Schwarzer Engel (1976)

Schwarzer Engel: Directed by Brian De Palma. With Cliff Robertson, Geneviève Bujold, John Lithgow, Sylvia Kuumba Williams. A wealthy New Orleans businessman becomes obsessed with a young woman who resembles his wife.

“I revisited u0026quot;Obsessionu0026quot; recently because Iu0026#39;ve always been a fan of the late, great Bernard Herrmann. In the late 1970u0026#39;s, I bought the u0026quot;Obsessionu0026quot; soundtrack on LP because, as one critic so aptly wrote, u0026quot;Herrmannu0026#39;s score would make even blank film compelling.u0026quot; As for what happens on the celluloid, itu0026#39;s obvious that this movie was a lower-budgeted rush job (example: mid-70u0026#39;s automobiles in scenes of 1959 New Orleans). Itu0026#39;s also quite a feat to make Florence look so drab and gray, while the middle third of the film bogs down tremendously. And the excessive use of filters by Vilmos Zsigmond makes the film look less ethereal than out-of-focus.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIn my opinion, the only other positive for the film is Genevieve Bujoldu0026#39;s performance. It stands in marked contrast to the one given by Cliff Robertson, who is leaden throughout and provides no shades or nuances of a conflicted man. And a young John Lithgow fares no better, with his outrageously syrupy Southern accent.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFive stars out of ten. For Benny and Genevieve.”