Altered States | Jonathan Yee, Kostadinos Mylonas, Mathieu Brawley.

Title: Altered States
Year: 1980
Director: Ken Russell
Screenwriter: Paddy Chayefsky
Lead Actors: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban
Run Time: 1h 42min
Movie Trailer: https://youtu.be/67lYG7a4YOA


Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/ 

A Movie Review.

Set in the late 60's, Altered States follows the story of  Dr. Eddie Jessup and his pursuit of knowledge. To have an idea of just who this guy is, just know this: he's a guy who enjoys spending his free time doing experiments on himself in sensory deprivation tanks with hallucinogens. Moreover, he believes that the history of existence itself is all stored within our consciousness, and that it could be unraveled. Eddie, wanting to amplify his experience within the tank, pays a visit to an indigenous tribe out in the middle of Mexico and gets his hands on some hallucinogenic drugs. Too immersed in his research, Eddie ignores the evident dangers of his experiments. Each time he enters the tank, with the combination of the drug, his mind and body start to regress further into the past. Once the damage has been done, on the verge of reverting back into the start of existence itself, when all hope seems lost, Eddie is saved by his wife, using the power of love.

Now that you’re a bit more familiar with the movie we’re dealing with, let’s dive more into this weird, uncomfortable world that is Altered States.

Characters are a crucial aspect when it comes to film. Characters could even be the deciding factor whether someone decides to keep watching or decides to drop the movie. When we’re talking about characters, we’re talking about character dimension, character development, and all that good stuff. Altered States, in this case, does an adequate job with its characters.

Eddie is the most, if not the only, developed character in the whole movie. He’s a unique and a interesting character, too. He’s a scientist who wants to wants to know more about the consciousness of humans and we get to see him conduct his experiments (using himself), and go to great lengths in order to help himself prove his points. We get to see his initial obsession conducting experiments and as well as his downfall, when he believes he’s being consumed, and that there’s nothing he can do about it. He’s crazy, too, and that is strongly evident throughout the whole movie.

What makes Eddie’s character shine so much is simply the lack of other developed characters. This when Emily, Eddie’s wife, comes into play. She’s essentially a 2 dimensional character. She’s just way too attached and concerned about Eddie. She’s pretty much like, “love me, Eddie!” and “wanna get married, Eddie?”, throughout the whole movie, especially the ending. It’s not romantic. It’s not cute. It’s obnoxious. That’s pretty much all that there is to her. She’s like a dead pixel on a computer monitor-- definitely visible, definitely annoying, and definitely a flaw.

It’s apparent that the movie had its focus on some characters more than on the others. The characters that weren’t in the spotlight didn't have a chance to shine, nor redeem themselves, and that’s unfortunate.

Characters are only effective if the actors who are portraying them are doing a good job. The cast of Altered States did their respective parts fairly well.

William Hurt did a great job in his role as Eddie Jessup. What really made him a great pick for this role was his performance. His line delivery and his movements were great. This is evident when he argues with his colleagues and wife, and when he's explaining his hallucinations. They seem really well executed and realistic. The way he goes on his scientific rants and the way he makes his facial expressions are very intriguing, too.

Blair Brown, who played Emily Jessup, did an alright job in the the movie. Her role didn't really require much intense “acting”, and based on her performance, it could be said that almost any other actress could've replaced her role. As a result, she wasn’t that effective as an actor.

Charles Haid did a good job in his role as Mason Though he didn’t receive a lot of screen time, nor was he was really that relevant to the plot, the way he obnoxiously acts towards the other characters is very well done. He keeps on deliberately denying Eddie's statements and acts very childish for a scientist. He’s plays one of the more annoying characters in the movie that people don’t really seem to like. If you can make the audience hate, but still enjoy, your character, then we think you did a good job in portraying the character.

Lighting is very important in movies. It sets the mood to scenes, and Altered States does a great job with this film technique.

To start off, high-key lighting is visible when Eddie enters the house to the party at the beginning of the movie. Behind him is a pitch white lighting that forces all the viewers to put their attention onto him. The high-key lighting in this scene is used to emphasize his presence when he’s about to enter the room. Well, obviously, he’s an important guy-- he’s the main character! Regardless, it really helped to emphasize that point. Also, the high-key lighting is used to show Emily’s interest in Eddie, as if he’s descended from heaven. No wonder why she’s so into him.

