ALL SCI-FI

[Bud Brewster]

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A strange movie with a strange concept.

John Hurt is a research scientist who conducts experiments involving a sensory deprivation tank and a wild theory that the brain has untapped powers.

He turns out to be dead right, and that's when things like this start happening, not just to him to his main squeeze, Blair Brown.


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Definitely a wild and wooly cinematic ride.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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Enjoy the trailer and the dramatic final transformation scene.
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_______________ Altered States (1980) Trailer


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_____ Altered States - Final Transformation Scene


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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bogmeister]

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____________________ Altered States Trailer


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Based on a real life researcher, this follows the intellectual exploits of a young university professor, Jessup (William Hurt), who becomes obsessed with locating his original genetic self, based on the theory that genetic memory exists, dating back billions of years.

He attempts all this via drugs and sense-deprivation states, changing or expanding his mind processes. The story covers several years in his life, that of his wife (Blair Brown) and his two associates (Bob Balaban & Charles Haid), beginning with how he met his future wife and skipping to a point when they have two small children as the marriage begins to unravel.

Though Jessup should be on top of the world, with a prestigious job of full professor and with the only woman who would probably put up with his craziness, he is essentially frustrated and depressed. He seeks answers that may be impossible to get — the old ones about purpose of existence and the whys, the wherefores, and the mysteries of life that plague the minds of thoughtful men.

The popular image for this film is the deprivation tank that Jessup relies on more and more as the story progresses — it seems like an escape for him, from the rigidness of reality. Eventually, he experiences physical transformation, an unexpected side effect of what should have been strictly a cerebral exercise.



This was made to order for director Ken Russell, who had by then become a specialist in psychedelic imagery and surrealism. The story (and novel) were by Paddy Chayefsky, who imparts his usual wordy dialog and speechifying, but the visuals are all Russell. This begins early, with Jessup experiencing various mind trips, usually chaotic religious imagery involving God and the Devil.

These don't make too much sense — and we don't expect them to (after all, these are products of an addled mind) — but they're always interesting to glimpse. First this escalates to an actual transformation into a simian form, and then finally the bizarre light & freak show for the finale, where-in Jessup has probably tapped into some kind of primordial state of being.

The startling aspect to this last bit is how his wife suddenly gets 'infected' by the same transformation.

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Hurt is very good in the role — impressive in that this was his first starring role and first film role ever. He suggests a slightly disturbed mind, despite the high intelligence. There are more blatant samples of his weirdness in the course of the film, such as his wife's commentary on his intense approach to sex.

Brown as his wife is also very good, as are Balaban and Haid, though the latter overacts a bit, especially in his arguments and outrage over Jessup's experimenting.

This was made at a time when some sf films still attempted to explore intellectual premises, even though it was already after Star Wars, and this one doesn't preach or beat the viewer over the head with it, despite Russell's garish style. It's thought-provoking overall and aimed at adults.

BoG's Score: 7.5 out of 10




Altered Trivia: first film role for Hurt, who had only done a couple of TV guest spots and acted on stage before this; also the first role for Drew Barrymore as one of the little kids. She went on to E.T. (1982). Also a very early small bit part for John Larroquette.

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_______________ Altered States - Hallucination


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BoG
Galaxy Overlord Galactus

[Eadie]

Dr. Edward "Eddie" Jessup [who was based upon Dr John Cunningham Lilly (January 6, 1915 – September 30, 2001) forgot that even the Gods evolve:


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Art Should Comfort the Disturbed and Disturb the Comfortable.

[Bud Brewster]

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That is a brilliant cartoon, Eadie. I love it!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[scotpens]

[Gord Green]

I just couldn't "get" this film. It seemed just too pretentious visually.
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There comes a time, thief, when gold loses its lustre, and the gems cease to sparkle, and the throne room becomes a prison; and all that is left is a father's love for his child.

[Pow]

I enjoyed this movie. It was more a ''thinking person's film'' as opposed to those sci~fi films that are a tsunami of visual effects hung on a mediocre script.

[Bud Brewster]

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You're right, Pow. Several members have pointed out recently that today's science fiction films are just the way you inscribed them.

It occurred to me that even the low budget movies of the 1950s had something interesting in the premise that we could ponder and discuss with our friends. What the lesser ones lacked in visuals they made up for with brain teasers.
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)

[Bud Brewster]

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IMDB has several interesting trivia items for this production.
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~ Ken Russell has alleged in interviews that he was the 27th choice for director, stating that Warner Bros. only hired him after 26 other directors had passed on the project.

Note from me: The next few trivia items indicate that the studio would have done better with one of the first 26 choices to direct the movie.

~ Ken Russell was often drunk throughout production.

Note from me: I've got a bad feeling about this . . .

~ Ken Russell hated Paddy Chayefsky's script, calling it ponderous, pretentious and labored. However, he was in a situation where, if he changed so much as one word of the script, he would have been sued. He resolved this by having the actors mumble their lines, or give speeches in between mouthfuls of food or wine.

Note from me: It seems odd that Russell wouldn't have dealt with his dislike for the script before the production started.

~ Ken Russell, objecting to Paddy Chayefsky's interference, had the writer banned from the set. Chayevsky reportedly tried to have Russell removed as director, but by then the film was already well under way.

Note from me: Apparently things went from bad to worse . . .

~ Author Paddy Chayefsky disowned this movie. Even though the dialogue in the screenplay was almost verbatim from his novel he reportedly objected to the general tone of the film and the shouting of his precious words by the actors, this conflicting with Ken Russell's typical style of wanting heightened performances.

Note from me: I can't imagine how disappointing it must be for an author to realize that a movie based on his script is being ruined.

~ The film's box-office failure and Ken Russell's onset behavior, including a row with Paddy Chayefsky, led to the director becoming a virtual pariah in Hollywood.

Note from me: All this sounds like a blueprint for how a director can shoot himself in the foot.

~ The film's themes and meaning has often been debated, with many interpretations being put forward such that it's the Orpheus and Eurydice myth; that it's the Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde yarn; that it's really the story of Mary and Jesus. The film's writer, Paddy Chayefsky, once revealed in an interview that it was actually really a love story.

Note from me: I've seen this film, and it ain't no Romeo and Juliet!
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Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)