Altered States

Ah, the 80's. A time when brilliant scientific geniuses fresh out of universities and doing their magic was cool rather than frightening and dorky. I have seen this movie before, when I was a child, and I remember the sense of awe I got from it, if nothing else. This time, the awe is just as real.

Most impressive for this movie is the construction. Ken Russel does a brilliant movie that grabs your emotions and twists them around. The soundtrack plays a great factor here, too. William Hurt is just wonderful, while the other few actors are just there to support him.

I can't say much about the story. I feel that in the context of this movie, it is irrelevant. I plan on reading the book, see what the author actually meant. It is not a horror story, either, although it is frightening at places; certainly not a monster and gore film.

Bottom line: the realization is great, the feel is awesome, the story highly intellectual. Something movies today pretty much lack altogether. You just have to watch this, but beware: people that are not fans of trippy sci-fi movies will only spoil your experience. This is one of the few films that must be watched alone.

This is one of Ken Russell's best films. He manages to balance plot and wild visuals as never before. The acting is also first rate. I watched it again recently I think it still holds up surprisingly well compared to many modern sci-fi movies. The plot is intriguing, I keep thinking that there might be some truth to the concepts presented, and the fact is that our own brains are still largely unexplored territory. A special mention to the extraordinary music written by John Corigliano, and for which he was nominated for an Academy Award. It dares to be loud and violent, and complements the visuals extremely well. This is a wild, original movie unlike any other.

Bizarre cinematic head-trip that is far better and more entertaining than anyone could guess from a description. I put it on my Netflix queue without realizing it was directed by Ken Russell. If I had seen that earlier, I would have avoided it. Thankfully I didn't. It contains everything that is good about Russell, that is, his crazy imagery, and none of the bad stuff. That is, it's not an enormous bore. The script was written by Paddy Chayefsky, based on his own novel. Not the writer you would associate with horror or sci-fi, which is the proper genres to which Altered States belongs. He disowned the film before he even saw a cut of it, despite the fact that Russell was contractually obligated not to change a word of the script. The greatest asset of the film is the fantastic acting. William Hurt makes his screen debut as a mad scientist, a Harvard professor, actually, who is experimenting with sensory deprivation, mixed with some choice hallucinogens. He hopes to lose his modern mind in the sensory deprivation tank and regress to a primitive state. Unfortunately, some mushrooms that he finds in Mexico help him regress not only mentally, but physiologically. Blair Brown plays his estranged and worried wife, and Charles Haid and Bob Balaban (love the Balaban!) play colleagues who help Hurt do his experiments. The plot is silly, but it's legitimately eerie and frightening, thanks to Russell's surprisingly excellent direction. The film ends up in territory very reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but I thought it all worked pretty well. Drew Barrymore makes her film debut at age 5, and also keep an eye out for John Larroquette.

It's been a quarter century since I first experienced Altered States, Ken Russell's take on Paddy Chayevsky's novel of the search for a common bond between all of us, the ability to love. I personally don't care if Chayevsky disowned the movie or if Russell resented him for it or how many angels you can set on the head of a pin, for that matter. Altered States is a harshly beautiful and intellectual movie based on a book with the same adjectives.

I'm not going to praise the fine performances, the dazzling special effects, or the painful, emotional epiphany that the lead character, Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) experiences as he fights his way past the roadblock of pure intellect. I want to praise Altered States for its emotional and intellectual message of the power of love to embrace us all and heal our wounds.

Altered States is not for the weak of stomach or the easily offended. The imagery is disturbing and, at times, repulsive. There are scenes of blasphemy that I know have put off Evangelical friends of mine. But the central idea of a commonality, a kinship that humans have with one another and the danger of setting oneself apart to avoid the pain of interacting and loving is, I believe, supremely satisfying at both an intellectual and emotional level.

Altered States isn't one of the very best films I've seen, but it surely has been a source of joy for me. And if it doesn't turn your crank--or turns it the wrong way--then find your joy in another film or other media . . . and remember to love.

My original review was written in November 1980 after a screening at the Ziegfeld theater: "Altered States" is an exciting combo science fiction-horror film, well-timed to exploit the under-30 market's current enthusiasm for this genre. Direction by Ken Russell has energy to spare, with appropriate match-up of his baroque visual style to special effects-intensive material. With repeat attendance a definite possibility, Warner Brothers could have major hit via this $15,000,000 budgeter.

Producers Howard Gottfried and Daniel Melnick weathered stormy pre-production problems, including the ankling of director Arthur Penn late in 1978, departure soon after of special effect wiz John Dykstra, and transfer of proposed project from Columbia to Warners as proposed budget grew.

Screenplay credited to Sidney Aaron (after Paddy Chayefsky insisted his name be removed) follows the Chayefsky novel very closely, retaining much of the dialog and crucial incidents. Tall tale concerns a young psychophysiologist, Edward Jessup (William Hurt), working in New York and later at Harvard on dangerous experiments concerning human consciousness. Despite his having visions of Christ during his childhood, he take a strictly rationalist "God is dead" stance in his search for a meaning behind man's existence.

Using himself as the subject, Jessup makes use of a sensory deprivation tank (sealing off light, sound, gravity, etc.) to hallucinate back to the event of his birth and beyond, regressing into primitive stages of human evolution.

As Hurt, a physically commanding young actor becomes increasingly obsessed, his wife Emily provides the film's human balance. She is an anthropologist with a career of her own, portrayed empathetically by the redhead beauty Blair Brown, previously on view in "One-Trick Pony", shot after "Altered States".

Jessup ventures to Mexico, participating in a mystical Indian rite. Bringing home the Indians' hallucinogenic compounds, he escalates his tank sessions until physically changing into an apelike monster, killing a security guard and escaping into the primitive environment of a neary zoo.

Returning to normal in "Jekyll and Hyde" fashion, Jessup continues in his folly until wife Emily is also involved, with duo's love romantically conquering the physical (and perhaps psychological) effects. Making for a surprisingly hopeful conclusion.

Russell has downplayed much of Chayefsky's heady philosophy by having the actors, especially Hurt, rattle off their jargon-laden speeches at breakneck speed. In fact, the thesps' tendency to declaim or shout is the film's weakest element. Countering this defect are the film's impressive hallucinations, akin to the "ultimate trip" light-shows in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey". Shattering use of Dolby stereo effects conspires with the images to give the viewer a vicarious LSD-type experience sans drugs. While not for all tastes, this aspect of the pic should win over the youth audience.

Film's action scenes are also potent, with Eric Jenkins' top-notch editing bringing it all in at under 100 minutes. Dick Smith's makeup is outstanding, and combines with the physical agility of Miguel Godreau as the apeman to suspend disbelief during the most outrageous horror scenes.

William Hurt's feature film debut is arresting, especially during the film's grueling climactic sequence. Hopefully he will be given a chance to relax in future roles. Blair Brown is warm and appealing, while also up to the physical demands of nudity and mayhem typical of Russell's approach. Charles Haid's gruff, southern-fried medico creates solid comic relief between action crescendos.

A newcomer to films, classical composer John Corigliano has penned an atonal score which more than holds its own amidst a barrage of sound effects. Effects men and the whole technical crew, deserve kudos including cameraman Jordan Cronenweth for his lighting and tracking. Their combined efforts should "zap" audiences with a theatrical film experience they can't get at home.