Next, front lighting is visible when Eddie and Emily are walking together in front of the big library after their initial meetup. Nothing is too focused with light and nothing is darkened by shadows. This sort of lighting is used to represent a normal, everyday scene-- a type of scene that’s rare in this sort of movie. They’re in a natural setting, having a natural conversation. It’s a natural scene.

Sets and props within a movie are what the audience visually sees on screen, so it’s important that they are effective to represent what’s actually going on in particular scenes. Altered States excels in its sets and its use of props.

The main set/environment in the movie is the laboratory. It’s the place where most of the movie’s conflicts occur. The laboratory in the movie is where Eddie conducts his experiments and each time a scene occurs in the room, the viewers know something’s about to go down. Like highways and bedrooms, laboratories are places where accidents happen. The laboratory used in the movie also has a very messy and uneasy feeling to it, too. It creates a disturbing atmosphere-- perfect for a disturbing movie like Altered States.

The isolation tank in the movie is a vital prop, it’s what Eddie enters to conduct his experiments. It’s a cage that’s holding back a monster that’s inside, literally and psychologically. In the case of this movie, it holds Eddie in his altered states. No one knows what’s going to come out of it, and that creates suspense.

A set used in the movie is the zoo. This set’s importance is shown when Eddie visits this place in his primitive state. Like the other animals that the zoo contains, Eddie fits right in. The way he interacts and navigates around the other animals shows how much he has regressed into the past. It can be said that the set of the zoo helps demonstrate how different he is when he is in his primitive state, than he is normally.

Thanks to Alter States’ use of sets and props, we are able to interpret scenes, visualize what’s going on and what’s being implied. Even though some scenes may sound confusing, the movie’s sets and props, serve as tools to guide our visual understanding.

What an actor wears to represent their character is very important. Costumes may represent a character’s development, personality, the current situation of a scene, or more. Altered States’ use of costumes do not disappoint.

Firstly, the suits and shirts that Eddie Jessup wears fits his personality well. He doesn’t button up his shirts all the way and he wears his clothing a bit sloppy. This fits his character very well. He is someone who likes to get involved in his work and get his hands dirty. He doesn’t feel the need to button all the way up, nor wear a tie.

If you haven’t already noticed by now, the movie revolves around scientific experiments, and the lab coats that the scientists wear symbolizes that they’re actually scientists, because working in a lab conducting world-changing experiments isn’t enough to prove that you’re a scientist. You need that coat. The use of the coat is to distinguish who’s a scientist and who’s not. It is also there to symbolize their knowledge and their professionalism in their fields. It can be said that a long white coat is a scientist’s signature piece of clothing.

A very apparent part to this film is its absurdness in appearances.The ape-man costume clearly isn’t CGI, so it must be a costume-- and it’s a good costume. This costume is used to represent one in their primitive state, with an absurd amount of full body hair and strong, sharp teeth. It looks primitive, old and realistic, too. It’s the perfect costume to fit Eddie’s transformation.

As strange as Altered States may be, if we take a second to analyze the storyline, it can be said that the movie actually touches upon some interesting subjects that may not have been apparent at first.

For starters, the movie touches upon the theme of love conquers all. Though exaggerated in Altered States, the movie shows us that love is definitely a powerful emotion. Eddie wants to escape the state of reality and enter and enhance his consciousness, and as a result, he decides to use some untested drugs to do so. Pleased with its uncanny results, he decides to keep on using some more. He doesn’t stop consuming the drug until it’s ultimately too late. He wants to keep on repeating his experiments. And each time he takes them, he regresses further into nothing. It slowly destroys him. However, despite all that, on the brink of havoc, what saves his existence isn't a scientific cure or anything remotely similar to that, it's love. With love, any obstacle can be overcome.

