In 1981, amid the rising tensions of the Cold War, Polish director Andrzej Żuławski wrote and directed a film that would ultimately define his career. Having fled his native land following repeated conflict with the authorities, and suffering from deep depression after separating from his wife, Żuławski would channel his anger, sorrow, and frustration – along with the threatening socio-political zeitgeist – into Possession, a primal scream of psychosexual horror.
Possession tells a story of a tilted relationship on the verge of total collapse. Mark (Sam Neill) returns to his West Berlin apartment to discover that his wife, Anna (Isabelle Adjani), has been unfaithful in his absence. Following this confession, the couple’s marriage degrades into psychosis, with Anna and Mark’s communication growing frenzied, unhinged, and physically violent. While Anna’s behavior becomes increasingly deranged and unpredictable, Mark spirals into a destructive stupor of rage, guilt, and jealousy. And, peeling back the layers of their pain, the realities of Anna’s trysts prove darker than anyone could have imagined.
Two formidable lead performances synchronise with Żuławski’s dreamlike direction to create a hysterical hyper-reality, where every emotion, every sensation, every evocation is stretched to breaking point. Though this abstract storytelling style and violent audio-visual assault can be bewildering, even detaching, to some, Possession embraces the vulgarity, sewing convoluted dialogue, overwrought emotion, and piercing noise into its fabric. Possession piques curiosity with the mundane mystery of a failing middle-class marriage, before bursting the seams with physiological horror – executed in gory scenes of mutilation and murder.
Undoubtedly, Adjani is the beating, bleeding heart of the piece, delivering a full-throated, disturbing performance that would see her awarded Best Actress at both Cannes ’81 and Cesar ’82. Adjani’s harrowing physical action is married to her charged, vulnerable eroticism, creating an irresistible but wholly unpredictable personality. Anna is the proverbial wounded animal: cornered, confused, and extremely dangerous. Adjani’s frightening tour-de-force performance, much like Possession itself, leaves its stain on the viewer.
TF1 Studio has done splendid work for this new 4K remaster. Rebalanced contrast pulls light and dark – both characters in this visually thematic film – into distinction. Mark and Anna’s apartment is awash in whites, offering a stark, cold veneer to the couple’s key battleground. Darker locales, such as Anna’s derelict second home, have clearer detailing while not losing the darkness lurking in its corners and corridors. Vitally, this release may be the cleanest Possession has ever looked. The image is rich with grain, pulling details near and far into sharp focus. Additionally, the pinholes and tears featured in previous remasters are gone entirely. For standard Blu-ray users, this disc offers an upgrade from Second Sight’s OOP 2013 release.
Second Sight has put together a comprehensive package for Possession‘s 4K debut. Both the UHD and Blu-ray editions feature all of the extras from the 2013 release. These include two audio commentaries, one featuring Żuławski himself, as well as a host of contemporary and archival features on Possession‘s locations, score, poster art, and legacy. New to this release is an additional commentary from renowned authors Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor, along with featurettes from filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro and Diabolique editor Kat Ellinger.
Perhaps the most curious extra is the inclusion of Possession‘s 1983 U.S. cut, newly restored from an archival print. This version was shorn of a staggering 42 minutes and had its first and final act re-edited. Additionally, the cut was ‘treated’ to an Omen-esque choral score as well as some frankly bizarre solarisation effects – changes made by U.S. distributors in hopes of making the film a little more palatable to the multiplex crowd. Of course, this form is inferior to Żuławski’s vision, but it’s gratifying to have it included here as a morbid curiosity. The U.S. cut has optional commentary from Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic. Finally, the Limited Edition includes a 220-page hardback book of essays, a reprint of the original shooting script, and a selection of art cards.
Boasting a stellar remaster and a suite of compelling special features, Second Sight closes out the year with this definitive editon of Żuławski’s celluloid nightmare. Thematically rich and sensually devastating, Possession takes mundane elements of human relations and drags them, shrieking and caterwauling, into the metaphysical – made flesh through its bold, uncompromising performances. Possession remains as powerful today as on its 1981 debut, set to provoke and fascinate audiences for decades more.
POSSESSION is available on UHD, Blu-ray, and three-disc limited edition from December 15th 2025.
