| Photos (see all 18 | slideshow) |
| 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) | |
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 | |
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 | .... | re-recording mixer | |
| Ian Underwood | .... | special synthesizer effects | |
| Eric Whitfield | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| George E. Marshall Jr. | .... | boom operator: second unit (uncredited) | |
| Philip Rogers | .... | sound recordist (uncredited) | |
| Curt Schulkey | .... | sound 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) | |
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 | |
| Bob Wilson | .... | post-production aide (as Robert Wilson) | |
| 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) | |
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Brainstorm had a rocky road to completion. After Natalie Wood died before completion of shooting, the studio wanted to shut it down and cash in the completion bond. Trumbull had fought tooth and nail to get the film made to begin with, and when it looked like it would be snatched from the jaws of victory, he hunkered down and dramatically altered sequences to prove it could indeed be finished without Wood's unshot scenes.
The "recorded memory" sequences were even more vivid for us in Indianapolis who saw it at the Eastwood theatre. The Eastwood had one of the few curved Cinerama roadshow screens outside of New York and Hollywood's Cinerama Dome. Think of it as a smaller version of an Omnimax screen. Sitting in the front row, you were completely enveloped by the film, and the visual and audio effect when the "memory" sequences lit up were quite attention grabbing. Trumbull was at this time working on his ill-fated Showscan process for amusement park rides, and was very interested in audience perceptions of diffrent lenses and frame rates. Some of this is used in Brainstorm. It's just not the same on a TV set of any size.
The central core of the story - the recording of the death of Lillian and Michael's obsession to experience it - is a disturbing one, because it explores the very nature of life and death. It can satisfy or dissappoint, because Trumbull has put his vision of memory, experience, death and afterlife on film for everyone to take pot shots at. And they did. It's a shame, because the film is beautiful, thought provoking, and ingenious. Yeah, I know, it has all of that evil government plot boilerplate. Look past it.
(It even revels in the quirks of the researchers, showing the second thing everybody does with new technology is use it for porn.)