Altered States (1980)
Trailer
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyBE_aKg858
Altered States
Release Date:
1980
Starring:
William Hurt, Blair Brown
Directed by:
Ken Russell
Written by:
Paddy Chayefsky
Running Time:
1 hour and 42 minutes
Synopsis
The movie takes place during the late 1960s in New York City and Boston. Eddie Jessup, a psychology professor who is known for being brilliant but also kind of crazy performs experiments on himself using an isolation tank to explore different states of consciousness toward the goal of finding an original, primary self and the truth of existence. In his early research he would have mild hallucinations, mostly related with religion. Seven years go by and he has become a much respected professor at Harvard Medical School. Eddie feels like reliving his days in the tank so he decides to return to his work, this time going to Mexico to take hallucinogens to enhance his experience in the deprivation tank. After his trip to Mexico his experiences become much more intense; he believes that his experiences in the tank are causing him to regress genetically. Ultimately his quest for truth almost costs him his marriage and his life.
Review
The movie
takes place during the late 1960s in New York City and Boston. Eddie Jessup, a psychology professor who is known
for being brilliant but also kind of crazy performs experiments on himself
using an isolation tank to explore different states of consciousness toward the goal of finding an original, primary self and the truth of existence. In his early research he would have mild hallucinations, mostly related with religion. Seven years go by and he has become a much
respected professor at Harvard Medical School.
Eddie feels like reliving his days in the tank so he decides to return
to his work, this time going to Mexico to take hallucinogens to enhance his
experience in the deprivation tank.
After his trip to Mexico his experiences become much more intense; he
believes that his experiences in the tank are causing him to regress genetically. Ultimately his quest for truth almost costs him his marriage and his life.
Although parts of this 1980
masterpiece are quite corny, the movie is entertaining and well done. For a movie from the 80s we weren't expecting
much, we were expecting to be bored and uninterested while watching but that was
not the case, it was interesting to me and we felt very immersed into the
story. Besides the story itself, the film techniques that
were used and the acting were surprisingly good. William Hurt did a wonderful job with playing his character, a crazy but
also very intelligent and passionate man. Blair Brown was Eddies wife, she was the more normal one of the two but she was also very intelligent. She was always the one trying to keep Eddie sane even though it didn't always work. She did a really good job balancing out Eddies insanity with her normality.
Ken Russell’s use of film techniques
is what made this movie good honestly, imagery was an important technique that was used combined with repetition. During his
experiences after Mexico; Eddie would relive things from Mexico in his
hallucinations in the tank. Eddies
hallucinations were the most important part of the movie; it is what the movie
is based on. The hallucinations were
corny and exaggerated but, the movie is from the 80s so that was expected. Putting the corniness aside the imagery used to
make the hallucinations was quite beautiful and the images, Eddie’s
hallucinations really stuck in your head which is important.
The director also used repetition as a film technique, he would make Eddie see things he already saw, which would put more importance on those specific visuals, doing this made the viewers remember specific important moments in Eddies hallucinations--this also showed us how his experiences in the tank were blurring into external reality. The sound was well done in this movie and it complemented Eddies hallucinations and experiences very well, even though they were just as corny as the hallucinations. The movie was actually nominated for an Oscar for best sound. The sets of the movie were what you would expect, they were all plain and boring in a sense until he began to hallucinate, which was obviously done to amplify and put emphasis on his hallucinations.
The director also used repetition as a film technique, he would make Eddie see things he already saw, which would put more importance on those specific visuals, doing this made the viewers remember specific important moments in Eddies hallucinations--this also showed us how his experiences in the tank were blurring into external reality. The sound was well done in this movie and it complemented Eddies hallucinations and experiences very well, even though they were just as corny as the hallucinations. The movie was actually nominated for an Oscar for best sound. The sets of the movie were what you would expect, they were all plain and boring in a sense until he began to hallucinate, which was obviously done to amplify and put emphasis on his hallucinations.
.
