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Movies / On DVD / Altered States
Altered States

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Altered States (1980)

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Reviews Counted:31

Fresh:27

Rotten:4

Average Rating:6.9/10

Consensus: Extraordinarily daring for a Hollywood film, Altered States attacks the viewer with its inventive, aggressive mix of muddled sound effects and visual pyrotechnics.

Runtime: 1 hr 43 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: A psycho-physiologist doing experiments with human consciousness eventually decides to test his findings on himself. He becomes obsessed with performing these auto-sensory deprivation experiments... A psycho-physiologist doing experiments with human consciousness eventually decides to test his findings on himself. He becomes obsessed with performing these auto-sensory deprivation experiments until he actually changes form physically, ending up as a gorilla at a local zoo. He returns to his normal state, at which point he also involves his wife in the experimentation. [More]

Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Charles Haid, Bob Balaban

Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Charles Haid, Bob Balaban, Drew Barrymore

Director: Ken Russell

Director: Ken Russell

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Release:

Dec 29, 1998

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for Altered States

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1 - 20 (sorted by source)
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No review available.

comment Comment
05/19/03
Philip Martin
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

William Hurt at his weirdest

comment 1 Comment
01/25/06
Lori Hoffman
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly

An uneasy blend of the extreme visuals of director Ken Russell and the bloated dramaturgy of writer Paddy Chayefsky.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
03/10/03
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

No review available.

comment Comment
10/31/02
Brian J. Arthurs
Brian J. Arthurs
Beach Reporter (Southern California)

There isn't a lucid moment in it (and much of the dialogue is rendered unintelligible by Russell's subversive direction), but it has dash, style, and good looks, as well as the funniest curtain line since Some Like It Hot.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
06/06/07
Dave Kehr
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

I was overwhelmed, I was caught up in its headlong energy.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
10/23/04
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

No review available.

comment Comment
05/26/04
Jules Brenner
Jules Brenner
Cinema Signals

No review available.

comment Comment
12/08/06
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

No simple description could ever manage to convey the sheer visual assault of the film. It's a movie that has to be seen, experienced.

Full Review Source: Edinburgh U Film Society | comment Comment
01/01/00
Keith H. Brown
Keith H. Brown
Edinburgh U Film Society

Trippy, odd and more than a mite inaccessible, but you sure as heck won't be bored.

comment Comment
07/25/02
Scott Weinberg
Scott Weinberg
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/02/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

No review available.

comment Comment
07/29/05
Jake Euker
Jake Euker
F5 (Wichita, KS)

Mind-blowing imagery, solid Hurt performance; a first-class freak-out

comment 1 Comment
01/23/04
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Very intense, very inner self, very self absorbed.

comment Comment
10/25/04
Steve Crum
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan

No review available.

comment Comment
12/06/06
Robert Roten
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

trippy

comment Comment
03/18/05
Jon Niccum
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
03/24/05
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

Brilliantly made hallucinatory horrors from Ken Russell.

comment Comment
10/22/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

Altered States is much more a film of image and idea than narrative or character, but they're pretty compelling images and ideas, and Hurt is great.

Full Review Source: Netflix | comment Comment
11/07/02
James Rocchi
James Rocchi
Netflix
 
 
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