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IMDbPro

Altered States

  • 19801980
  • RR
  • 1h 42m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
35K
YOUR RATING
William Hurt in Altered States (1980)
Official Trailer
Play trailer2:04
2 Videos
99+ Photos
  • Horror
  • Sci-Fi
  • Thriller
A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
35K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Ken Russell
  • Writer
    • Paddy Chayefsky(written for the screen by)
  • Stars
    • William Hurt
    • Blair Brown
    • Bob Balaban
Top credits
  • Director
    • Ken Russell
  • Writer
    • Paddy Chayefsky(written for the screen by)
  • Stars
    • William Hurt
    • Blair Brown
    • Bob Balaban
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 166User reviews
    • 99Critic reviews
    • 58Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Oscars
      • 1 win & 7 nominations total

    Videos2

    Altered States
    Trailer 2:04
    Altered States
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 18
    Video 28:08
    Sneak Previews Season 3 Episode 18

    Photos156

    William Hurt and Bob Balaban in Altered States (1980)
    William Hurt, Bob Balaban, and Charles Haid in Altered States (1980)
    William Hurt and Blair Brown in Altered States (1980)
    William Hurt and Blair Brown in Altered States (1980)
    William Hurt and Blair Brown at an event for Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)
    Altered States (1980)

    Top cast

    Edit
    William Hurt
    William Hurt
    • Eddie Jessup
    Blair Brown
    Blair Brown
    • Emily Jessup
    Bob Balaban
    Bob Balaban
    • Arthur Rosenberg
    Charles Haid
    Charles Haid
    • Mason Parrish
    Thaao Penghlis
    Thaao Penghlis
    • Eccheverria
    Miguel Godreau
    • Primal Man
    Dori Brenner
    • Sylvia Rosenberg
    Peter Brandon
    • Hobart
    Charles White-Eagle
    Charles White-Eagle
    • The Brujo
    Drew Barrymore
    Drew Barrymore
    • Margaret Jessup
    Megan Jeffers
    • Grace Jessup
    Jack Murdock
    Jack Murdock
    • Hector Orteco
    Francis X. McCarthy
    Francis X. McCarthy
    • Obispo
    • (as Frank McCarthy)
    Deborah Baltzell
    • Schizophrenic Patient
    Evan Richards
    Evan Richards
    • Young Rosenberg
    Hap Lawrence
    Hap Lawrence
    • Endocrinology Fellow
    John Walter Davis
    • Medical Technician
    Cynthia Burr
    • Parrish's Girl
    • Director
      • Ken Russell
    • Writer
      • Paddy Chayefsky(written for the screen by) (novel)
    • All cast & crew
    • See more cast details at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      William Hurt says that he knew just a little about director Ken Russell prior working with him, and just because he had seen his movies. About his first meeting with Russell, Hurt said in an interview, "We were in this little room and there was this radiator and a little desk and a chair and we didn't sit for a half an hour, neither one of us. Finally he sat on a radiator and I sat on the floor. When he sat on the radiator his pants pulled up and I saw he had Betty Boop socks on. It was then I thought, 'I'll do it'."
    • 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.
    • Quotes

      Eddie Jessup: Emily's quite content to go on with this life. She insists she's in love with me - whatever that is. What she means is she prefers the senseless pain we inflict on each other to the pain we would otherwise inflict on ourselves. But I'm not afraid of that solitary pain. In fact, if I don't strip myself of all this clatter and clutter and ridiculous ritual, I shall go out of my fucking mind. Does that answer your question, Arthur?

      Arthur Rosenberg: What question was that?

      Eddie Jessup: You asked me why I was getting divorced.

      Arthur Rosenberg: Oh, listen, it's your life. I'm sorry I even asked.

    • Crazy credits
      In the end credits, the cast list appears last after all but the movie company name and logo. Usually the cast list appears either very early in the credits or sometimes approximately a third of the way through.
    • Alternate versions
      ABC edited 7 minutes from this film for its 1983 network television premiere.
    • Connections
      Edited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
    • Soundtracks
      Voile d'Orphee
      by Pierre Henry

    User reviews166

    Review
    Top review
    9/10
    Not just for the FX...
    Okay, the character of Dr. Eddie Jessup is kind of a pompous ass, and there are a few groaner moments of, call it, self-importance.

    But this movie breaks real ground.

    One of my all time favorites.

    And I'd like to point out that everyone is crazy about the much-touted and notoriously-expensive hallucination sequences, ...

    Of course if you've seen Russel's "Tommy," some of the over-the-top sequences will look familiar and tinged with peculiar British-isms. And then there's the ending - well, it's controversial, that's for sure - anticlimax or not ?

    But for me the most electrifying parts are the ensemble cast acting.

    In the scene where Blair Brown is trying to cope with the trauma of the events in the isolation tank room, there's a very beautifully conceived long single shot through house windows. Russel needs credit especially for the argument between Balaban and Haid - some of the best acting I've ever seen - character actors hardly EVER get to put this kind of stage-acting energy on film. It stays with me still. They truly seem absolutely furious with each other, their lines overlap, it's absolutely convincing.

    Some of the greatest effects of this movie are simply good movie craft - when Jessup first sees the love of his life walk through the door, fantastically back-lit, and the music comes up and cross-fades into the next scene - it's breathtaking.

    It's the moments like that, and the very intro of the movie, with the slow title crawl, the deadpan lines read by Balaban, the first shots of Hurt in the tank, the eerie music ... This movie still stands out, still looks good,... and stands superior to other, more recent imaginings of internal hallucination become external.
    helpful•64
    14
    • boomaga1
    • Dec 3, 2006

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 25, 1980 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Official site
      • Official site
    • Languages
      • English
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • Der Höllentrip
    • Filming locations
      • Bronx Zoo - 2300 Southern Boulevard, Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
    • Production company
      • Warner Bros.
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $19,853,892
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $174,650
      • Dec 28, 1980
    • Gross worldwide
      • $19,853,892
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 42 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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