| Photos (See all 18 | slideshow) |
| 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 | |
| Hap Lawrence | ... | Endocrinology Fellow | |
| John Walter Davis | ... | Medical Technician | |
| Cynthia Burr | ... | Parrish's Girl | |
| Susan Bredhoff | ... | Echeverria's Girl | |
| John Larroquette | ... | X-Ray Technician | |
| George Gaynes | ... | Dr. Wissenschaft | |
| Ora Rubinstein | ... | Young Medical Student | |
| Paul Larsson | ... | Charlie Thomas | |
| Eric Forst | ... | Mingus | |
| Adriana Shaw | ... | Dr. Antonini | |
| Martin Fiscoe | ... | Graduate Student | |
| Olivia Michelle | ... | Veronica |
Directed by | |||
| Ken Russell | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Paddy Chayefsky | (novel) | |
| Paddy Chayefsky | (as Sidney Aaron) | |
Produced by | |||
| Stuart Baird | .... | associate producer | |
| Howard Gottfried | .... | producer | |
| Daniel Melnick | .... | executive producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| John Corigliano | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Jordan Cronenweth | |||
Film Editing by | |||
| Eric Jenkins | |||
Casting by | |||
| Howard Feuer | |||
| Jeremy Ritzer | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Richard Macdonald | (as Richard McDonald) | ||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Thomas L. Roysden | (as Thomas Roysden) | ||
Costume Design by | |||
| Ruth Myers | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Carl Fullerton | .... | special makeup assistant | |
| Michael Hancock | .... | makeup artist | |
| Craig Reardon | .... | special makeup assistant | |
| Dick Smith | .... | special makeup | |
| Dione Taylor | .... | hair stylist (as Dione Taylor-Demsky) | |
Production Management | |||
| David Silver | .... | unit production manager (as Dave Silver) | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Gary Daigler | .... | assistant director | |
| Peter Schindler | .... | second assistant director | |
Art Department | |||
| Gary Clark | .... | head paint foreman | |
| Stan Cockerell | .... | assistant props | |
| Sidney H. Greenwood | .... | property master (as Syd Greenwood) | |
| Jeff Howard | .... | assistant art director | |
| Joseph Hurley | .... | illustrator (as Joe Hurley) | |
| Bill Iiams | .... | general foreman | |
| Roger Irvin | .... | construction coordinator | |
| Ronald C. Jacobs | .... | lead man (as Ron Jacobs) | |
| Stephane Goulet | .... | property supervisor (uncredited) | |
| Richard M. Kristy | .... | set dresser (uncredited) | |
Sound Department | |||
| Willie D. Burton | .... | sound mixer (as Willie Burton) | |
| Michael Colgan | .... | supervising sound editor | |
| Laurey Condon | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Les Fresholtz | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Don Higgins | .... | sound editor | |
| Jerry Jacobson | .... | adr editor | |
| Stephen Katz | .... | sound consultant | |
| Marvin E. Lewis | .... | boom operator (as Marvin Lewis) | |
| Michael Minkler | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Arthur Piantadosi | .... | sound re-recording mixer | |
| Fred Stafford | .... | sound editor | |
| Colin Waddy | .... | sound editor | |
| Jay Wertz | .... | sound editor | |
Special Effects by | |||
| David Domeyer | .... | special effects | |
| Larry L. Fuentes | .... | assistant special effects (as Larry Fuentes) | |
| Chuck Gaspar | .... | special effects | |
| James Kagel | .... | sculptor | |
| Jeffrey A. Wischnack | .... | special effects technician | |
Visual Effects by | |||
| Robert Blalack | .... | special optical effects (as Robbie Blalack) | |
| Bran Ferren | .... | special visual effects | |
| Louis Schwartzberg | .... | time lapse photography (as Lou Schwartzberg) | |
| Jamie Shourt | .... | special optical effects | |
| Max W. Anderson | .... | visual effects (uncredited) | |
Stunts | |||
| M. James Arnett | .... | stunts (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Garrett Brown | .... | Steadicam operator | |
| James Glennon | .... | camera operator | |
| Adam Glick | .... | set lighting technician | |
| Barbara Hanania | .... | additional assistant camera: Boston | |
| Gary Holt | .... | gaffer | |
| Johnny E. Jensen | .... | first assistant camera (as John Jensen) | |
| Carey Jones | .... | second assistant camera | |
| Sal Martorano | .... | electrician | |
| Morgan Renard | .... | still photographer | |
| Bob Rose | .... | key grip (as Bobby Rose) | |
Casting Department | |||
| Stephen Kolzak | .... | additional casting (as Steve Kolzak) | |
