Possession (1981) (Limited Edition) (4K Ultra HD Review)
DIRECTED BY: Andrzej Żuławski
STARRING: Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Heinz Bennent
RATED: 18 (UK)/Region: O (4K) B (Blu-ray)/1:66/2160P/NUMBER OF DISCS 2
AVAILABLE FROM Second Sight Films
Andrzej Żuławski’s Possession (1981) is what happens when a divorce movie, a possession horror film, and a full-scale nervous breakdown all agree to share the same apartment. It’s loud, unhinged, emotionally radioactive—and somehow, gloriously, one of the most committed cinematic freak-outs ever put on film.
On paper, the story of a marriage disintegrating in Cold War Berlin sounds like bleak art-house misery. In practice, Possession detonates into a parade of screaming, flailing, and psychological carnage so intense it circles back around to being hypnotic. Żuławski directs like he’s trying to exorcise his own soul through the camera, and the film refuses to calm down for even a second, as if stillness itself would be a betrayal.
Isabelle Adjani delivers an all-timer performance that feels less like acting and more like an endurance test. Her infamous subway scene is the kind of moment that makes you wonder whether awards bodies should hand out hazard pay. Sam Neill, meanwhile, matches her pitch-perfect hysteria, proving that sanity is optional and dignity is the first thing to go in Żuławski’s worldview.
Yes, it’s messy. Yes, it’s indulgent. And yes, there are stretches where the symbolism is so aggressively on-the-nose it might as well be screaming at you in German and Polish simultaneously. But Possession earns its excess. Every shriek, every convulsion, every bizarre left turn feels intentional, like Żuławski daring the audience to either submit or leave the theater entirely.
In the end, Possession is a film that weaponizes emotional extremity. It’s exhausting, baffling, and absolutely unforgettable—a horror classic that doesn’t just depict madness, but demands you experience it firsthand. You may not enjoy every minute of it, but you’ll respect the hell out of its refusal to be normal, restrained, or safe.
Special Features
- A new Producer approved 4K restoration presented in HDR with Dolby Vision
- Dual format 3 disc edition including 1 UHD and 2 Blu-rays with main feature and bonus features on both formats
- The North American Re-edit: newly restored from an archive print
- New Audio Commentary by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Alison Taylor
- Audio Commentary by Director Andrzej Żuławski moderated by Daniel Bird
- Audio Commentary by Frederic Tuten moderated by Daniel Bird
- New Audio Commentary by Daniel Bird and Manuela Lazic (The North American Re-edit)
- The Horror of Normality: Guillermo del Toro on Possession
- The Shadow We Carry: Kat Ellinger on Possession
- Repossessed: The Film’s UK and US Reception
- Andrzej Żuławski: Director: archive documentary
- A Divided City: The Berlin locations
- The Sounds of Possession: an interview with Composer Andrzej Korzynski
- Our Friend in the West: an interview with Producer Christian Ferry
- Basha: a featurette on poster artist Barbara ‘Basha’ Baranowska
- The Other Side of The Wall: The Making of Possession
- Archive interview with Andrzej Żuławski
- Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailer
Limited Edition Contents
- Rigid slipcase with Basha’s original theatrical artwork
- 220-page hardback book with new essays by Daniel Bird, Elena Lazic and Alison Taylor, ‘The Creature: Preliminary Sketches’, ‘Filming Possession’, ‘The Poster of Possession’, pressbook feature, archive articles and interviews and Behind the Scenes gallery
- 211-page original shooting script book with notes by Andrzej Żuławski and Frederic Tuten
- 6 collectors’ art cards
