Vertigo & Brian De Palma's Obsession

Brian De Palma's Obsession (1975) began, according to the director, when De Palma and screenwriter Paul Schrader attended a showing of Hitchcock's Vertigo. "We . . . came up with a scenario modeled on the plot of Vertigo."
Both movies center on a man who believes himself responsible for the death of a loved one.

Eventually each protagonist spots a double of the dead woman, which seems to offer a "second chance."

A portrait plays an important role in identifying the double with the dead woman.

The doubles become increasingly identified with the dead woman.

Both movies include a scene where the double writes a letter revealing her true identity, the truth about the past event, and her involvement in a plot against the protagonist.

Both movies present a romantic culmination in dream imagery.

De Palma mimics Hitchcock's circling camera in love scenes, as well as the protagonist's moment of hesitation.
Obsession, unlike Vertigo, provides an apparently happy, if ambiguous, ending.

Sandra climbs a Hitchcockian staircase to Elizabeth's room. Below: Obsession contains references to other Hitchcock motifs and movies such as Dial M for Murder (the scissors-killing) and Notorious (the key to a locked room).
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