Eddie’s obsession with the consciousness brings up the theme of self-actualization. How? Well, it’s because Eddie states that everyone is looking for their true self, that they’re all trying to fulfill themselves. By searching for our true, authentic self, we're connecting with something bigger than our individual selves. One wants to exchange their present self for another one. In other word, one wants to obtain mental euphoria. That’s what Eddie attempts to do for himself. By exploring consciousness, he hopes to discover the meaning of existence, and therefore find his true self. He wants to feel alive.

There are a lot of benefits of obtaining knowledge, but can having too much knowledge be dangerous? Discovery and knowledge are interesting themes, and Altered States makes contact with these two. The movie deals with how the overflow of knowledge might destroy oneself. Eddie Jessup is interested in the idea of how every human’s consciousness might contain the answers to the universe. He strives to gain this knowledge, and goes to great lengths to do so, too. I mean, who wouldn’t, right? Imagine having that all knowledge. You’d be considered like a supreme being, above of everyone else-- a god. However, Eddie’s pursuit for absolute knowledge only brings him negativity. He undergoes regressions and the horror inside him, the overabundance of knowledge, just keeps on growing. It’s causes him tremendous pain and it’s consuming him from the inside. Sometimes knowing less is a lot better than knowing too much. As some may say, ignorance is bliss.

Word Count: 1,923

Final Thoughts.

Is this movie worth watching?

If we had to describe Altered States in just two words, those two words would be: easily forgettable. As much as we would’ve liked to enjoy this movie, we just couldn’t. The whole idea behind the movie is pretty unique and interesting, and sure, it does touch upon some interesting subjects, but that doesn’t mean it deserves to be considered as a great movie, or at least in our opinion. Of course it has a some positive aspects worth pointing out, and that’s without a doubt. However, it also has a plethora of negative aspects worth pointing out, too. In other words, we feel like the movie’s cons outweighed its pros, and here’s why.

Let’s start off with some of its pros-- some stuff that we liked.

While watching the movie, we couldn’t help but appreciate its use of special effects and its acting. In the first hallucination scene involving the mushrooms, for example, Eddie is seen hallucinating a bunch of trippy-looking visions. The first vision in particular, when he first consumes the mushrooms, involves Eddie and his wife, who can be seen as sand, fading away in into the air. The position they were in and the use of the effect of the fading sand instantly reminded me of Egyptian Sphinx statues. We found that scene, as well as the other historic and religious references in Eddie’s hallucinations, to be pretty neat and interesting. Other special effects such as the whirlpool during the last experiment and the structure of Eddie’s arm changing were very cool, too. They were well done, especially considering the movie was made in 1980. As for the acting, we think the cast did an okay job overall. Despite that, William Hurt’s acting, in particular, was impressive. His acting is very intriguing and we think he portrayed a crazy scientist really well. His performance when he argues with the other scientists and his wife were great. His facial expressions, the way he spoke and acts made me feel like he was actually insane, in a good way, of course. The dogs in the movie were cute, though. It’s a shame they didn’t get much screen time.

However, all good things must come to and end. Let’s move on to what we found to be the movie’s cons.

To start off, we found it incredibly hard to keep track of what the characters were talking about and saying during their conversations-- they’re always talking over each other. We also found a lot of the words they were using to be really specific and scientific. We don’t really enjoy watching a movie when we need a dictionary by my side, you know what I mean? The movie also had its weird and cringe moments that we personally didn’t like, at all. It had way too many of those, if we're being honest. The one that stood out the most was when Eddie turned into an ape-like creature, escapes the facility and visits the zoo. We found that scene to be too long to the point where it was just out of place and annoying. We get it, he can regress. Move on, please. With the amount of ridiculousness this movie contains, I’m surprised this movie is even considered as a horror movie. And speaking of out of place, the pacing of the movie and its character development were a mess, too. Eddie and Emily’s marriage, as well as their divorce, seemed incredibly rushed. They meet, have sex, get married, and decide to get a divorce-- all within 15 minutes. What’s up with that? Anyway, Eddie is pretty much the only character that gets good character development. We get to see how his character changes from the start of the film compared to the end. It’s satisfying. Emily, and the other scientists, for instance, pretty much stay the same throughout the whole movie. It’s disappointing. Character development in a movie’s story is crucial, and this movie unfortunately lacked it, overall.

