Wednesday, October 18, 2017

Altered States (1980)

Director: Ken Russell

Writer: Paddy Chayefsky

Composer: John Corigliano

Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid, Thaao Penghlis, Miguel Godreau, Dori Brenner, Peter Brandon, Charles White-Eagle, Drew Barrymore, John Larroquette

More info: IMDb

Tagline: When he heard his cry for help it wasn't human

Plot: A Harvard scientist conducts experiments on himself with a hallucinatory drug and an isolation chamber that may be causing him to regress genetically.



My rating: 7/10

Will I watch it again?  Maybe.


I hadn't seen this in at least 35 years.  It was trippy as shit back then and it hasn't changed.  I haven't read the novel but it feels like this might've been a challenge bringing it to film.  It's loaded with wild imagery and effects.  For that reason alone it's worth checking out.  It feels like it's more intellectual that it boils down to.  The performances are good and the score by John Corigliano, a classical composer brought in for his first film, is just as bonkers as the visuals.  I've always thought it might be neat to slink into an isolation tank but after seeing this again I'm not sure if I could take it.

No comments:

Post a Comment