IMDb > Brainstorm (1983)
Brainstorm
Quicklinks
Top Links
trailers and videosfull cast and crewtriviaofficial sitesmemorable quotes
Overview
main detailscombined detailsfull cast and crewcompany credits
Awards & Reviews
user reviewsexternal reviewsawardsuser ratingsparents guidemessage board
Plot & Quotes
plot summarysynopsisplot keywordsmemorable quotes
Did You Know?
triviagoofssoundtrack listingcrazy creditsalternate versionsmovie connectionsFAQ
Other Info
box office/businessrelease datesfilming locationstechnical specsliterature listingsNewsDesk
Promotional
taglines trailers and videos posters photo gallery
External Links
showtimesofficial sitesmiscellaneousphotographssound clipsvideo clips

Brainstorm (1983) More at IMDbPro »

Photos (See all 14 | slideshow)

Overview

User Rating:
6.3/10   6,173 votes »
Your Rating:
Saving vote...
Deleting vote...
/10   (delete | history)
Sorry, there was a problem
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 6% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Douglas Trumbull
Writers:
Bruce Joel Rubin (story)
Robert Stitzel (screenplay) ...
(more)
Contact:
View company contact information for Brainstorm on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
30 September 1983 (USA) See more »
Genre:
Sci-Fi | Thriller See more »
Tagline:
...The Ultimate Experience See more »
Plot:
Brilliant researchers Lillian Reynolds and Michael Brace have developed a system of recording and playing back actual experiences of people... See more » | Full synopsis »
Plot Keywords:
See more »
Awards:
2 wins & 6 nominations See more »
NewsDesk:
(57 articles)
A Walken Legend: Christopher’s Most Memorable Performances
 (From The Hollywood News. 14 April 2013, 2:30 AM, PDT)
Natalie Wood’s New Autopsy: She Had Bruises On Body Before Death
 (From HollywoodLife. 15 January 2013, 7:43 AM, PST)
Natalie Wood's drowning death reclassified by Los Angeles coroner
 (From The Guardian - Film News. 14 January 2013, 5:00 PM, PST)
User Reviews:
I've been wanting to watch it again since 1983 See more (70 total) »

Cast

  (in credits order) (verified as complete)

Christopher Walken ... Michael Brace

Natalie Wood ... Karen Brace

Louise Fletcher ... Lillian Reynolds

Cliff Robertson ... Alex Terson
Jordan Christopher ... Gordy Forbes
Donald Hotton ... Landan Marks

Alan Fudge ... Robert Jenkins
Joe Dorsey ... Hal Abramson
Bill Morey ... James Zimbach

Jason Lively ... Chris Brace
Darrell Larson ... Security Technician
Lou Walker ... Chef
Stacey Kuhne-Adams ... Andrea
John Hugh ... Animal Lab Technician
Ira David Wood III ... Barry (as David Wood)
Keith Colbert ... Dr. Ted Harris
Jerry Bennett ... Dr. Janet Bock
Mary Fran Lyman ... Realtor (as Mary-Fran Lyman)
Jack Harmon ... Security Guard
Nina Axelrod ... Simulator Technician
Kelly W. Brown ... Race Car Man
Desiree Ayres ... Bikini Girl #1

Debby Porter ... Bikini Girl #2
Alan G. Butler ... Man at Party #1
Robert Bloodworth ... Man at Party #4
Georgianne Walken ... Wendy Abramson
Jimmy Boyd ... Col. Howe (as Jim Boyd)
Charlie Briggs ... Col. Easterbrook
Ann Lincoln ... Alex's Secretary
Robert Terry Young ... Minister on Bell Tower (as Rev. Robert Terry Young)
Bill Willens ... Emergency Room Doctor
Jim Burk ... Lab Technician
Jimmy Casino ... Tape Library Technician
Robert Hippard ... Screaming Man
John Gladstein ... Dr. Pederson
Herbert Hirschman ... Dr. Graf

John Vidor ... Bellhop
Bill Couch ... Agent #1

Robert Gooden ... Agent #2
Wallace Merck ... Agent #3
Glen Lee ... Agent #4
Ernest Robinson ... Guard #1 (as Ernie Robinson)
Roger Black ... Bob Burns
Tommy J. Huff ... Guard #2
May Boss ... Tape Library Woman (as May Raymond Boss)
Clay Boss ... Tape Library Man
Peter Harrell ... Doug
Susan Kampe ... Angel
rest of cast listed alphabetically:

Lana Clarkson ... Food Fantasy Girl (uncredited)

Eric Lively ... Baby (uncredited)
Create a character page for: ?

