Metacritic reviews

It's one wacked-out melodrama, but it's wildly entertaining.

Sirk freighted this material with surprisingly delicate art: gorgeous photography and staging, a fluency of camera work rarely seen even in A-level movies, and an earnest tone evident in the music, dialogue and acting. [17 Oct 1999]

Every step depends on stifled emotions and closely guarded secrets, resulting in a buildup of operatic passion that endows everyday gestures and inflections with grandeur and nobility.

It is a sensitive treatment of faith told in terms of moving, human drama which packs emotional impact.

Less magnificent than the Ambersons or the Seven perhaps, but a minor classic nonetheless. [26 Mar 2006, p.14]

It is full of goodness of purpose, sweetness and nobility of character. [05 Aug 1954, p.38]

Not quite as heart-wrenching as the original version, this remake is still pretty good and does benefit from being filmed in color.

Magnificent Obsession was a decisive turning point for Douglas Sirk, kicking off a beloved string of loopy ’50s melodramatic masterpieces.

Loony, but spellbinding. [28 Apr 2006, p.C9]

Playing his first major role, the strapping, manly Mr. Hudson gives a fine, direct account of himself, in the film's only real surprise. Otherwise, Universal has delivered the goods—or good—exactly as prescribed by the doctor.