alr

Posssession

Screening on Film
Directed by Andrzej Zulawski.
With Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent.
France/West Germany, 1981, 35mm, color, 127 min.
Print source: HFA

E is for Exploitation!

After an extended business trip behind the Iron Curtain, a man returns home to suspect his wife of having an affair and soon realizes he has created a monster. From the first frame, Polish director Zulawski transmogrifies this domestic crisis into an unrelenting, over-the-top cinematic spectacle. A deeply unnerving tour-de-force, Possession benefits from an awe-inspiring performance by Isabelle Adjani that garnered the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival and a French César Award. Reduced to 82 minutes against the director’s wishes upon its American release, we are pleased to present the original 127-minute version in all its tumultuous glory.

Part of film series

Read more

Cinema A–Z: Treasures from the Harvard Film Archive

Current and upcoming film series

Read more

The Cold Heart is More Precious than Diamonds. The Cinema of Graham Greene.

Read more

João César Monteiro, Poet-Provocateur

Read more

Marathon '77 All-Night Movie Marathon