No matter how much decoration you put on garbage to make it appealing, at the end of the day, garbage is still garbage. The amount of flaws this movie had, made the movie unable to redeem itself. With all that being said, would we recommend this movie? It depends, honestly. If you’re looking for a movie to top off your current favorite, I’d definitely look elsewhere. If you’re looking to waste one hour and forty two minutes of your life, then sure, why not?

Course Connections.

So, how does this movie relate to the course?

1. How far should one go for the sake of scientific advancements? Pretty far, if you were to ask Altered States’ protagonist, Eddie Jessup. Essentially, Altered States explores the principles of ethics and morals for the pursuit of knowledge.

In order to amplify his experience in the isolation tank, Eddie Jessup risks his life by visiting an with an Indian tribe to consume and collect Amanita muscaria, a mushroom that is “a very powerful psychedelic, and a little dangerous” (Altered States). The mushroom is needed in order for his “soul [to] return to the first soul” (Altered States). In addition, despite the frightening effects of past experiments, Eddie wants to risk his life again by going “back into that tank and repeat[ing] the experiment” (Altered States). He believes that it is “the most elementary laboratory behavior” (Altered States). Even though he states that he wants “other responsible scientists with [him] when [he does] it” (Altered States), he sneaks off and does the experiment alone, which results in an absolute catastrophe.

In addition, near the end of the movie, Arthur, Eddie’s colleague, states that he needs to “repeat [the] [experiment] with other subjects” (Altered States), that he “need[s] a selective sample” (Altered States) and that he’s willing to “put up a notice in the student union for volunteers” (Altered States). Despite what he just witnessed, he’s willing to put the life of others at risk. The potential sacrifice of a couple of lives for the advancement for all the others-- sounds tempting, doesn’t it?

In order for Eddie to continue his pursuit of truth, he makes some more ethical and moral sacrifices. In particular, he is willing to sacrifice his role as a husband and a father. It is evident that Eddie doesn’t take his family seriously, at all, so he has no problem pushing them to the side. He’s pretty much trading his family for more time in an isolation tank like it’s nothing. He even states that if he keeps on being a family man with all that "clatter and clutter and ridiculous ritual, [he] [will] go out of [his] fucking mind" (Altered States). It is also evident that Edie is unable to emphasize with others, as he states that Emily “insists she's in love with [him] - whatever that is” (Altered States). Considering his true interest is the pursuit of truth, is it wrong of Eddie to just disregard his family like that? Would you leave your family to have a chance at obtaining valuable, pristine knowledge that could consequently change the world?

Altered States makes its viewers question what is right, and what is wrong. Should one be allowed to push and discard the boundaries of ethics and morals for the sake of science? What would you do?

2. If it wasn’t obvious enough already, Altered States deals with the effects of the different states of consciousness. Heck, it’s even hinted in its title. Throughout pretty much the whole movie, we are presented with Eddie in his many states of consciousness and we can clearly see how each state affects his overall self and actions.

One of the first states that we get to see is his primitive state. When he consumes the hallucinogenic substance he got from the Indian tribe for the first time, he trips out. Though we do not actually see Eddie act primordial, the evidence left behind hints at the confirmation of his actions. When Eddie was tripping out, those around him state that “[he] killed a lizard” (Altered States). But why would he need to kill a lizard? It’s simple. That’s what animals do-- hunt and survive-- hence the primitive state.

Don’t worry, there’s more evidence of Eddie in this state of consciousness. Remember when Eddie regresses into an ape-man creature? That’s an explicitly obvious example of Eddie in his primitive state of consciousness. Eddie also says it himself when he states he “entered a primitive consciousness. All [he] [could] remember is what comprehensible to that consciousness” (Altered States). Eddie then goes on and says that when he was in that state of consciousness, “it was the most supremely satisfying time of [his] life” (Altered States). Every action he made while in the primitive state made sense to him. That state of consciousness changed him.