The main theme of the movie would
have to be Eddie’s quest for the truth, one of the big important scenes of the movie was Eddies monologue in the bar with everyone, "What dignifies the Yogic practices is that the belief system itself is not truly religious. There is no Buddhist god per se. It is the self, the individual mind, that contains immortality and ultimate truth. At least I know where the self is. It’s in our own minds. It’s a form of human energy. Our atoms are six billion years old. We’ve got six billion years of memory in our minds. Memory is energy! It doesn’t disappear – it’s still in there. There’s a physiological pathway to our earlier consciousnesses. There has to be. And I’m telling you, it’s in the god-damned limbic system…. I’m a man in search of his true self. How archetypically American can you get? Everybody’s looking for their true selves. We’re all trying to fulfill ourselves, understand ourselves, get in touch with ourselves, face the reality of ourselves, explore ourselves, expand ourselves. Ever since we dispensed with God, we’ve got nothing but ourselves to explain this meaningless horror of life….Well, I think that that true self, that original self, that first self is a real, mensurate, quantifiable thing, tangible and incarnate. And I’m going to find the fucker." I've decided to quote the whole thing because everything he says is very interesting and important. Eddies constant determination to find out
what is going on with him is the main theme because that is what
the entire movie is based on. It is what
drove him to keep going back into the tank, answers. The fact that Eddie was always trying to get
answers would flood the viewer’s minds with what Eddies is facing. The main issue or question of the movie was
simply what is happening to Eddie and his body and why is this happening to
him?
WORD COUNT: 853
Critical Opinions
To be honest, there is not much weaknesses in this movie. Surprisingly, it was really enjoyable to watch from the beginning to the end. One thing that people definitely have to avoid is to create an opinion on ''Altered States'' before even actually watching it. It is strongly recommended not to make prejudices, because this film is not old and corny with a plot that makes zero sense; although the plot is so strange and different, it does make a lot of sense. Pretty much everything about this movie is great if we do not consider the little imperfections of it such as the fact that some scenes are not that easy to follow. Stay concentrated or you will get lost! Other than that, the actors perform beautifully. In a movie like this you would expect the acting to be bad and seem scripted, but that is not the case at all. Eddie's numerous hallucinations are very well done, even with the limited special effects of the 1980's. Everything in ''Altered States'' feels so real even though it is so bizarre, and this is basically what makes this film catchy and entertaining. The viewers of this movie would have an interesting and unique experience while watching it, and they would without a doubt create a positive personal opinion. Most likely, people with open minds would appreciate this movie.
''Altered States'' is an exceptional science fiction movie. It is without a doubt entertaining; no one could be bored while watching it, even if personal preferences are taken in consideration. In general, it has a great global idea which is to discover the meaning of life and how it has been created. On the film techniques domain, the lighting and sound play a really important role because they create the whole meaning of ''Altered States'' and they represent a relevant strength of the movie. Directly at the beginning, a creepy atmosphere is already set because of the lighting; the weird, shady and dirty scientific laboratory demonstrates a low-key lighting. When there were scenes with more light and louder sounds, this was when Eddie was getting closer and closer to reach his goal; find the ''great truths of human life.'' For example, when he goes back in the isolation tank for the last time, there is an intense white light in the room (which offers a high-key lighting) and crazy sounds can be heard. On the characters domain, Emily, Arthur and Eddie are the ones that make the movie more interesting. Emily never stops showing her love for Eddie even though he drives her crazy because she can't get enough of him. For example, during his husband's last experiment in the isolation tank, she is the one who makes proof of courage by pulling him out of this insane whirlpool. This is what brings a romantic side to ''Altered States.'' Arthur is like Eddie's ''buddy'' because he is devoted like him and he is the one who is taking notes during all his experiments. His behavior in general shows that he will never stop this scientific research and he is bringing a ''friendship'' side to the film. Eddie, this ''fascinating bastard'' like his buddy calls him, surprises the viewers in every single scene that he is involved in because he always shows how intelligent he is and his cognitive machinery is indeed ''fascinating.'' However, this movie obviously has its weaknesses too. It is not always easy to follow and the viewer has to figure out a lot of things by himself. ''Altered States'' is the type of movie that you have to be completely awake, paying attention and be really focused to understand it well. Otherwise, it is difficult to appreciate it at its full potential. Also, when the viewer finally gets the global idea, it basically loses all its magic and mystery and the film transforms itself into a puzzle to simply fill-in. Another significant downside is that the movie sometimes asks the viewer far too much, because he has to decide what to believe in and he has to wonder what everything means. It leaves him alone with his own perception of things and therefore he may lose his interest to the main purpose of the story.