Directed by
Douglas Trumbull 
 
Writing credits
Bruce Joel Rubin (story)

Robert Stitzel (screenplay) and
Philip Frank Messina (screenplay)

Produced by
Joel L. Freedman .... executive producer
Douglas Trumbull .... producer
Richard Yuricich .... associate producer
 
Original Music by
James Horner 
 
Cinematography by
Richard Yuricich (director of photography)
 
Film Editing by
Freeman A. Davies  (as Freeman Davies)
Edward Warschilka 
 
Casting by
Toni Howard 
Lynn Stalmaster 
 
Production Design by
John Vallone 
 
Art Direction by
David L. Snyder 
 
Set Decoration by
Linda DeScenna 
Tom Pedigo 
 
Costume Design by
Donfeld 
 
Makeup Department
Edwin Butterworth .... makeup artist: Ms. Wood
Bette Iverson .... hair stylist (as Bette L. Iverson)
Robert Jiras .... makeup artist
Kaye Pownall .... hair stylist: Ms. Wood
Edward Ternes .... makeup artist (as Edward C. Ternes)
 
Production Management
Jack Grossberg .... executive in charge of production
Jack Grossberg .... unit production manager
John G. Wilson .... unit production manager
 
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Patrick Cosgrove .... second assistant director
Brian E. Frankish .... first assistant director
Robert Jeffords .... first assistant director
Eugene Mazzola .... first assistant director
David McGiffert .... first assistant director
 
Art Department
Jack E. Ackerman .... property master
Philip Calhoun .... assistant property (as Phil Calhoun)
Paul J. Campanella .... stand-by painter (as Paul Campanella)
Stephen Dane .... assistant art director
Joey De Rosa .... leadman (as Joe DeRosa)
Michael Gibson .... artistic consultant
Steve Kinyoun .... construction coordinator (as Steven L. Kinyoun)
Thomas Meleck .... assistant art director (as Tom Melleck)
Jerry Morawski .... artistic consultant
Claude F. Powell .... construction coordinator
Marjorie Stone .... set designer
Ann Vidor .... artistic consultant
Robert Van Dyke .... propmaker gangboss (uncredited)
 
Sound Department
Teri E. Dorman .... sound editor
Jay Engel .... adr editor
Don Hall .... sound editor
Joseph A. Ippolito .... sound editor (as Joe Ippolito)
John A. Larsen .... sound editor (as John Larsen)
Don MacDougall .... supervising re-recording mixer
John L. Mack .... re-recording mixer
Jack Manning .... special synthesizer effects
Pete Martinez .... cable man
Art Rochester .... sound mixer
Victoria Rose Sampson .... sound editor
William A. Sawyer .... sound editor (as Bill Sawyer)
Frank Serafine .... special synthesizer effects
Richard Thornton .... boom man
Richard Tyler .... sound re-recording mixer
Ian Underwood .... special synthesizer effects
Eric Whitfield .... assistant sound editor
Ken Dufva .... foley artist (uncredited)
George E. Marshall Jr. .... boom operator: second unit (uncredited)
Philip Rogers .... sound recordist (uncredited)
Curt Schulkey .... sound editor (uncredited)
Jerry Whittington .... sound effects editor (uncredited)
 
Special Effects by
Eric Allard .... special effects
Martin Bresin .... special effects
Paul Curley .... miniatures and action props
Leslie Ekker .... miniatures and action props
Kento Gebo .... miniatures and action props
Ron Gress .... miniatures and action props (as Ronald Gress)
Robert L. Johnston .... miniatures and action props (as Robert Johnston)
Michael McMillen .... miniatures and action props (as Mike McMillen)
Tom Pahk .... miniatures and action props (as Thomas Pahk)
John Piner .... projectionist
Robin Reilly .... miniatures and action props
Christopher S. Ross .... miniatures and action props (as Christopher Ross)
Dennis Schultz .... miniatures and action props
David Shwartz .... miniatures and action props
Robert Spurlock .... special effects
Rick Thompson .... miniatures and action props (as Richard Thompson)
 
