Obsession

Original title: Circle of Two

1981
PG
1h 46m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

The story of the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a sixty-year-old painter.The story of the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a sixty-year-old painter.The story of the impossible love between a schoolgirl and a sixty-year-old painter.

Director
- Jules Dassin
Writers
- Marie-Terese Baird
- Thomas Hedley Jr.
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.7/10

715

YOUR RATING

Director
- Jules Dassin
Writers
- Marie-Terese Baird
- Thomas Hedley Jr.
Stars

See production info at IMDbPro

Photos18

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
The movie began filming in August 1979, but did not debut theatrically until 1981. (It was shown at the Cannes Film Market in May 1980).

Quotes
Sarah Norton: Have you thought about going to bed with me?
Ashley St. Clair: Yes.
Sarah Norton: [walks over to the bed] Let's.
Ashley St. Clair: Obviously, no.
Sarah Norton: Why? Is it because you think I'm a virgin? Because if you think I am...
Ashley St. Clair: You are.
Sarah Norton: I am.

Alternate versions
The USA release was cut by 9 minutes due to censorship, and retitled "Obsession". The advertising tagline for this version was misleading: "In the tradition of Lolita...". The storyline, originally from Balzac's French novel, was not about a doomed "obsession" as in Stanley Kubrick's "Lolita", but about a love that knows no boundaries and one that rejuvenates the older painter. The American distributor who re-cut it didn't understand the intention of the film, and mistakenly saw it as prurient. This censored version currently (2020) circulates on streaming services such as Amazon Prime.

Connections
Featured in Vintage Video: A Chronological 80's Film Rewatch Podcast: 0323 Circle of Two (1981) (2023)

Soundtracks
Circle of Two
Music by Bernard Hoffer
Lyrics by Stanley Jay Gelber
Sung by Kacey Cisyk

User reviews21

Review

Featured review

A pretty unforgettable film

This is a film about romance - deep romance - and it has stayed with me since I first saw it many years ago. There is nothing at all tasteless in the depiction of the relationship between Ashley Sinclair (Richard Burton) and Sara (Tatum O' Neal). It has a lot of purity - partly, I suppose because their love was unconsummated physically - yet, it really was infinitely consummated mentally and emotionally in a way. Two people in love doing, one supposes, the "right" thing - the ending of this film is very heart-wrenching for anyone who has ever had to make difficult choices in love. I thought that both Richard Burton and Tatum O'Neal were perfect in their roles, and their love was highly believable. I also thought the title song was very memorable - there have been many times I have heard it in my head over the years. A great love story, that, unfortunately, not that many people know about.