Au bord du gouffre

This is not among Dirk Bogarde's more famous films. Still, it's very enjoyable and worth a look...and would make a great double-feature with "The Manchurian Candidate".

The film begins with a seemingly loyal British professor killing himself...and he was suspected of being an enemy spy. However, Professor Longman (Bogarde) cannot believe that his dear friend would be a spy and suspects that their sensory deprivation research COULD have warped the poor man's mind. A subsequent experiment proves, the hard way, that this could indeed be the case.

Unless you are watching the pilot episode of the original "Hawaii Five-O", you won't get a better look at sensory deprivation tanks and their ability to warp a person's mind. A fascinating, cerebral sort of film that is well worth seeing and Bogarde, as usual, is excellent!

I enjoyed this but it could have been much better and I wouldn't rush to see it again. Beginning brilliantly with London streets and brilliant shots of Paddington station and of trains this commences with real drama, moves to rather drawn out theoretical discussions surrounding sensual deprivation experimentation and possible abuse. There is then some more talking and domestic goings on before more talking, far fetched theorising, some decent Oxford river and streets scenes before a not so climatic ending. Mary Are is fine, Dirk Bogarde gives his usual solid performance but neither are good enough to make up for the script's considerable shortcomings.

Intelligent - and, at the time, X-Rated - sci-fi (written by James Kennaway) which I had always been interested in watching, given its theme and credentials.

Featuring excellent performances by all the main actors (Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure, John Clements, Michael Bryant and Wendy Craig), fine black-and-white cinematography by Denys Coop and a good score by Georges Auric, the film deals with sensory-deprivation experiments which if over-exposed can render the subject susceptible to brainwashing. The idea is persuasively handled by the script and director Dearden, and actually predates Ken Russell's ALTERED STATES (1980) by almost 20 years!

Still, after an intriguing first hour - with its introduction of suspense elements (where a scientist who has committed suicide is thought to have betrayed secrets to the enemy whilst 'under the influence') and the realistic depiction of the harrowing experiments (hinting at the supernatural), the plot is side-tracked into dealing with the domestic problems of Bogarde and Ure (which are mostly talked about rather than seen!) brought on by his change in personality during his stint in the water-tank - conditioned by Clements' Secret Service man and Bryant's fellow colleague, secretly enamored of his wife.

As such, the treatment is somewhat too highbrow (for the most part, it's made by people not usually associated with this type of film) but it's fascinating - and generally satisfying - all the same.

As I write this in 2020, this film has only 17 user reviews and a rating of 6.4 on IMDB. This is usually symptomatic of a film that has been overlooked for some reason, often because it isn't very good, or has no big names attached to it, or thematically doesn't speak to a modern audience. None of the above apply to this film as far as I can see; it's worst fault seems to be that it gets a bit draggy in places. The film is otherwise well made in nearly all respects.

The premise of the film is a fascinating not to mention disturbing subject in its own right, a point which is explored more fully in a couple of the other reviews here. I must say I felt genuinely disturbed at several points in this film, which I wasn't expecting.

I didn't have great expectations of this film before I watched it, but ones I did have were comfortably exceeded. Not just for fans of period films or Bogarde, this film is well worth watching.

And I don't think I have been brainwashed into saying that....

THE MIND BENDERS is a very interesting film about sensory deprivation experiments that result in unexpected, tragic results. The story is told in a serious and somber manner. Dirk Bogarde is especially good as the reluctant researcher who volunteers to take a second dip in "the tank" to prove that sensory deprivation can be used to brainwash a person. The film seems to come to a climax when it is revealed to Bogarde that he was brainwashed while in "the tank", but then goes on for another 15 mins. in order to give the film a happy ending. This some what drags the film down, but does not detract from the overall impact of this film.

A FEW NOTES: This film somewhat resembles THE ELECTRONIC MONSTER (aka.ESCAPEMENT) in many ways, although THE MIND BENDERS is superior in every way. The plot of using sensory deprivation to brainwash people (complete with subject submerged in a tank) was used in "The Cocoon" episode of HAWAII FIVE-O.