film: altered states

film:altered states

anyone seen it? it was on sale so i bought it.

the blurb on the back says that the scientist in the movie believes there are other states of consiousness(sp?), so he uses sensory deprivation and powerful hallucingens to try to find these altered states on a group of people.

sound like a movie to watch while tripping, but on the other hand, im kinda scared to see it while under the influence of strong hallucinogens. i may sympathize and go into a coma and die.

anyone seen it?

It's a good movie, but not something that i could watch to ofter.

I've had it for about 10 years on video, but I only watched it once when I bought it. As I remember it was quite good but the ending was pretty stupid (but I won't spoil it for ya).

It's easy to understand why the late, great screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky removed his name from the credits of Altered States and substituted the pseudonym Sidney Aaron. After all, Chayefsky was a revered dramatist whose original source novel was intended as a serious exploration of altered consciousness, inspired by the immersion-tank experiments of Dr. John Lilly in the 1970s. In the hands of maverick director Ken Russell, however, Altered States became a full-on sensory assault, using symbolic imagery and mind- blowing special effects to depict one man's physical and hallucinatory journey through the entire history of human evolution. It's a brazenly silly film redeemed by its intellectual ambition--a dazzling extravaganza that's in love with science and scientists, and eagerly willing to dive off the precipice of rationality to explore uncharted regions of mind, body, and spirit. William Hurt made his bold film debut as the psycho-physiologist who plays guinea pig to his own experiments; Blair Brown plays his equally brilliant wife, whose devotion is just strong enough to bring him back from the most altered state imaginable. From the eternal channels of sense memory to the restorative power of a loving embrace, this movie rocks you to the birth of the universe and back again. And while it's clearly not the story that Chayefsky wanted on the screen, the directorial audacity of Ken Russell makes it one heck of a memorable trip. --Jeff Shannon

from: Amazon.com

My boyfriend loves this film and just bought it on DVD (I think it was a DVD of it). Anywho, I thought it was just okay. You can tell there is plenty of deep stuff to it. I just have trouble enjoying much of anything out of the 80's.

its an excellent script, and its a good movie....up until the end when it gets all kinds of weird in a not so cool way. definitely worth seeing though .

tripping whilst viewing has definite cool potential, however there are aspects of it that could get a bit scarry. eh, you should be fine.

I saw this for the first time a couple weeks ago. I'd say the idea behind it is cool...and the special effects are kind of neat...and it can be appreciated for both of those things...but it still comes off as kind of cheesey (the ape-man and the end in particular). I'd say its more of a rental than a buy.

It's pretty old, but good! I liked it a lot. But I like everything.

I have liked this movie since I first saw it as a kid... it was one of my favorites, along with Scanners. However, I think there are some intense scenes where I wouldn't want to be tripping while watching it.

Makes me want purchase a sensory dep. tank and a nice dose of psilocybin.

i enjoyed it quite a bit. except for the end. Its all symbolic. they just made it kind ecch

I had no idea a thread about this was floating around this forum.

For the record, I like the movie, and even think it's underrated. It would have definitely been better with one or two useless scenes cut, to agree with what's already been said.

Of course I've seen it... it's an essential drug flick IMO. Got it in DVD format.

MynameisnotDeja said:

It's pretty old, but good! I liked it a lot. But I like everything.

Click to expand...

Pretty old? It's only from the 80s. What do you think of movies from the silent era, LOL...

rate this movie

alasdair

I enjoyed the film more for the huge number of monologues in it. It was really a testimony to William Hurt's acting skill that he could pull all of them off so well. I know that's a weird way to enjoy a movie, but I haven't been swept away by a movie in a very very long time, and watch them more for the technical skill of the actors.

If you didnt understand the ape-man thing, or the movie. Just watch the movie again and again. Pay close attention to the script.

^^ Yep... it's about biological / evolutionary regression, so the "ape-man" theme fits very well.

Personally, I find some reviewer comments far more annoying than anything in the film. "In love with science/scientists" ... WTF? It is science-fiction, so what do you expect. As usual, people who gave the movie a cursory viewing without investing any mental energy are those with the dumbest comments.

P.S. If I have any complaints myself, it's that the movie takes itself a bit too seriously. It becomes slightly annoying and ponderous after awhile, and comes very close to collapsing under its own weight toward the end (but doesn't IMO, thanks to inventive screenwriting).

Hmm, so who here is courageous enough to combine powerful psychedelics with total (long term) isolation in a sensory deprivation tank? Endlessly fascinating premise IMO. So many films since then have clearly had this one among their influences.

^I'd love to ... but I think it'd be much easier if I were the scientist with access and the time (since I'm already there and at work, might as well 'work').

Then again.. I kind of ate mushrooms and isolated myself for about 6 months...

though it wasn't that kind of isolation.




I agree with the guy who agreed. I enjoyed the movie, and have watched it a couple of times. Hurt does a good job playing the part... the "ape-man" is a bit startling. The whole movie seemed "realistic", except that... and a few other scenes. At this point I take that part(s) with a grain of salt. I take it for what I think was meant to be portrayed.

Really average. 1 star from me...