3,0 de 5 estrellas
greatest movie of all time; lousiest BluRay edition of all time
Revisado en los Estados Unidos 🇺🇸 el 13 de julio de 2012
Altered States literally got me INTO floatation tanks, and what is known now as R.E.S.T. (reduced environment stimulation therapy), not the old foreboding sounding term, sensory deprivation. i was so enthralled w/ the film, i found a tank back in 1980 in San Antonio, and discovered what floating was REALLY like, and i loved it. it is completely quiet, absolutely dark, and the filtered water, which is saturated w/ Epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) to practically 50% (they got it wrong in the film when Arthur says 10%.), and makes you float like a cork. plus the water temperature is 93.5 degrees (maintained by solid state waterbed heaters, in the ones i built), which is skin temperature, so once you steady yourself in the tank, after a short while the feeling that you are in water, virtually disappears. after 20 minutes or so you fall into a deep trance automatically, similar to meditation, but you don't have to do anything; the environment, and lack of stimuli does it FOR you. in the absence of stimulation, the brain begins to create its own, so sometimes you have pleasant hallucinations, and studies have shown your natural, brain "feel good," opioid like, endorphins increase. (subjects given naloxone, an opiate antagonist, often given to heroin overdose patients to block the effects, say they do not experience the euphoria associated w/ floating while on it.) after falling into that trance, the usual cycle is to remain there, in sort of a timeless state, for about and hour, to an hour and a half, and you come out of it feeling extremely relaxed, w/ your perceptions very sharp. (you also shower off the Epsom salt.) the effect lasts several days. and you do not turn into primal man, or a quasi-simian creature! the horizontal tank w/ the beveled end, including the door, that appears in the movie, was based on one designed by R.E.S.T. pioneer, and dolphin expert, the late Dr. John C. Lilly, who the character of Eddie Jessup is loosely based on in Paddy Chayefsky's novel, which the movie was derived from, and a screenplay by Chayefsky, which he switched his name on to Sidney Aaron, because of differences w/ the production. frankly, i love the production & kno every line of dialog... Lilly authored many books on states of consciousness, and one in particular on tanks, called - The Deep Self: Profound Relaxation and the Tank Isolation Technique, 1977, Simon & Schuster. Lilly did do some floating on psychedelics, and reported his findings in his books. in fact, he actually did it on Ketamine, (which further blocks your sensory input), i remember reading in a Penthouse interview. just to say i had tried it once, i did do it on a psychedelic, and found the experience somewhat overwhelming. i did not freak out, but i concluded that the tank experience, in and of itself, is more than enough for self-exploration WITHOUT the use of any kind of drugs. after all, the whole point of it is to change your state of mind, by changing your environment. drugs become superfluous, so i really disagree w/ Lilly on this.
i became so enamored w/ floating in 1987 i built a floatation tank of my own, and have been floating off and on, as i have moved around and assembled new tanks, for the past 25 years. i usually do it about 3 times a week. it is great for your blood pressure, arthritis, depression & anxiety, drug abuse, and many other conditions. i did an independent study on it in college for the head of the psychology dept., and got full credit and an A. i am considered one of the authorities on the subject in N. America.
Altered States has become my all time favorite film (tying w/ 2nd & 3rd Clockwork Orange, & 2001 a Space Odyssey). it is not a Dr. Jeckel & Mr. Hyde story; it is one of love and redemption. in the end it is the love of Eddie Jessup's wife, Emily that brings him back from oblivion. there are many great reviews here; i do not have to reiterate them. what i want to say is that as a BluRay edition/release THIS IS A COMPLETE FAILURE. one would think that after 32 years, they could have been a little creative w/ this. there are no extras at all, except for the trailer. not a damn thing that wasn't on the DVD, (which had an option on it that said, "Float Naked" that went nowhere!) they could have done a retrospective on Ken Russell who was born to direct this film. they could have done something on the work of Dr. John Lilly and the science of R.E.S.T. they could have done something on the beautiful score, by Pulitzer Prize winning composer, John Corigliano (which was released in the late '80s Dolby ProLogic surround sound). they could have done something on Bran Ferren's amazing, award winning special effects. they could have done something on make-up pioneer, Dick Smith. need i go on? there isn't even BluRay Live feature to connect w/ other fans. this film has a huge cult following! as a BluRay release, it looks and sounds great (on my 46" Sony LCD HDTV & 7.1 channel Home Theater, in DTS-HD Master Audio), but that is all that can be said about it. if you are a fan GET IT for that reason alone. (i pre-ordered it as soon as i found out is was being released, for $13.96, and Amazon refunded me $3.97, because the price had come down, which is a great reflection on its worth as a BluRay edition!) Warner Bros. should be ashamed of themselves for putting out such a piece of disappointing crap. i was really looking forward to some intriguing extras. (if you can find them somewhere, i did, the defunct SciFi/Fantasy movie magazine, Cinefantastique did two editions on Altered States around the time the movie came out, that were superb. one was on the making of the movie, and the other was on Dick Smith's incredible make-up effects. i cherish them dearly.) some of the best stuff in A.S. is Arthur & Mason (Bob Balaban & Charles Haid) getting into verbal cat fights, when they are loudly talking over each other. one time i watch it i try just to listen to one of them, the next i listen to the other. William Hurt (Jessup) & Blair Brown (his wife Emily, most recently in Fringe) have been favorite actors of mine for decades. i have followed all of the primary's careers over the years.
m.k. smith
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![Altered States [Edizione: Regno Unito] [Reino Unido] [Blu-ray]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/IMAGERENDERING_521856-T1/images/I/41xvb3YIFbL._AC_US60_SCLZZZZZZZ__.jpg)
