerpt from TimeOut Film located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: August 3rd, 1949

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Review: Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		CLICK to order from: Bonus Captures:
Distribution	Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:38:24.773
Video	1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,660,285,782 bytes Feature: 22,412,608,896 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.79 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 768 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit Commentary and lectures: Dolby Digital Audio English 112 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 112 kbps / DN -30dB
Subtitles	English (SDH), None
Features	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 1.37:1 1080P Single-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 24,660,285,782 bytes Feature: 22,412,608,896 bytes Video Bitrate: 26.79 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Audio commentary with film historians Thirza Wakefield and Melanie Williams (2024) • The John Player Lecture with Edward Dmytryk (1972): archival audio recording of the prolific director in conversation with author and critic John Baxter, recorded at London’s National Film Theatre • Richard Dyer on ‘Obsession’ (2024): the academic and author explores the themes and the making of the film (34:18) • The BEHP Interview with Gordon McCallum (1988): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring sound recordist McCallum in conversation with Alan Lawson • Image gallery: promotional and publicity materials Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Fintan McDonagh, archival articles on Edward Dmytryk’s period in Britain and the making of Obsession, an archival interview with actor Naunton Wayne, an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits Blu-ray Release Date: June 17th, 2024 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 10

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (June 2024): Indicator have transferred Edward Dmytryk's Obsession (aka "The Hidden Room") to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "New 4K restoration by Powerhouse Films". It takes a large leap over the 2004 interlaced PAL DVD that we reviewed HERE. There are a couple of brief moments in the 1080P transfer that have fluctuating contrast. Bit overall this is a very welcome upgrade with rich black levels, more information in the 1.37:1 frame (mostly on the right edge) and an impressive improvement in detail and contrast.

NOTE: We have added 44 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator use a linear PCM mono track (16-bit) in the original English language. Obsession (aka "The Hidden Room") has no real aggressive moments - gun threats with one shot, a male scream - but a rousing score by Nino Rota (Romeo and Juliet, Nights of Cabiria, Juliet of the Spirits, Death on the Nile, Rocco and His Brothers, Il Bidone, 8 1/2, I Clowns, Purple Noon, The Leopard etc.) adding drama and tension to the proceedings. Indicator offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Indicator Blu-ray offers a new commentary by Thirza Wakefield and Melanie Williams. They talk about the film's emphasis about language, the in-joke mention of Canada (Canadians accents being indecipherable) and that director Edward Dmytryk was Canadian. They talk about the lighting, the many known bit players, the mise en scène, the character of Dr. Clive Riordan (Robert Newton) being controlling ('God Complex' killer) in many aspects of his life, a parallel scene is observed from David Lean's Passionate Friends with Claude Rains (Melanie did write a book on David Lean) and much more. It's a very good commentary with astute observations. There is also a new video piece with Richard Dyer (Heavenly Bodies: Film Stars and Society) on ‘Obsession’ where the academic and author explores the themes and the making of the film. It runs shy of 35-minutes. You can also watch the film listening to a BEHP interview with Gordon McCallum in a 1988 archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring sound recordist McCallum in conversation with Alan Lawson. There is another option - to watch the film listening to a 'John Player Lecture' with Edward Dmytryk from 1972 - an archival audio recording of the prolific director in conversation with author and critic John Baxter (Woody Allen: A Biography), recorded at London’s National Film Theatre. Lastly are an image gallery of promotional and publicity materials and the package has a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Fintan McDonagh (author of Edward Dmytryk: Reassessing His Films and Life), archival articles on Edward Dmytryk’s period in Britain and the making of Obsession, an archival interview with actor Naunton Wayne ('Supt. Finsbury' in Obsession), an overview of contemporary critical responses, and full film credits.

Edward Dmytryk's Obsession (aka "The Hidden Room") was entered into the 1949 Cannes Film Festival. It was based on Alec Coppel's novel Obsession (original title A Man About a Dog) . It's involves a London psychiatrist's revenge plot on his unfaithful wife's carefree American lover who he kidnaps and keeps prisoner in a "hidden room". Dmytryk, had left Hollywood following his appearance before the HUAC. The plot examines the idea of disposing of a body by dissolving it in acid to create 'the perfect murder'. This idea references the case of the 1930's murderer John Haigh; an English serial killer convicted for the murder of six people (although he claimed to have killed nine) using a 'sulphuric acid bath'. Obsession is far more tame with plenty of intriguing dialogue and a cold, calculating, scorned husband. It's expertly realized by Dmytryk with noir sensibilities. The Indicator Blu-ray is up to their usual 'top-shelf' standard and Obsession is highly deserved of such a stellar release with expert commentary, two audio supplements, new interviews and booklet. Strongly recommended!

Gary Tooze