Brian De Palma's Obsession (1976)

Obsession & Hitchcock's Vertigo

The Florentine church that becomes the symbol of Michael Courtland's obsession.

A 360-degree panning shot is used to show the passage of 16 years.

Michael's point of view in the return to the church and the discovery of Sandra.
"How was it, Court?" "The same."

Sandra's growing obsession with Elizabeth, which mirrors Michael's, is presented through a portrait and mirrors.

To evade conflict over the incest theme, the original marriage scenes between Michael and Sandra were placed in a dream frame.
"Now I am your wife. . . . Now I am Elizabeth. . . . I came back to give you a second chance to prove your love. . . ."

Complex editing parallels events 16 years apart and allows Genevieve Bujold to play the double roles simultaneously.

Unlike Vertigo, Obsession does not replay and double the protagonist's tragedy. It replays Vertigo's camera-circling love climax, though faster and with six full revolutions. Obsession ends without Vertigo's tragic unravelling. The apparently happy ending is nevertheless ambiguous, given all that the viewer (and Michael Courtland) has seen.