tdrish Altered States is one mind blowing mess of a film. It fails to give us any answers to any of of the mysteries being displayed here. I left the movie leaving myself playing with several questions unanswered. What if religion didn't play a part with the hallucinations? Why Shittake Mushrooms? Why such an obsession to unlock the mysteries of the human mind? I can't reveal too many of my questions without revealing the premise of the film, all I can do is reassure you that for the most part, you are just going to watch. You are going to watch a man, Eddie Jessup ( William Hurt) become absorbed in a world of altered states of mind, unlocking other states of consciousness, including sub and hallucinations of frightening, and sometimes beautiful vivid imagery. There are two isolation chambers he uses to enhance such states, both vertical and horizontal chambers. The horizontal chamber is when things get really interesting, in which the mind seems to be able to not only alter the state of mind, but also the state of body, and material. I've already said too much. For the most part, I had a fantastic time watching Altered States. Although nothing was resolved, it also strikes Eddie with the assumption that we are not to understand too much about how our mind works, or the doors that have been locked over the years inside every human mind. These doors exist, but are locked for a reason...we have to move on to new doors! Eddie makes the mistake of wanting answers. He is, after all, a scientist. What does he sacrifice at the stake of wanting these answers? How can he live, emotionally and physically unattached from the real world, to get such answers. Can he learn to love, like a real man should? Eddie reaches many powerful states of vivid imagery, which is enhanced through special mushrooms and herbal tea, if I remember correctly. However, it cannot be denied that he is getting an extreme high, a high state of euphoria, from the hallucinations. As he struggles to get answers, the hallucinations get more powerful, and take over not only his mind, but his body. ( At one point, he becomes a terrifying monster. It almost beckons us to the belief that way back when, we were all primitive, savage, ruthless beasts in survival mode.) Many people are going to see this film different from another viewer, which is what makes it so fantastic. Woven into all of this, is a love story, a woman who wants to love the strange man wishing for the answers. Can he come back to reality to be with her? For the most part, Altered States is a great ride, and hands down plays itself out fearlessly. The only people who wouldn't like it, are the ones who don't understand, or understand it. 8 out of 10 stars!

Mr-Fusion "Altered States" goes off the rails in the second half, but for a while there it really felt like it was building toward something good. It plies its trade on the senses as William Hurt's mad scientist takes to the isolation tank (on Mexican shrooms, no less) and the line between real and surreality continues to blur (cue the psychedelic effects). Trying to use mind-expansion to unlock other states of consciousness is where this movie peaks. But then Hurt actually regresses into a caveman and realizes his fall from banging Blair Brown to grunting and snacking on goats. What you hear right there is the sound of a trainwreck. I imagine this twas pretty potent back in 1980 - and a substantial portion of it still is.But it's half of a good movie.5/10

brchthethird I'm actually at a little bit of a loss what to say right now because I'm almost overwhelmed by what I just saw. I'd liken it to a drug experience if only I'd ever taken drugs before, but the degree to which watching this film simulates what its characters go through is astounding. The story is rather simple: a scientist, Eddie Jessup (William Hurt, in his feature film debut) has been doing sensory deprivation experiments, but after a trip to Mexico, he starts doing those experiments under the influence of a powerful psychedelic drug which might possibly be affecting his genetic makeup. Plot-wise, it's not too complicated as it just follows Eddie's personal journey and evolution over the course of these life-altering experiments. Every actor was very capable and William Hurt was especially good considering this was his first role. However, the real magic of the film is in its many hallucinatory images which range from the sacrilegious to the primal. Even if you haven't seen the film, you might already be familiar with the image of a six-eyed, goat-headed man on a cross. Early on, Eddie mentions that he had visions as a young man that were out of Revelation and this imagery is kind of a perversion of that. However, the imagery that occurs later on in the film is extremely hard to describe and honestly it's best if you just see it for yourself. There are some interesting observations/connections made between religious and psychedelic experiences, and also mental disorders, however the true power of this film is in its images, which were realized with some incredible visual effects. I don't think this film will be to everyone's taste, certainly not those who are religious and might be offended by some of the imagery, but for those brave enough to give it a try it's an experience you won't soon forget.

evanston_dad Wacko movie from perennially wacko director Ken Russell about an academic (William Hurt in his first film role) who becomes obsessed with contacting his own primitive self and uses a combination of hallucinogenic drugs and sensory deprivation tanks to do so.The premise is a pretty interesting one, but it doesn't make much sense as handled by Russell, and what starts out as a fairly unsettling film becomes laughable when Hurt literally transforms into a sort of werewolf and goes running around a zoo punching animals in the face. I couldn't tell if we were supposed to find this funny or not, because Russell brings the same exaggerated tone to everything he does. Hurt is pretty good, despite the mumbo jumbo the script gives him to recite, while no one else in the cast (which includes Bob Balaban and Blair Brown) makes much of an impression.The film was nominated for two Academy Awards: one for its jangling score by John Corigliano and the other for its jangling sound design.Grade: B-