Brainstorm (1983)

Researchers develop a system where they can jump into people's minds. But when people involved bring their personal problems into the equation, it becomes dangerous - perhaps deadly.

Director:

Douglas Trumbull

Writers:

Bruce Joel Rubin (story), Robert Stitzel (screenplay)

Stars:

Christopher Walken, Natalie Wood, Louise Fletcher

2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

Brilliant researchers Lillian Reynolds and Michael Brace have developed a system of recording and playing back actual experiences of people. Once the capability of tapping into "higher brain functions" is added in, and you can literally jump into someone else's head and play back recordings of what he or she was thinking, feeling, seeing, etc., at the time of the recording, the applications for the project quickly spiral out of control. While Michael Brace uses the system to become close again to Karen Brace, his estranged wife who also works on the project, others start abusing it for intense sexual experiences and other logical but morally questionable purposes. The government tries to kick Michael and Lillian off the project once the vast military potential of the technology is discovered. It soon becomes obvious that the government is interested in more than just missile guidance systems. The lab starts producing mind torture recordings and other psychosis inducing material. When ...

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Plot Keywords:

high tech | experimental technology | virtual reality | subjective camera | character's point of view camera shot | 

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Taglines:

...The Ultimate Experience

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Genres:

Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 September 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Gordon Forbes Tapes

Filming Locations:

Riverside International Raceway, 22255 Eucalyptus Avenue, Moreno Valley, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$1,196,965, 2 October 1983, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,900,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

JF Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), SLM Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The section in the demo with the vehicle flying off the cliff was directly inspired by the original IMAX history of flight presentation at the opening of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. in 1976. In the original you see a spoke-wheeled Model T driving across a grassy field, then a shot looking down through wheels at the grass, as the camera - now surreptitiously mounted on a wheeled ultralight plane - goes off a cliff over the ocean. As with in this film, the members of the IMAX audiences leaned back in their seats in reaction.

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Goofs

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.

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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.

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Crazy Credits

After the final credit has rolled, 'TO NATALIE' appears for a couple seconds

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Alternate Versions

In the psychotic episode sequence when Michael's (Christopher Walken) son Chris (Jason Lively) wears the headset, there's a slight difference between the 70mm version and 35mm version. In the 70mm version of Chris' hallucination when Michael turns on a lever sending presumably an electrical current to Chris' head, the camera cuts to and remains on a shot of a circular device with electricity running through it as we hear Michael say 'Now you're gonna find out it's mine!'. In the 35mm version, the shot arrangement is the same except that it cuts back to a close up of Michael saying the line 'Now you're gonna find out it's mine!'.

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Connections

Referenced in The Making of 'Event Horizon' (2006)

User Reviews

Excellent science fiction

What are the boundaries of science fiction? This film explores them. Like the thirteenth floor, dark city or the matrix the film leaves a lingering uncertainty as to what out ultimate destiny or origin is. Good science fiction probes us and questions our limitations.