Altered States

Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)

Anybody calling this a "mellow Ken Russell flick" seems out of his mind but I stand by that statement based on most of the work he had done during the previous decade. Somehow this film is able to juggle intellectualism, extreme drug use, sensory deprivation tanks, the search for the first self, the concept of faith, at least in the context of loving another person, religious imagery, especially of the Judeo-Christian ethic, sexual attraction and obsession. overlapping dialogue, genetic changes and reconstitution, etc., so obviously it has plenty of fish to fry and can topple over into absurdity at almost any moment. Screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky apparently thought it did and had his name removed from the screenplay credits, but Ken Russell got the last laugh as he was able to turn the whole thing into a 2001-ish trip while never being boring and filling the screen with memorable imagery provided by cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth, complimented by an intense musical score by John Corigliano. William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban and Charles Haid all give solid acting turns, and look fast for several actors in early roles, including a pre-E.T. Drew Barrymore.