Cinema Atlas
Discover Ask the Atlas World Map Directors My List Newsletter
THEME EXPLORATION

obsession and manipulation

12 films · 3 directors

Tracing the thread…

FILMS THAT EXPLORE THIS
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant
1972 · Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Vertigo
Vertigo
1958 · Alfred Hitchcock
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
The Testament of Dr. Mabuse
1933 · Fritz Lang
The Rough and the Smooth
The Rough and the Smooth
1959 · Robert Siodmak
Anthony Zimmer
Anthony Zimmer
2005 · —
Audition
Audition
2000 · Takashi Miike
Vertigo
Vertigo
1963 · Yannis Dalianidis
The Canyons
The Canyons
2013 · Paul Schrader
La fille coupée en deux
La fille coupée en deux
2007 · Claude Chabrol
La Prisonnière
La Prisonnière
1968 · Henri-Georges Clouzot
Secret Ceremony
Secret Ceremony
1968 · Joseph Losey
That Cold Day in the Park
That Cold Day in the Park
1969 · Robert Altman
DIRECTORS WHO EXPLORE THIS
Alfred Hitchcock → United Kingdom

Masterfully explored psychological manipulation and obsession through iconic thrillers like Vertigo and Psycho, where characters become consumed by their desires and delusions.

David Fincher → United States

Consistently examines obsession and control in films like Gone Girl and The Game, where characters manipulate each other in morally complex cat-and-mouse games.

Darren Aronofsky → United States

Intensely probes psychological obsession and self-destruction in films like Black Swan and The Wrestler, where protagonists spiral into madness through their singular fixations.

Cinema Atlas
About Newsletter Privacy Terms
© Cinema Atlas 2026 · An independent world-cinema guide
Discover Search Ask the Atlas My List Newsletter