{"id":15050,"date":"2017-05-13T14:24:43","date_gmt":"2017-05-13T21:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=15050"},"modified":"2017-05-20T15:06:33","modified_gmt":"2017-05-20T22:06:33","slug":"review-obsessions-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2017\/05\/review-obsessions-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Obsessions BD + Screen Caps"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The premise was interesting enough but the execution was pretty bad, as were some of the performances (though Alexandra Stewart was okay). I guess if you have a fascination with Dutch\/German productions in the English language, with Hitchcockian-like stories, this might be worth checking out, if only for the oddball nature.<\/p>\n

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Obsessions<\/span>
\n(1969)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Suspense\/Thriller
\nCult Epics | NR \u2013 91 min. \u2013 $34.95 | May 9, 2017<\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 05\/13\/2017 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n

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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u>Directed by: <\/strong>Pim De La Parra
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Pim De La Parra, Martin Scorsese & Wim Verstappen (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Alexandra Stewart, Dieter Geissler, Tom Van Beek, Donald Jones<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u>Features: <\/strong>Featurette, Interviews, Theatrical Trailer, Photo Gallery
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>No
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray, DVD
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Full Frame 1.33
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>None
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>21.4 GB
\nCodec: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 2.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Obsessions<\/em><\/strong> (aka A Hole in the Wall<\/em> aka Bezeten \u2013 Het gat in de muur<\/em>) is a Dutch-German thriller from 1969 that is, to say the least, obscure, and probably only would catch a cinephiles eye due to the fact it was co-written by a young Martin Scorsese. The film certainly has Hitchcockian vibes with the story but the finished product is amateurish at best, plodding and overdrawn at worst.<\/p>\n

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The plot revolves around Nils Janssen (DIETER GEISSLER), a young man studying, although we never actually see him do so, to be a doctor. He lives in a studio apartment along a canal and has a beautiful girlfriend, Marina (ALEXANDRA STEWART) who works as a news reporter.<\/p>\n

At movie\u2019s opening, a Vincent van Gogh painting falls from Nils\u2019 wall, a small hole opens up with a small view to the next door apartment. Before you know it, Nils has become obsessed with the strange goings-on, not to mention some hot-and-heavy love making. Yep, our main protagonist is a peeping Tom. With suspicious things happening, Nils decides to break in (using some sort of master key; not sure how that worked as there\u2019s a scene of him getting keys made) and inside discovers a nude young woman tied to a showerhead in a tub of water. He inspects the situation, finds some sort of substance and has it tested, later finding psychedelic drugs.<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, there\u2019s a side story with Marina as she turns into an investigative reporter after a U.S. serviceman is found dead and a woman Marina once interviewed is suspected of the crime. As you can imagine, the two plot lines connect (albeit clumsily).<\/p>\n

On the surface, I did find the plot for Obsessions<\/em><\/strong> to be intriguing. There were certain shades of Alfred Hitchcock here from Nils who definitely resembles Norman Bates to faked deaths and suspense-filled scenes such as one where Nils nearly being caught. Heck, Alexandra Stewart reminded me of Grace Kelly in Rear Window<\/em>, getting more involved with Nils\u2019 obsession with his neighbor; still odd that Marina wasn\u2019t concerned with her bae being a peeping Tom…<\/p>\n

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Obsessions<\/em><\/strong> was co-written and directed by Pim De La Parra, a Dutch filmmaker whom I honestly never heard of and despite what could\u2019ve been a half decent thriller, featured choppy editing, some poor performances and downright bad scriptwriting, though Bernard Herrmann\u2019s score did stand out. As I mentioned before, the only reason this is even known was because it features co-writing by Martin Scorsese when he was only 27 and very early in his career.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 2.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Introductions<\/u><\/strong> \u2013 You can watch intros from either Dieter Gessler or Pim de la Parra.<\/p>\n

Interviews:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n