Obsession
Short description
A drifting mechanic named Gino finds work at a roadside inn and garage run by a man named Bragana and his young wife, Giovanna. Gino and Giovanna quickly enter into a passionate affair and begin plotting to kill her husband so they can be together. Their plan to commit the murder eventually transforms their romance into a nightmare.
This 1943 Italian crime drama was the first of 15 films directed by Luchino Visconti. The movie stars Clara Calamai as Giovanna Bragana and Massimo Girotti as Gino Costa. The screenplay was written by Visconti alongside Giuseppe De Santis and Mario Alicata, and the film was produced by Libero Solaroli.
The film has a positive reception among viewers and professionals. It holds a 7.5 rating on IMDb based on 9,000 votes and an identical 7.5 rating on TMDB from 276 votes. Film critics gave the movie a higher score of 8.2 based on 15 reviews.
What's left behind the scenes
- The film was shot towards the end of Mussolini's rule in a semi-secret manner, using funds raised by Luchino Visconti from the sale of family jewels.
- Luchino Visconti’s debut film—an adaptation of James M. Cain’s noir novel 'The Postman Always Rings Twice' set in Italian realities.
- At the demand of fascist censors, the film, which 'slandered the Italian countryside,' was repeatedly re-edited, and its negative was burned. For this reason, and due to difficulties with copyright, the film was practically unavailable for viewing for decades. Only at the end of Luchino Visconti’s life did he restore it based on an incomplete dupe negative he had preserved.
- The premiere of 'Obsession' is described differently by eyewitnesses. The son of the Duce, Vittorio Mussolini, was present and allegedly shouted, 'This is not Italy!' Others recall that Mussolini liked the film. Provincial authorities, on the contrary, strongly opposed the film; there is a known case of a bishop being invited to consecrate the cinema 'defiled' by the film.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