Visual Effects by
Michael Backauskas .... optical line-up: Entertainment Effects Group
Don Baker .... compsy effects supervisor: Entertainment Effects Group
Charles Cowles .... optical camera operator (as Chuck Cowles)
Tom Cranham .... illustrator
James R. Dickson .... additional photography: Entertainment Effects Group
Stephen Fog .... mechanical technician (as Stephen C. Fog)
Ernest Garza .... still lab technician
William Goddard .... electronics technician
Robert Hall .... optical effects supervisor: Entertainment Effects Group
Alan Harding .... lead camera technician
Robert Hickson .... effects artistic consultant
Jack Hinkle .... assistant editor: Entertainment Effects Group
Robert Hippard .... post-production coordinator: Entertainment Effects Group
Richard E. Hollander .... compsy technical supervisor: Entertainment Effects Group (as Richard Hollander)
Dick Lasley .... illustrator
Robin Dean Leyden .... electronics technician (as Robin Leyden)
Gary Lynn Love .... electronics technician
Virgil Mirano .... visual consultant
Paul Olsen .... effects artistic consultant
Beth Parker .... film technician
George Polkinghorne .... cine technician
Adolf Schaller .... effects artistic consultant
Mark Stetson .... action props and miniatures supervisor: Entertainment Effects Group
David K. Stewart .... director of photography: Entertainment Effects Group (as Dave Stewart)
Patrick Van Auken .... grip: effects (as Pat Van Auken)
Paul Van Camp .... electronics technician
John C. Wash .... animation and graphics: Entertainment Effects Group
Peggy Weil .... effects artistic consultant
Mark West .... mechanical technician (as Mark J. West)
Alison Yerxa .... visual effects supervisor: Entertainment Effects Group
Dana Yuricich .... assistant matte artist
Matthew Yuricich .... matte artist: Entertainment Effects Group
 
Stunts
Bill Couch .... stunt coordinator
Tommy J. Huff .... stunt performer: guard #2 (as Tommy Huff)
Ernest Robinson .... stunt performer: guard #1 (as Ernie Robinson)
Mags Kavanaugh .... stunt double (uncredited)
Ed McDermott II .... stunt player (uncredited)
 
Camera and Electrical Department
William L. Asman .... camera operator (as William Asman)
Albert Bettcher .... camera operator (as Al Bettcher)
Leonardo Chavez .... second grip
Ralph Gerling .... camera operator
Michael Gershman .... camera operator
Carl R. Gibson Jr. .... best boy grip
Dennis Greene .... dolly grip (as Dennis W. Greene)
Rhonda C. Gunner .... video technician (as Rhonda Gunner)
Bob Haagensen .... director of photography: second unit
Craig Haagensen .... first assistant camera
David R. Hardberger .... camera technician (as David Hardberger)
Thomas E. Hayes .... assistant chief lighting technician
Len Hekel .... still photographer
Ted Holt .... chief lighting technician (as Theodore Porter Holt)
Dan Lerner .... camera operator (as Daniel Lerner)
Christine M. Loss .... still photographer (as Christine Loss)
Bruce MacCallum .... second assistant camera (as Bruce McCallum)
Gregory L. McMurry .... video engineer (as Greg McMurry)
Josh Morton .... camera technician (as Joshua Morton)
Jim Rose .... assistant chief lighting technician
Tim Ryan .... key grip
Steven H. Smith .... first assistant camera (as Steve Smith)
Tama Takahashi .... camera technician
Joseph F. Valentine .... camera operator (as Joe Valentine)
Ronald Vidor .... camera operator
Josh Weiner .... still photographer
Jim Wuertemburg .... assistant chief lighting technician (as James T. Wuertenburg)
Thomas Baker .... motion-control camera (uncredited)
Albert Hood .... electrician (uncredited)
 
Costume and Wardrobe Department
Deedee Burch .... costumer
Richard Butz .... costumer: men (as Dick Butz)
John George .... costumer
Aida Swinson .... costumer: women
 
Editorial Department
Barbara Dunning .... assistant film editor
Terry Ladin .... post-production office coordinator
William Pine .... color timer
Nora Jeanne Smith .... negative cutter (as Jeanne Smith)
Edward A. Warschilka .... assistant film editor (as Edward Warschilka Jr.)
 