If you recall from the plot summary above, at the end of the movie, Eddie is able to revert back to his original self from the unpleasant blob of nothing, thanks to the lovely moral support of Emily. Guess what? That’s also a state of consciousness. “How is that a state of consciousness?”, you may ask. It’s simple-- it’s thanks to the power of love. Eddie is simply in love. Thanks to that state of consciousness, he is able to revert back to his original, physical self. During his transformation, he is terrified, as states that he “[couldn’t] live it with it” (Altered States) anymore, and that the “pain [was] too great” (Altered States). That changes quick, though. When he hears the annoying voice of Emily telling him that if “[he] made it real . . . [he] can make it unreal" (Altered States), that if he loves her, he can defy it, his state of consciousness switches from that of “terrified” to “love”.

Altered States demonstrates how Eddie is able to access these states of consciousness and act accordingly to them. Essentially, the movie shows how powerful the states of consciousness can be. Pretty interesting stuff, huh?

3. Epistemology is a branch of philosophy that is the study of knowledge, and that’s what Altered States can be linked to. This movie raises some epistemological questions concerning the human brain, such as the extent of our knowledge.

With that being said, what actually is our extent of knowledge? Don’t worry, Eddie Jessup’s got us covered on that. He believes that the human mind carries the history since the beginning of time, essentially the history of all of existence. To back up his claims, he states that “our atoms are six billion years old” (Altered States), and that since “[memory] doesn't disappear” (Altered States), there must be a connection between them. With the idea of a connection between those two, Eddie believes that the history in our minds can be accessed, as he states that “there's a physiological pathway to our earlier consciousnesses” (Altered States). As interesting as that might seem, there’s a huge problem with those statements-- how can he be so certain?

To add on, the way Eddie acquires his knowledge is already a bit sketchy, too. He pretty much places all his bets on some random hallucinogenic drugs that he acquires from some Indian tribe and some isolation tank in a university basement. Let’s talk about those drugs for a second. Even though those hallucinogens are to “evoke old memories [,] [e]ven ancient ones” (Altered States), like they’re suppose to, how does anyone actually know they work? For starters, those are just words said to Eddie by some guy. Secondly, they’re untested. It’s more of a belief than a fact that they work, right? Who knows, maybe Eddie’s just some crazy guy who is just making stuff up on the spot and brainwashes people to believe him. I mean, he is someone who spends his free time in an isolation tank, right?

All these epistemological scenarios within the movie, as a result, forces its viewers to question whether or not these statements are actually true. Do we, too, have the history of existence somewhere within our minds? Is there something that’s limiting us from accessing those parts of our memories? Is there something that’s able to remove these limits? Can we know what is actually real?

Some Questions.

Yep. It’s time to think.

1. Was it morally and ethically justified for Eddie to disregard his family for the pursuit of knowledge and truth, considering he wasn’t interested in having a family in the first place?

2. Did you laugh or were you afraid and creeped out when Eddie regressed into the proto-human?

3. Consider yourself in the same position as Eddie. Would you ever risk your life for the sake of scientific advancement?

Related Links.

Interesting topics related to the movie.

Altered States may leave you with the thought that sensory deprivation tanks are bizarre and dangerous, and I honestly wouldn’t blame you. However, what if I told you that what’s shown in the movie is clearly exaggerated, and that the tanks are apparently beneficial? Don’t believe me? Well, famous basketball player, Stephen Curry, would be able to vouch for me. In fact, he uses them regularly. Linked below is an interesting article talking about Stephen Curry and his opinions and experiences using sensory deprivation tanks. Give it a read, it’s definitely interesting and it might even change your opinions on them.

http://www.businessinsider.com/steph-curry-is-obsessed-with-sensory-deprivation-tanks-2016-2

Sometimes it’s necessary to make sacrifices for the sake of scientific advancement, and one of those sacrifices can even be the very existence of your own life. As dangerous as it may be, sometimes it may just be your only choice if you really believe in what you’re trying to accomplish, and Eddie Jessup was one of those people. Sacrificing one life so everyone else can (hopefully) live an easier, better life? Of course some people would find that tempting. Believe it or not, throughout history, scientists have done what Eddie did-- they put their lives on the line for the sake of science. Those scientists played a part to get us where we are today. With that being said, linked below is a list of 10 scientists who were their own guinea pigs.

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/scientific-experiments/10-scientists-self-experimenters.htm

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Works Cited

Altered States. Directed by Ken Russell. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1980.

“Altered States (1980).” IMDb, www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/.