In 1943, the year in which the first A-bomb was built, Albert Hofmann discovered LSD, a substance that was to become an A-bomb of the mind. Fractions of a milligram are enough to turn our ...
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Title: The Substance: Albert Hofmann's LSD (2011)
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1 win & 2 nominations.
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Cast
| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Trevor J. Roling | ... | narrator in English version (voice) |
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Hanspeter Müller | ... | narrator in German version (voice) (as Hanspeter Müller-Drossaart) |
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Mario Scarabelli | ... | narrator in Italian version (voice) |
| Albert Hofmann | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
| Stanislav Grof | ... | Self - psychiatrist | |
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Martin A. Lee | ... | Self - author |
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James S. Ketchum | ... | Self - U.S. Army Colonel (Retired), Medical Corps |
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Franz X. Vollenweider | ... | Self - neuroscientist, University of Zürich |
| Ken Kesey | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
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Carolyn Garcia | ... | Self - Merry Pranksters |
| Timothy Leary | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
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Ralph Metzner | ... | Self - psychologist |
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Nick Sand | ... | Self - Millbrook Mansion |
| Ronald Reagan | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
| John Lennon | ... | Self (archive footage) | |
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Storyline
In 1943, the year in which the first A-bomb was built, Albert Hofmann discovered LSD, a substance that was to become an A-bomb of the mind. Fractions of a milligram are enough to turn our framework of time and space upside down. The story of a drug - its discovery in the Basel chemistry lab, the first experiments by Albert Hofmann on himself, the 1950s experiments of the psychiatrists, the consciousness researchers, the artists. Could it actually be possible to find a path to the core of our human existence by means of a chemical? Spirituality at the flick of a switch? Do the enigmatic effects of this drug really help us to better understand the human soul? Could LSD be an instrument of contemporary psychiatry? Of modern brain research? Written by Martin Witz
Plot Keywords:
drug | lsd | psychiatry | san francisco california | chemical industry |Parents Guide:
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Details
Release Date:
17 May 2012 (Germany) See more »Also Known As:
A Descoberta do LSD See more »Company Credits
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I have to say that I was quite impressed with this documentary about the accidental discovery of LSD (aka. Acid) by Swiss chemist, Albert Hofmann in 1943.
"The Substance" was certainly a documentary whose producers went well out of their way to create something of a surreal and psychedelic experience for the viewer by using hypnotic imagery and spacey music to entertain while the whole story unfolded.
At the time of his discovery of LSD, Hofmann was trying to understand how consciousness was created and, in doing so, his breakthrough in science opened up a literal "Pandora's Box" when it came to the realm of a virtual mind-altering experience.
Also featured in this documentary was an interview with Albert Hofmann at the age of 100. Still a very lucid thinker, Hofmann clearly described his own experiences taking LSD, which he believed, as a psychiatric tool, offered great benefits to the patient.
*Note* - In 2008, Albert Hofmann died at the ripe old age of 102.