THE SPIRAL STAIRCASE OF POSSESSION
BERLIN FILM LOCATIONS: POSSESSION
Five years ago, Polish filmmaker and writer Andrzej Żuławski, one of cinema’s most fascinating and impactful figures, passed away in Warsaw. He was an uncompromising artist who created a unique film language. His art-house films, underestimated during his lifetime, are now admired and hailed by a cult following.
One of his the best known films is the psychological horror drama, Possession, from 1981, that was banned in the UK as a ‘video nasty’. The film tells the dramatic story of the separation of a married couple, played by Isabelle Adjani and Sam Neill. Andrzej Żuławski shot Possession in the summer of 1980 in West Berlin. Why did Żuławski choose Berlin? - Because Berlin is a city between east and west, the city of divided hearts, divided lives. When I wrote the script, I thought I really would love to make the film, closest possible to this part of the world, on the communist side of the world, Berlin seemed really the right place, surrounded by the wall, to have this entrenched psychology of people surrounded by evil, he said. For Żuławski, Berlin was the perfect place to create the world of darkness in the film.
Film locations are sacred spaces for many film lovers. It is a unforgettable feeling to be in the same space when your favourite, loved director made a film. One of my dreams was to go to Berlin to see the significant film locations in Possession, especially the last scene shot on a spectacular, beautiful spiral staircase. In 2016, I went to Berlin for the first time, to fulfil my dream.
When I arrived at Joseph Haydn street, the location of the staircase scene, I was very lucky that the door to the building was open and it was easy to get inside. The renovation works were going on in one of the apartments upstairs, but on the stairway it was very quiet, like in a temple. I was touched when I saw the wooden, creaky stairs, ornamental handrail and white light shining through the glass. The stairs, made by Gustav Eiffel, had not changed. They looked just like they did in the film - impressively beautiful. I was very moved walking up the stairs to the the top floor. During my tour of the building I met one of the tenants who told me that many people used to visit the place because of Żuławski.
In Cafe Einstein I was really surprised when waiter guided me to a different side of the restaurant than the corner where Mark and Anna have their big quarrel scene. But he hadn’t understood me and thought that I was looking for Tarantino’s location from Inglorious Bastards. Quickly, I spotted the right side, a mirrored corner, where Mark screams at Anna. Having a coffee in exactly the same spot was an emotional moment.
After visiting Bernauerstraße 68 where the film begins and the Stiege Restaurant where Sam Neil and Heinz Bennet have a fight, I finally arrived at The Subway, Platz der Luftbrücke. Here was where Possession’s most famous scene took place and where Adjani gave the best performance of her life. The subway had changed slightly because in 1990 the station was renovated and re-tiled, but the feeling of being in the same underground tunnel where Żuławski had shot this cult scene was very special for me. Adjani’s extraordinary performance became an inspiration for many artists, including Gaspar Noe’s Climax (2018), Massive Attack’s video clip Voodoo in My Blood and Amat Escalante’s The Untamed (2016).
To explore Berlin through these unique locations was a touching cinematic experience and a kind of spiritual journey for me.
The Spiral Staircase – Berlin (Hansaviertel), Joseph Haydn street 1, next to Tiergarten S-Bahn station
You can find the imposing, ornate cast-iron stairwell in one of the last remaining Wilhelminian style buildings in the district of Hansaviertel - Joseph Haydn Palais, built in 1886/87. The staircase was designed by Gustav Eiffel, a French civil engineer, famous for the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Sunlight spreads through a glass dome, enhancing the impression of the staircase.
Café Einstein Stammhaus in 1980. Cafe Einstein is where the couple’s breakup scene was filmed. Interestingly, this cafe also served as a filming location for Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Bastards.
Café Einstein Stammhaus in 2016. Kurfürstenstraße 58, 10785 Berlin. www.cafeeinstein.com. It is a stylish, exclusive cafe with a great history.
Bernauerstraße 68, Anna and Mark’s Apartment. One of the first scenes in the film, when Mark arrives home after a business trip and meets his wife Anna.
Stiege Restaurant, Oranienstrasse 47A. The Bar when Mark kills Heinrich.
Sam Neill is the glue holding the film together. Isabelle Adjani comes and goes and appears and disappears and makes a big bang every time she appears, but Sam had to be there all the time and hold the pieces together, by being there all the time. - A. Zulawski
It nearly killed me, but working with him was great. - Sam Neill
Bernauerstraße 68, the building next to Bernauerstraße 68 in 2016. It stands on a street in Berlin situated between the localities of Gesundbrunnen and Mitte, today both belonging to the Mitte borough. The estate looks very similar after forty years.
Stiege Restaurant is located right in the vibrant Kreuzberg Kiez in Oranienstraße 47A. It offers a wide selection of homemade Italian food and delicacies from the culinary world of oriental and German cuisine. http://restaurant-stiege.de/english/
Platz der Luftbrücke (Berlin U-Bahn) in 1980. The most disturbing and extraordinary scene in Possession, when Anna has a miscarriage inside a metro station, one of the best performances of Isabelle Adjani’s career. For this role she received Cannes Film Festival's Best Actress award and her first César Award.
This scene was filmed at five in the morning, when the subway was closed. I knew it was worth a lot of effort for [Adjani], both emotionally and physically, because it was cold there. It was unthinkable to repeat this scene endlessly. Most of what's left on the screen is the first take - A. Zulawski.
Platz der Luftbrücke (Berlin U-Bahn) in 2016. Platz der Luftbrücke (before called Kreuzberg) is a Berlin U-Bahn station located under Platz der Luftbrücke and the south end of Mehringdamm on the border between Kreuzberg and Tempelhof, near the former Tempelhof International Airport, and is now named for the square there with its memorial to the victims of the Berlin Airlift.
On the set of Possession. From the left: Andrzej Jaroszewicz (camera operator), Andrzej Żuławski, and below, Sam Neil and Isabelle Adjani.
Andrzej Żuławski (22 November 1940 - 16 February 2016) was a Polish filmmaker and writer. He studied film at the IDHC ‘Institute for Advanced Cinematographic Studies’ in Paris, France. He started his film career in 1961 working as an assistant for Polish director Andrzej Wajda. Ten years later, he debuted with The Third Part of the Night at the Venice Film Festival 1975.
During his life he made thirteen feature films. His last film Cosmos (2015) won Best Director award in the Locarno Film Festival. He is remembered mainly for epic, extraordinary work, space odyssey sci-fi On the Silver Globe and cult horror drama Possession with outstanding role of Isabelle Adjani. His the most popular film is a moving love story That Most Important Thing: Love with stunning Romy Schneider.
Żuławski’s films are demanding, profound and intelligent as well as beautiful, unusual and extremely emotional. For Żuławski, cinema has to challenge people, it also has to leave a mark on the viewer’s hearts. In his work, he explores the human condition in its struggle with life, love and death through a unique and personal film language. He remained an independent artist until his death.
More information about Andrzej Żuławski can be found here.
On the UK Blu-ray of Possession I recommend you watch Daniel Bird’s short film The Divided City which features current video of Berlin locations and footage from the film.
“Cinema is an extremely powerful weapon to disturb, to touch, to make people think—it’s a primitive force.”