#1284: RUSSELL, Ken: Altered States (1980)

RUSSELL, Ken (United States)
Altered States [1980]
Spine #1284
Blu-ray


The ultimate cinematic head trip of the 1980s, British renegade Ken Russell’s first Hollywood film—adapted by the legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky from his own novel—is part hallucinogenic freak-out, part gonzo creature feature, part transcendent love story, all played at a fever pitch. When researcher Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) begins using himself as a test subject for his mind-expanding psychological experiments, it sends him on an increasingly dangerous, substance-fueled odyssey from humankind’s primordial past to the outer limits of consciousness. It’s all visualized by Russell in a psychedelic supernova of out-there imagery that encompasses everything from the pagan to the cosmic sublime, culminating in a brain-wave-blasting battle between the mind and the heart.

103 minutes
2.0 Surround
Color
1:85:1
Criterion Release 2025

Director/Writer

Ken Russell was 53 when he directed Altered States.

Other Russell films in the Collection:

#916: Women in Love (1969)

The Film

a

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Commentary

Video tribute

Documentary 1

Documentary 2

Documentary 3

Controversial altered ending

Theatrical trailer


Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

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