| Joel Thurm | .... | additional casting | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Darryl M. Athons | .... | costumer: men (as Darryl Athons) | |
| Shanan Harrell | .... | costumer: women | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Cari Coughlin | .... | apprentice editor | |
| Arthur W. Forney | .... | assistant editor | |
| Paul Hamill | .... | post-production assistant: Cinema Research Corp. | |
| Thomas Penick | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| John David Earnest | .... | orchestrator | |
| Donald Harris | .... | music editor (as Don Harris) | |
| Pierre Henry | .... | music excerpt: Voile d'Orphee | |
| Christopher Keene | .... | conductor | |
| Charles Morrow | .... | composer: additional music | |
| Sheldon Shkolnik | .... | assistant to composer | |
| John David Earnest | .... | composer: additional music (uncredited) | |
| Brian L. McCarty | .... | music playback (uncredited) | |
| Dan Wallin | .... | scoring mixer (uncredited) | |
Transportation Department | |||
| Gina August | .... | driver | |
| John M. Woodward | .... | transportation coordinator (as John Woodward) | |
Other crew | |||
| Scott Bartlett | .... | technical advisor | |
| Richard Clark | .... | technical advisor | |
| Carline Davis-Dyer | .... | script supervisor (as Cariline Davis-Dyer) | |
| Jimsie Eason | .... | production associate | |
| Richard Greenberg | .... | title designer | |
| Christina Lear | .... | assistant to producer | |
| Paul Pav | .... | location manager | |
| Vivian Russell | .... | assistant: Mr. Russell (as Vivian Jolly) | |
| David Sadava | .... | scientific advisor | |
| Alan Shapiro | .... | production intern | |
| Lee Stitch | .... | production secretary | |
| Susan Tarr | .... | research assistant | |
| John Cunningham Lilly | .... | scientific researcher (uncredited) | |
| Bill Iiams | .... | general foreman (uncredited) | |
| Craig Miller | .... | marketing consultant (uncredited) | |
| Philip Sharpe | .... | effects technician (uncredited) | |
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| DMT: The Spirit Molecule | Nowhere | Dark Matter | Apocalypse Now | Requiem for a Dream |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | External reviews |
| News articles | IMDb Drama section | IMDb USA section |
After the failure of 'Valentino' (1977), 'Altered States' was the film that put Ken Russell back in the spotlight as one the world's greatest directors. Russell claimed that the film had been passed on by 26 different directors (including Kubrick and Spielberg) before the author, Paddy Chayefsky, asked him to direct. This is possibly his best film. Not only is the movie remarkably coherent considering the bizarre story, but it also gives Russell a chance to go crazy with hallucinations and mind blowing special-effects. William Hurt stars, in his film debut, as Eddie Jessup, a scientist hell bent on finding the essence of human existence. And the way he achieves it is to, of course, take hallucinogenic drugs; and a lot of them. The film is filled with religious symbolism and psychedelic imagery. At one point we are even asked to believe in the power of mind over body (much like 'The Matrix'), when Jessup regresses into a neanderthal and goes on a rampage. This all takes place against the sub-plot involving the relationship between Jessup and his wife. The climax is probably the only sequence in all of cinema that legitimately recalls the end of Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968). Though the ending is a bit dated (Roman Polanski's ending for 'Frantic'(1988) is quite similar), it actually works because it builds on the theme of Jessup's search for the meaning of life.
The movie does have a bit of a history to it, besides the number of directors who turned it down. During production Chayefsky tried to take control away from Russell who would not submit. The producer eventually sided with Russell. Chayefsky washed his hands from the project and had his real name, Sydney Aaron, credited as the screenwriter. (Chayefsky died a year later; many questioned his mental health.) Regardless, the end result is glorious. The film achieved a fair share of success; Time magazine named it the best film of 1980 and it did well at the box-office (for Russell at least). The movie definitely has more of a following now. And all this is much deserved. William Hurt gives one of the best debut performances I have ever seen. And Ken Russell is at his best. Certainly a science-fiction classic.