''Altered States'' is an exceptional science fiction movie. It is without a doubt entertaining; no one could be bored while watching it, even if personal preferences are taken in consideration. In general, it has a great global idea which is to discover the meaning of life and how it has been created. On the film techniques domain, the lighting and sound play a really important role because they create the whole meaning of ''Altered States'' and they represent a relevant strength of the movie. Directly at the beginning, a creepy atmosphere is already set because of the lighting; the weird, shady and dirty scientific laboratory demonstrates a low-key lighting. When there were scenes with more light and louder sounds, this was when Eddie was getting closer and closer to reach his goal; find the ''great truths of human life.'' For example, when he goes back in the isolation tank for the last time, there is an intense white light in the room (which offers a high-key lighting) and crazy sounds can be heard. On the characters domain, Emily, Arthur and Eddie are the ones that make the movie more interesting. Emily never stops showing her love for Eddie even though he drives her crazy because she can't get enough of him. For example, during his husband's last experiment in the isolation tank, she is the one who makes proof of courage by pulling him out of this insane whirlpool. This is what brings a romantic side to ''Altered States.'' Arthur is like Eddie's ''buddy'' because he is devoted like him and he is the one who is taking notes during all his experiments. His behavior in general shows that he will never stop this scientific research and he is bringing a ''friendship'' side to the film. Eddie, this ''fascinating bastard'' like his buddy calls him, surprises the viewers in every single scene that he is involved in because he always shows how intelligent he is and his cognitive machinery is indeed ''fascinating.'' However, this movie obviously has its weaknesses too. It is not always easy to follow and the viewer has to figure out a lot of things by himself. ''Altered States'' is the type of movie that you have to be completely awake, paying attention and be really focused to understand it well. Otherwise, it is difficult to appreciate it at its full potential. Also, when the viewer finally gets the global idea, it basically loses all its magic and mystery and the film transforms itself into a puzzle to simply fill-in. Another significant downside is that the movie sometimes asks the viewer far too much, because he has to decide what to believe in and he has to wonder what everything means. It leaves him alone with his own perception of things and therefore he may lose his interest to the main purpose of the story.
Rating
4 stars
Course Connections
1) The core or minimal self is one key concept of our class that is linked to ''Altered States.'' In the course material, we learned that ''this inner model represents the creature's own body in its environment'' and that ''this self mediates between the organism and the external world.'' Eddie Jessup, during his numerous scientific experiments, indeed uses his inner capacities to get in touch with himself. Also, when he becomes proto-human, he's not self-aware at all, even though humans (and other creatures) are biologically programmed to be self-aware. There is an important scene in the film where he explains that. Sitting on a couch while talking to Emily, this is what he says: ''Apparently I entered a very primitive consciousness. All I can remember is what was comprehensible to that consciousness. I don't remember, at least not clearly, how I got out of the tank room.'' Basically, while he is in that form, he can't represent himself, and he can't reflect or introspect. His awareness is not immediate; he is not observing himself and he doesn't have a feeling of being an actual ''subject'' inside of his head.
2) Eddie also believes that everyone has another Self that is more meaningful, because when he goes in the isolation tank he says that he actually enters another consciousness, and that the drug ''triggers'' the externalization of that other Self that is more primitive. While Eddie is drunk in a restaurant with a bunch of friends, he says that ''it is the Self, the individual Mind, that contains immortality and ultimate Truth.'' In this scene, he also proves that every human being has an inner self existing in them, and that this Self is located ''in our own minds'' in ''a form of human energy.'' He defines ''that true Self, that original Self, that first Self'' as ''a real, mensurate, quantifiable, tangible and incarnate thing.'' This is linked to the idea we have covered in class of having an ''inner self,'' a kind of self that not everyone believes in and that has much more truth and meaning inside us. Throughout the whole film, Eddie is indeed in a quest to find his own uniqueness (this is the main feature of the inner self) and he tries to find it by interpreting the hallucinations that the hundreds of milligrams of ''this extraordinary Mexican substance'' gives him.
