Magnificent Obsession is a wonderful romantic drama featuring two great performances by Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman (who was nominated for an Academy Award), beautifully shot by director Douglas Sirk.
Magnificent Obsession
— The Criterion Collection —
(1954)
Genre(s): Drama, Romance
Criterion Collection | NR – 108 min. – $39.95 | August 20, 2019
Date Published: 09/10/2019 | Author: The Movieman
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The Criterion Collection provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
The opinions I share are my own.
PLOT SYNOPSIS |
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Reckless playboy Robert Merrick (ROCK HUDSON) is in a boat accident, and his condition requires a resuscitator to save his life. Soon afterward Dr. Phillips has a heart attack and needs the same machine. Without it, Dr. Phillips dies. Due to his philanthropy and his wife Helen’s accident, she (JANE WYMAN) has very little money. Merrick then tries to right his wrongs with Helen –falling in love with her in the process — and decides to turn to the study of medicine to become a surgeon. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 4.0/5 |
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As with other Criterion releases, this two-disc set comes housed in a clear HD keep case and inside is a fold-out booklet. The first disc contains the 1954 version and the second disc has the 1935 version. Audio Commentary – Film Scholar Thomas Doherty. This track recorded in 2008 is, as one would expect, more educational as Doherty gives a historical accounting for the project. Interview with Robert Blees (19:19) — Recorded in 2009, the screenwriter Robert Blees discusses working as one the last contracted writers to be hired by Universal and his work on this film. From UFA to Hollywood: Douglas Sirk Remembers (1:22:37) is a documentary from 1991 with the director looking back at his career, his process and working at Universal. Tributes to Sirk — Filmmakers Allison Anders (9:10) and Kathryn Bigelow (13:17) are avid fans of Sirk, sharing their feelings about the director and his work. Trailer (2:25) |
VIDEO – 5.0/5 |
| Criterion Collection releases Magnificent Obsession onto Blu-ray presented in its original 2.00 widescreen aspect ratio and given a new 1080p transfer. The picture was digitally restored from a 35mm interpositive and has been cleaned up, removing dirt, debris and scratches using various software programs. This black and white presentation looks amazing, detail is incredibly sharp throughout and free of any major flaws while the natural film grain and noise has still been maintained. |
AUDIO – 4.0/5 |
| The disc includes a DTS-HD Master Audio Mono track which was also remastered from the 35mm DME magnetic track using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX. This also was rather impressive outputting clean dialogue and some decent depth for a movie like this. |
OVERALL – 4.25/5 |
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Magnificent Obsession is a wonderful romantic drama featuring two great performances by Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman (who was nominated for an Academy Award), beautifully shot by director Douglas Sirk and his DP, Russell Metty. This Blu-ray released by The Criterion Collection offers up impressive audio and video transfers alongside a good selection of bonus material. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.