Ossessione ([osːɛs'sjone], "Obsession") is a 1943 Italian crime drama film directed and co-written by Luchino Visconti, in his directorial debut. It is an unauthorized and uncredited adaptation of the 1934 novel The Postman Always Rings Twice by American author James M. Cain, and stars Clara Calamai, Massimo Girotti, and Juan de Landa in the leading roles. It is often considered to be the first Italian neorealist film, though there is some debate about whether such a categorization is accurate.Banned and ostracized by the Fascist regime during its initial release, the Italian Ministry of Culture has since placed Ossessione on its list of 100 Italian films to be saved, distinguishing films which "changed the collective memory of the country between 1942 and 1978."