3) Finally, this movie is also connected to the idea of state consciousness that we went over in class. First of all, like the definition says, Eddie Jessup clearly ''already possesses a capacity for consciousness that he can have different states of consciousness.'' Also, he is conscious of being conscious, and that is actually a state of consciousness. The other states of consciousness of a creature can be found while meditating for example. Things come to our minds uncontrollably, and we have no choice but to think of those things. They just appear in our minds without us consciously wanting to think of those things. It is really similar to what Eddie goes through while he is in the sensory deprivation tank.
2) Eddie also believes that everyone has another Self that is more meaningful, because when he goes in the isolation tank he says that he actually enters another consciousness, and that the drug ''triggers'' the externalization of that other Self that is more primitive. While Eddie is drunk in a restaurant with a bunch of friends, he says that ''it is the Self, the individual Mind, that contains immortality and ultimate Truth.'' In this scene, he also proves that every human being has an inner self existing in them, and that this Self is located ''in our own minds'' in ''a form of human energy.'' He defines ''that true Self, that original Self, that first Self'' as ''a real, mensurate, quantifiable, tangible and incarnate thing.'' This is linked to the idea we have covered in class of having an ''inner self,'' a kind of self that not everyone believes in and that has much more truth and meaning inside us. Throughout the whole film, Eddie is indeed in a quest to find his own uniqueness (this is the main feature of the inner self) and he tries to find it by interpreting the hallucinations that the hundreds of milligrams of ''this extraordinary Mexican substance'' gives him.
3) Finally, this movie is also connected to the idea of state consciousness that we went over in class. First of all, like the definition says, Eddie Jessup clearly ''already possesses a capacity for consciousness that he can have different states of consciousness.'' Also, he is conscious of being conscious, and that is actually a state of consciousness. The other states of consciousness of a creature can be found while meditating for example. Things come to our minds uncontrollably, and we have no choice but to think of those things. They just appear in our minds without us consciously wanting to think of those things. It is really similar to what Eddie goes through while he is in the sensory deprivation tank.
Questions
1) If you were trying to explore different altered states of mind, would you try it out with an isolation tank or take hallucinogenic drugs to enhance the effect?
2) If you were in Eddie’s shoes, how would you react with all the religion and cult appearing during his trips?
3) Would you go on a quest to Mexico like Eddie did to experience different states of consciousness?
Web Links
The role of Eddie Jessup played by William Hurt, was inspired by Dr. John Lilly. A scientist who worked with isolation tanks and hallucigenics, searching for answers of the human consciousness.
In depth, first time experience in a deprivation tank
Works Cited
Altered States, Dr. Eddie Jessup." Monologuedb Altered States Dr Eddie Jessup Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.
Altered States, Dr. Eddie Jessup." Monologuedb Altered States Dr Eddie Jessup Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2016.
Overall, very interesting blog. A few things though, I see that your summary is also the first paragraph under your review sub heading. I'm a little confused as to why it is there again, it simply makes it repetitive. Overall, the cinematic techniques that you talk about are very interesting. You mention lighting and characters in your personal critic, but never in the actual review, so I would have put that part in your review instead of your critic. Also, at the end of your review, you just kind of state the question that the film raises, it would have been nice if you explained a little bit of why this is the main question, it was just kind of randomly placed there as if you had nowhere else to put it. The quote that you inserted from the movie I find very interesting, it adds a lot to the understanding of what is going on in the movie and the angle that the director took with the topic. From your blog, I understand that the movie was very interesting, but required a lot of thinking and figuring stuff out. Just by reading, I feel like it is an odd movie, where you feel unsettled while watching it, kind of not knowing what is going to happen. Now I don't know if that is the case because I haven't watched it, but your blog gives off a little bit of that vibe. I think I would like to watch this movie, it seems very interesting and you intrigued me with your review and critic of it. I find your first question very interesting, I honestly think that to experience this altered state of consciousness naturally you would definitely use the isolation tank. I would want to try that one-day. Overall, I think you course connections were very pertinent and true to what we spoke about in class, I can see how this movie really mirrors everything we have learned this semester. Though I do not know anyone personally who has gone through this quest for the conscience and the true self, I have watched a Netflix series called Chelsea Does... A comedian named Chelsea Handler goes to a temple in Peru where she tries a potent hallucinogen. It is interesting to see the results and how it affects people. I think it was a very enlightening TV show and the way she talks about the experience reminds me a little bit of the movie you analyzed. All in all, I think your blog is good and I think Altered States looks like a very interesting movie.
