Director: Andrzej Żuławski
Screenplay: Andrzej Żuławski
Starring: Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill
Country: France and West Germany
Running Time: 124 min (theatrical) 77 min (re-edit)
Year: 1981
Full review forthcoming
Film: 
Possession released on 15th December via Second Sight Films on Limited Edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray, with standalone 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases also available. I viewed the film in UHD via a review copy. The new 4K restoration, approved by the producer, looks stunning. Featuring Dolby Vision HDR, the film has never looked better on home media. The image quality is unbelievable and comparing it to the older Second Sight Blu-ray only highlights how gorgeous this new release looks. The US re-edit is sourced from an archive print and compared to previous releases, which included it in standard definition, it’s a big jump in quality. Audio wise, it has a English 1.0 Dolby Digital track. All in all, it’s a phenomenal A/V package. The following extras are included:
Special Features
– A new Producer approved 4K restoration presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
– Dual format 3 disc edition including 1 UHD and 2 Blu-rays with main feature and bonus features on both formats
– The North American Re-edit: newly restored from an archive print
– New Audio Commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor
– Audio Commentary by Director Andrzej Żuławski moderated by Daniel Bird
– Audio Commentary by Frederic Tuten moderated by Daniel Bird
– New Audio Commentary by Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic (The North American Re-edit)
– The Horror of Normality: Guillermo del Toro on Possession
– The Shadow We Carry: Kat Ellinger on Possession
– Repossessed: The Film’s UK and US Reception
– Andrzej Żuławski: Director: archive documentary
– A Divided City: The Berlin locations
– The Sounds of Possession: an interview with Composer Andrzej Korzynski
– Our Friend in the West: an interview with Producer Christian Ferry
– Basha: a featurette on poster artist Barbara ‘Basha’ Baranowska
– The Other Side of The Wall: The Making of Possession
– Archive interview with Andrzej Żuławski
– Deleted Scenes
– Theatrical Trailer
Limited Edition Contents
– Rigid slipcase with Basha’s original theatrical artwork
– 220-page hardback book with new essays by Daniel Bird, Elena Lazic and Alison Taylor, ‘The Creature: Preliminary Sketches’, ‘Filming Possession’, ‘The Poster of Possession’, pressbook feature, archive articles and interviews and Behind the Scenes gallery
– 211-page original shooting script book with notes by Andrzej Żuławski and Frederic Tuten
– 6 collectors’ art cards
The North American re-edit of Possession is included, and fans of the film will know why this is quite the alternate version. Trimming the runtime down from 124 minutes to 77 minutes, it completely alters almost every aspect of the film, cutting out most of the content to make it ‘faster-paced’ and more of a traditional horror picture, resulting in one of the most perplexing alternate versions in cinematic history. The previous Second Sight Blu-ray didn’t include this, so it’s great to see it finally available over here, and as noted, it’s newly restored from an archive print.
This release contains four audio commentaries, two archival tracks included Frederic Tuten and Andrzej Żuławski, both moderated by Daniel Bird and two new tracks, one with Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor, and another with Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic (exclusively for the US re-edit of the film). The two archival tracks are solid listens, with the director track offering a boatload of information about the film’s production, some of which ends up overlapping on the included archival interview. However, given that the film runs for over two hours, there’s plenty of new information to dive into here and Bird makes for an excellent moderator. The Tuten track offers a different perspective on the film. He was one of the producers for Possession and hearing him recount the production is equally fascinating and makes for quite a good listen. The Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor is a great analytical piece from the pair, as to be expected. Heller-Nicholas and Taylor clearly admire the film and it’s delightful to hear the pair recount how they experienced the film for the first time and what they appreciate about it. A great listen. And finally, the track with Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic for the US re-edit is another solid listen. Like the featurette included, it highlights many of the differences between this re-edit and the original edit. All in all, it’s an excellent array of commentaries that cover a wide range of elements of Possession.
The Horror of Normality is a brand new 27 minute interview with filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, highlighting his appreciation for Possession. For those who’ve seen his appreciation on Eureka’s release of Cure, you’ll have an idea of what to expect here. Guillermo mentions that it’s his ideal first date movie, which is incredible. He describes the fairy-tale aspects to the film, how he discovered the film initially and his personal interpretations on the film. My favourite extra on the disc, easily.
The Shadow We Carry is a brand new 18 minute video essay by Kat Ellinger on Possession. Like most of Ellinger’s essays, it’s a fantastic listen that dives into how Żuławski utilises melodrama in Possession, how he considered the film his only autobiographical effort and more.
Repossessed: The Film’s UK and US Reception is an archival featurette, ported over from the previous Second Sight Blu-ray, where it was known as Repossessed: The Re-Editing of Possession and as you might have expected, it takes a look at the differences between the two versions of Possession. It runs for twelve and a half minutes and is a must-watch for those curious on how butchered the US version of the film is compared to the original release.
Andrzej Żuławski: Director is a 51 minute archive French documentary from 1985. It’s presented in standard definition and seems to have been produced for television, featuring more of an overview on Żuławski compared to the other extras included. There’s interviews with family members and ends up being quite an insightful watch.
A Divided City: The Berlin Locations is another archival featurette from Second Sight’s prior release, running for seven minutes and it highlights the locations that Possession were shot, during the time this featurette was created in 2013.
Two archival interviews are included, one with composer Andrzej Korzynski (The Sounds of Possession) and another with producer Christian Ferry (Our Friend in the West). They run for 19 minutes and 7 minutes respectively and were recorded in 2013. Both interviews offer insight into working with Zulawski and are worth checking out.
Basha is a 6 minute featurette on poster artist Barbara ‘Basha’ Baranowska, written by Daniel Bird and it’s a fascinating little piece that highlights the artist’s work on plenty of French posters for iconic films.
The Other Side of The Wall: The Making of Possession is an archival 51 minute documentary, featuring interviews with Andrzej Żuławski, Marie-Laure Reyre, Frederic Tuten and Andrzej J. Jaroszewicz, with narration by Daniel Bird. It’s a solid piece, ported over from Second Sight’s previous Blu-ray and contains some bonkers moments, such as when Żuławski describes his direction in the tunnel scene, instructing Adjani to “fuck the air” throughout the sequence. A truly fascinating man.
An archive interview with Andrzej Żuławski from 2009 is also included, with the director talking at length for 36 minutes about the production of Possession, the inspiration behind it, his experiences working with the actors (primarily Isabelle Adjani) and more. It’s a solid interview and I’m glad to see it ported over.
Four minutes of deleted scenes are included, mostly containing small sequences that run for around 20/30 seconds each. They’re worth checking out if you’re craving a handful of short sequences, almost all involving Sam Neill’s character, although there’s more tunnel footage too.
A two minute and 47 second international theatrical trailer is included.
I wasn’t provided with any of the physical contents, so I’m unable to comment on those.
Possession is one of the great films, and Second Sight’s new 4K UHD and Blu-ray releases allows the film to shine brighter than ever before. Both cuts, multiple documentaries, archival interviews, featurettes on the edits and poster, a video essay analysing the film, four audio commentaries, deleted scenes and more on the discs, not to mention the countless physical goodies included in the Limited Edition release. It’s one of Second Sight’s best releases, up there with Dawn of the Dead and deserves a space on every collector’s shelf.
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