Altered States (1980)

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

Director:

Ken Russell

Writers:

Paddy Chayefsky (written for the screen by) (as Sidney Aaron), Paddy Chayefsky (novel)

Stars:

William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 1 win & 5 nominations.

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

Storyline

It's the late 1960's. Just for a lark, graduate student Eddie Jessup, known for being unconventional, brilliant and slightly mad, conducts experiments with an isolation chamber, using himself as the subject. His experiences in the chamber cause him to hallucinate, much of the imagery being religious-based despite he not being a religious man. Seven years later, he is a respected full professor in the Harvard Medical School. Believing he has lost his edge and has fallen into an unwanted state of respectability, Eddie decides to resume his work with sensory deprivation, this time using hallucinogens, specifically untested ones used in mystical Mexican rituals, to enhance the experience of being in the isolation tank. After initial tests, he claims he entered an alternate physical and mental state. Although unbelieving of Eddie's claims, his colleagues Arthur Rosenberg and Mason Parrish, as well as Eddie's wife, Emily, who is in her own right a respected academic, are concerned for ...

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | science | caveman | ritual | isolation tank | 

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Taglines:

In the basement of a university medical school Dr . Jessup floats naked in total darkness. The most terrifying experiment in the history of science is out of control... and the subject is himself

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Genres:

Horror | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

25 December 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Estados alterados

Filming Locations:

168th St. Broadway, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Gross:

$25,000,000 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby 70 mm 6-Track (MegaSound encoding)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Ken Russell has alleged in interviews he was 27th choice for director stating that the Warner Brothers studio only hired him after 26 other directors had passed on the project.

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Goofs

When the Brujo tells Eccheverria that he'll allow Eddie to participate in the ceremony he walks off. Although 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, this is consistent with other literary and screen depictions of shamans having "spooky" abilities, sure-footedness and being surprisingly limber for their age. Rather than an error in continuity, this seems to be a dramatic device.

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Quotes

Arthur Rosenberg: The way I feel, I don't expect to go to sleep for a year. I'm on fucking fire!

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Connections

Spoofed in South Park: Tsst (2006)

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Soundtracks

Voile d'Orphee
by Pierre Henry

User Reviews

Great Material, Artistically Handled

If you are a thinker now, or grew up looking up at the stars and trying to figure out how the universe could just go on and on forever, this film is for you.

If you like boundaries, and the familiar you will not understand why this film was made, or why this film was made the way it was.

Chayefsky's material is brilliant, and challenging. Russell's approach is startling; more like abstract expressionism than any kind of realism. The performances, especially by Blair Brown and William Hurt are raw and completely authentic.

From start to finish, this film is fascinating, original and consistently realized.