ReplyDeleteTo answer questions #3 (Would you go on a quest to Mexico like Eddie did to experience different states of consciousness?), I personally would not have gone to find these drugs. I think Eddies does this as part of his extreme commitment to his scientific research. I found that the entire scene when Eddie was in Mexico and meets with the tribe to be very confusing at first but later understood the significance. This is definitely an important part of the film as Eddie's discovery and use of this hallucinatory drug really makes his research on different states of consciousness take off. It is when he begins taking these drugs that he starts seeing real effects and becomes addicted to his research and quest for knowledge. This quest for knowledge, mixed with the use of the drugs he receives in Mexico really changes his character throughout the film.
ReplyDeleteThe third question is quite interesting. Personally, I wouldn't do it. Eddie didn't think about any of the consequences that could occur while ingesting that drug that he has no knowledge about. This experiment was dangerous and could have turned out worst than what actually happened. Eddie should have made some research about that tribe and what their culture is. Knowing more about something unsual is always good. But, if you look at what Eddie did with a scientific approach, it is understandable that Eddie would do such a thing. Eddie is known as someone quite strange, he can be seen as a mad genius and it wasn't surprising that he could go this far to find more answers for his precious research. But, from my non-scientific point of view, I wouldn't do it. It would be too dangerous and I wouldn't go somewhere that I have no idea about.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: If I had to pick in between a tank or drugs I would probably have to go with the drugs. Not because of the trip or anything but I don't think I'd be able to sit in a tank under those circumstances and go on the trip.
ReplyDeleteAll 3 of your course connections were done well and thoroughly. Every detail is covered and explained with nothing left out. I don't see anything that could be added.
Question 1: If I were to try an altered states of mind I would probably opt for an isolation tank rather than hallucinogenic drugs. I would have a fear of trying a strong drug in case of addiction or negative effects it could have on my brain. Being a nursing student, it’s been drilled in to my head that abusing drugs can be very dangerous and I would avoid doing so, especially if there is a less harmful way of experiencing an altered state using an isolation tank. Isolation tanks can also be a relaxing environment to be in and can allow you to de-stress, whereas there is always a possibility of having a bad trip on drugs.
ReplyDelete-Tayler Ferri
Question 1: I think the idea of being able to enter an altered state of mind is quite interesting. Being able to become a spectator of the world almost like a 3rd person view could be really cool. I think I would always be open to new experiences and entering a sensory deprivation tank would be an amazing experience. As an athlete I have always been working with my sports psychologist to be able to improve my athletic performances. Therefore meditating has been an effective technique that i have used to alter my state in a way to be able to eliminate stress and other unwanted emotions that I may have before a competition run, and then just focus on the task at hand. Being open to the experiences I think that drugs would be an effective way to alter my state of consciousness as well but I feel like taking a drug to create that state instead of achieving the state on your own would be less effective.
ReplyDeleteAnswering question #1, If I were to try and explore different altered states I would do both the isolation tank and try hallucinogenic drugs. I believe they are both going to give me a different experience. Drugs will change everything around you and make the experience so much more different than the one with the isolation tank. For me, the isolation tank is just overthinking to a point where it brings you into an other state. I would probably freak out when I'm in the tank at first and then I'll calm down and start the whole process. The tank is natural and I would probably rather do that than take drugs. Very good blog by the way.
ReplyDelete