Music Department
Bill Crofut .... consultant: source music
Harry V. Lojewski .... music supervisor
Greig McRitchie .... orchestrator
Shawn Murphy .... music recording supervisor
Douglas Neslund .... conductor: California Boys Choir
William Saracino .... music editor
J. Benjamin Smith .... conductor: The Duke University Choir
James Horner .... conductor (uncredited)
 
Transportation Department
Frank Mielcarek .... transportation captain (as Frank Meilcarek)
Randy Peters .... transportation coordinator
Don Pierce .... transportation captain
 
Other crew
Joyce Goldberg .... assistant: Mr. Yuricich
Christina Grof .... consultant: experimental sequence
Stanislav Grof .... consultant: experimental sequence
Vic Heutschy .... unit publicist
Jessi Katz .... post-production aide
Michael Knutsen .... craft service (as Michael P. Knutsen)
Don Levy .... unit publicist
Paul Pav .... location manager
Durk Pearson .... scientific consultant
George Pryor .... post-production aide
Ana Maria Quintana .... script supervisor
Sandy Shaw .... scientific consultant
Barbara Spitz .... production office coordinator
Daniel R. Suhart .... post-production aide (as Dan Suhart)
Evans Wetmore .... consulting engineer
Robert Wilson .... post-production aide
Allen Yamashita .... assistant: Mr. Trumbull
Carolyn Bates .... effects assistant (uncredited)
Dixie Fusillo .... production accountant (uncredited)
 
Thanks
James B. Hunt Jr. .... through the assistance of (as Governor James B. Hunt Jr.)
Natalie Wood .... dedicatee (as Natalie)
 
Crew believed to be complete


Production CompaniesDistributorsOther Companies
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Also Known As:
"The Gordon Forbes Tapes" - USA (alternative title)
See more »
Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
106 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Metrocolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 See more »
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Australia:M (original rating | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Norway:15 | Norway:16 (1984) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:PG | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Iceland:16 | Portugal:M/12 | West Germany:12
Filming Locations:
Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USASee more »
Company:
AJF ProductionsSee more »

Did You Know?

Trivia:
Douglas Trumbull originally wanted to film this movie in "Showscan", a 60-frame-per-second widescreen process he'd developed, but the costs of retrofitting theaters to show it proved prohibitive. If the "Showscan" version had been made, each non-"Brainstorm" frame would have been printed twice to create a 30-frame-per-second "normal" film rate to compliment the cropped, non-widescreen shots. The intent was to create an experience similar to what the onscreen characters were "viewing."See more »
Goofs:
Continuity: At the beginning of the film, when they are calibrating the system, Lillian asks Michael what he sees, and he replies, "Clockwise rotation." However, the two superimposed images of the test pattern are rotating counter-clockwise.See more »
Quotes:
[first lines]
Dr. Lillian Reynolds:Can you see better if I move it a little closer?
Dr. Michael Anthony Brace:I can see something. It's parts of the grid, but it's still rotating. It's not locking up.
Hal Abramson:Maybe we all need a little break, Lillian.
Dr. Lillian Reynolds:Hal, you take a break.
See more »
Movie Connections:
Referenced in Video Violence... When Renting Is Not Enough. (1987) (V)See more »

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Reviews

   (Review this title)
16 out of 17 people found the following review useful.
I've been wanting to watch it again since 1983, 8 December 2000
Author: Popcorn-28

The first and last time I saw this movie was back in 1983 and I've wanted to watch it again many times since then. I just couldnt remember the title , until someone here on IMDB reminded me.

I used to explain the plot to the guys at video rental places, and they would just stare at me as though I had gone nuts......

I then recently saw Flatliners and felt the urge to watch Brainstorm again.....so I did..... and I found it just as good as when I first saw it.

Of course there are a few bad points, but it is the idea behind the movie and the way it is projected that leaves you .......feeling......and thats rare for a movie these days.

If you're tired of the usual stuff being churned out by Hollywood, watch Brainstorm.........you wont see anything like it.

Was the above review useful to you?
See more (70 total) »

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Brainstorm (1983)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
Brainstorm Remake marshally100-153-308935
Question About Person Taping Themselves... crazykaese
Was Lillian's Death Murder? ferretbowlers2
Recorded sex scene cut? kablamo
Extremely underrated sairus-tro
Answers regarding Natalie Wood and re shoots/ending geminidreamatl24
See more »

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Click Persepolis Love in the Time of Cholera The Painted Veil Spider-Man 3
IMDb User Rating:
 IMDb User Rating:
 IMDb User Rating:
 IMDb User Rating:
 IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
News articles IMDb Sci-Fi section IMDb USA section

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Edit page' button will take you through a step-by-step process.