Possessed Blu-ray - Joan Crawford

(aka "The Secret" )

Directed by Curtis Bernhardt
USA 1947

She loves him when he goes away for months. She loves him when he refuses to marry her. But when callow David Sutton chooses to marry someone else, Louise Howell's love for him takes a darker turn. Give her a gun and she'll love him to death. Joan Crawford reteams with producer Jerry Wald of her Academy Award winning Mildred Pierce and claims a 1947 Best Actress Oscar nomination for her portrayal of tempestuous, mentally unstable Louise. "I love you" is such an inadequate way of saying I love you, Louise says. It doesn't quite describe how much it hurts sometimes. With Crawford at her film-noir-queen best, be assured it hurts so good...

***

We first meet Joan Crawford, star of the moody flashbackfest Possessed, wandering aimlessly through the city streets, moaning "David....David." She goes to pieces in public and is rushed to the mental ward, where a team of psychiatrists try to find out who she is and where she's been. Who she is is a practical nurse, hired by Raymond Massey to care for Massey's invalid wife. While going about her duties, Crawford renews her acquaintance with an old flame, architect Van Heflin. Though Heflin is indifferent, Crawford is still crazy for the man. She remains so even after marrying her employer Massey, whose wife has committed suicide. Any further details would give away the ending, but we can note that Van Heflin's character name is David. Best scene: Crawford, descending into schizophrenia, imagining that she's killed Massey's vitriolic daughter Geraldine Brooks. While the psycho-babble delivered in the asylum scenes is laughable, Possessed still holds up well as one of the best of Joan Crawford's Warner Bros. soap operas. This black-and-white film is also available in a colorized version, but don't blame us.

***

Crawford may play a nurse, but she'd need a warehouse of Phensics to clear up her troubles in this one. Madly in love with nogoodnik Heflin, she chooses to marry her wealthy employer (Massey) after his own ailing wife has tottered into insanity and suicide. Joan totters the same way soon after, and no one in the '40s could do it with such steely eyes or tautened shoulders. And she's helped every inch of the way by the Warners melodrama machine, working at fever pitch under the direction of German émigré Bernhardt, revelling in the expressionist tradition of morbid fantasy and psychological anguish. Compelling viewing, then, and a film even madder than most of its characters.

Excerpt from TimeOut Film Guide located HERE

Posters

Theatrical Release: July 26th, 1947

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

Warner - Region 1, 2, 3, 4 - NTSC vs. Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray

1) Warner (The Joan Crawford Collection) - Region 1, 2, 3, 4 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers

Distribution	Warner (The Joan Crawford Collection) Region 1, 2, 3, 4 - NTSC	Warner Archive Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:48:00	1:48:08.482
Video	1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 5.73 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s	1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,010,364,768 bytes Feature: 36,002,838,528 bytes Video Bitrate: 38.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Bitrate: Blu-ray
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0	DTS-HD Master Audio English 1911 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1911 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) DTS-HD Master Audio English 2043 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2043 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit)
Subtitles	English, Spanish, French, None	English, and none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Warner (The Joan Crawford Collection) Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 Edition Details: • Commentary by Film Historian Drew Casper DVD Release Date: June 14th, 2004 5 Keep cases inside Box Chapters 27	Release Information: Studio: Warner Archive 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 39,010,364,768 bytes Feature: 36,002,838,528 bytes Video Bitrate: 38.00 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Commentary by Film Historian Drew Casper • Possessed: The Quintessential Film Noir (9:34) • Trailer (2:05) Blu-ray Release Date: October 21st, 2014 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters: 28

Comments

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

ADDITION: (October 2014) Warner Archive Region FREE - Blu-ray: We reviewed the, essential, The Joan Crawford Collection on DVD back in 2004. Once again, where the SD looks more like 'video' - the 1080P looks like 'film'. I did notice a few more speckles and some contrast flickering on the SD not present on the smoother (in-motion) HD, and the DVD definitely has some green infiltration. The 1080P Blu-ray is richer, more textured and shows a shade more information in the frame. The main attribute may be the visible texture - which accentuates Joseph A. Valentine's cinematography. The DVD was good for its time but the Blu-ray handily advances - more noticeable dependant on the system you have.

Audio is via a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel at 1911 kbps. The audio has its share of impacting moments with the Franz Waxman (Rebecca, Bride of Frankenstein, Rear Window, Sunset Boulevard, Night and the City) score adding to the film's psychological edginess. The lossless sounds exceptionally tight and clean. There are optional English subtitles and the Warner Blu-ray disc is Region FREE.

Warner repeat the excellent and informative Drew Casper commentary - as well as the previous 10-minute Possessed: The Quintessential Film Noir with Eddie Muller, James Ursini and Casper discussing the films 'dark cinema' features. There is also a trailer.

Another Noir must-own. The Blu-ray certainly adds the film-like touch to the viewing experience. A very strong recommendation!

- Gary Tooze

Menus

1) Warner (The Joan Crawford Collection) - Region 1, 2, 3, 4 - NTSC - LEFT

2) Warner Archive - Region FREE - Blu-ray RIGHT

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Screen Captures