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Altered States (1980)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers:
Release Date:
25 December 1980 (USA)
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Tagline:
When he heard his cry for help it wasn't human more
Plot:
A Harvard scientist conducts experiments on himself with a hallucinatory drug and an isolation chamber that may be causing him to regress genetically. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Nominated for 2 Oscars.
Another 1 win
&
4 nominations
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NewsDesk:
(12 articles)
Former MGM Chief Daniel Melnick Dead At 77; Many Classic Films To His Credit
(From CinemaRetro. 16 October 2009, 9:58 AM, PDT)
The Planting of Dan Melnick and the Death of Hollywood Cool
(From Huffington Post. 15 October 2009, 3:36 PM, PDT)
(From CinemaRetro. 16 October 2009, 9:58 AM, PDT)
The Planting of Dan Melnick and the Death of Hollywood Cool
(From Huffington Post. 15 October 2009, 3:36 PM, PDT)
User Comments:
A flawed but sentimental favorite
more (99 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | William Hurt | ... | Eddie Jessup |
 | Blair Brown | ... | Emily Jessup |
| Bob Balaban | ... | Arthur Rosenberg |
| Charles Haid | ... | Mason Parrish |
| Thaao Penghlis | ... | Echeverria |
| Miguel Godreau | ... | Primal Man |
| Dori Brenner | ... | Sylvia Rosenberg |
| Peter Brandon | ... | Hobart |
| Charles White-Eagle | ... | The Brujo |
 | Drew Barrymore | ... | Margaret Jessup |
| Megan Jeffers | ... | Grace Jessup |
| Jack Murdock | ... | Hector Orteco |
 | Francis X. McCarthy | ... | Obispo (as Frank McCarthy) |
| Deborah Baltzell | ... | Schizophrenic Patient |
 | Evan Richards | ... | Young Rosenberg |
Additional Details
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
102 min
Country:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Dolby |
70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding)
Certification:
Singapore:M18 |
Italy:VM14 |
Australia:M |
Finland:K-16 |
France:-12 |
Norway:18 (1982) |
Sweden:15 |
UK:18 |
USA:R |
West Germany:16 |
Iceland:16
Filming Locations:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
The book was partially based on dolphin researcher John Lilly, who invented the isolation tank, and first started taking drugs while "tanking".
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Goofs:
Continuity: When the Brujo tells Eccheverria that he'll allow Eddie to participate in the ceremony he walks off. In only a matter of seconds he's far enough away that they have to run quite a distance to catch up to him to ask him some further questions. There's no way he could have gotten that far in the short span of time between his walking off and their pursuit of him.
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Quotes:
[First line]
Arthur Rosenberg: The tank itself was unusual in that it was vertical, and looked like an old boiler.
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Arthur Rosenberg: The tank itself was unusual in that it was vertical, and looked like an old boiler.
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Soundtrack:
Light My Fire
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FAQ
This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.more (99 total)
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Altered States is not everything that it could be, and that's because director Ken Russell was more interested in assaulting the viewer with a series of startling (by 1980 standards) images than he was in exploring the stories subtext. Eddie Jessup is a scientist so introverted and afraid of human connections that it's not enough to abandon his family, he also has to further deprive himself of any and all stimulation, performing sensory depravation experiments on himself to attain better understanding of "ultimate truth." Jessup proclaims himself to be an atheist, but the visual content of his hallucinations reveals him to be a man who's more at war with God than a man who disbelieves. His descent into a more primal state of being is an obvious metaphor for how easy it is for a man with commitment issues and fear of intimacy to turn completely inward, leaving the real world behind. Some of what the character says early on about family and love make his motivations clear... Jessup is a man shattered by his father's death and unable to accept the vulnerability of the human condition. A viewer has to really work to absorb and enjoy these metaphors, though, as Russell never slows his onslaught of special effects. The movie also suffers from smart but unrealistic dialogue and ham-fisted performances from some of the principle characters (watch Blair Brown's over-the-top breakdowns in the last act). Altered States isn't the total package, it doesn't combine the visceral and the philosophical as well as movies like Jacob's Ladder or Natural Born Killers. But it's better than most of today's equivalent movies (Donnie Darko, etc) that want to stimulate and provoke the viewer and don't quite pull it off.