Magnificent Obsession (Douglas Sirk 1954) w/ Josh Cooley

Nov 3

Felicia is joined by Josh Cooley to discuss why it’s important to consider melodrama in a positive light through Douglas Sirk’s Magnificent Obsession (1954).

We chat about why Sirk was considered a ‘woman’s picture’ director, and why that work lead to some of the most beautiful imagery put on screen.

This is the first installment in the Sirk series and an important one to listen to as we give a lot of background into his life in Germany, and how he ended up in Hollywood.

Send us your thoughts on the episode by sending us a message on any of our social platforms or by email: seeingfacesinmovies@gmail.com

Listen to our previous episode:
Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg 1991)

Sources:
Sirk, D., & Halliday, J. (2018). Sirk on sirk: Conversations with Jon Halliday. Bloomsbury Publishing.

https://calgarycinema.org/blog/2021/8/magnificent-obsession-1954-douglas-sirk

https://inreviewonline.com/2024/08/19/magnificent-obsession/

https://scenebygreen.com/2022/04/20/magnificent-obsession-1954/

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/1006-magnificent-obsessions

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6549-sirk-in-the-sun

https://criterionreflections.blogspot.com/2010/04/magnificent-obsession-1954-457.html

https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2014/feature-articles/obsessions-imitations-subversions-on-magnificent-obsession-part-one/

https://thatshelf.com/guy-maddin-talks-magnificent-obsession-at-tiff/

Outro Song:
Theme from Magnificent Obsession by Frank Skinner

Films Mentioned: