Altered States - Film Blog by: Benjamin Vezina, Diana Mitri, Kyle Segal and Logan Macdonald

Title: Altered States Year: 1980

Director: Ken Russell Screen-writer: Paddy Chayefsky

Lead actors: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban.

Running time: 103 minutes.

Trailer: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67lYG7a4YOA

Full Plot Summary:

       Edward Jessup is a psychologist who believes that other states of human consciousness could be
as real and tangible as our normal waking states. Jessup begins experimenting with sensory deprivation
using an isolation tank, aided by two other researchers Mason Parrish and Arthur Rosenberg. At a faculty party he meets an anthropologist named Emily, and the two marry after at least three of
four minutes of screen time.

The film then glosses over about seven years of Jessup's life and we see that Jessup and Emily have two daughters and are thinking about a divorce. After Jessup hears of a Mexican tribe that uses a powerful hallucinogen together to achieve altered states of consciousness, he travels to Mexico to participate in their ceremonies. The tribe refer to one of the ingredients of the mixture they use as "First Flower," because the mixture takes people who drink it, back to their first original self. During the ceremony, an indigenous elder holds the hallucinogenic root in his hand, then cuts Jessup's hand, adding blood to the mixture he is preparing. Immediately after consuming the mixture, Jessup experiences bizarre, intense hallucinations. He returns to the United States and continues taking it to trigger his ability to experience these altered states of consciousness.

Jessup returns to experimenting with sensory deprivation in a new lab, believing it will make

the effects of the drug more potent without being too toxic for his body. Jessup uses it to experience a series of increasingly drastic visions, including one of early humanoid creatures. Monitored by his colleagues Mason Parrish and Arthur Rosenberg. In this example, Jessup insists that his visions have "externalized". Jessup emerges from the tank, his mouth bloody, frantically writing notes while having a potential stroke and unable to speak. Jessup demands to be X-rayed before he returns to normal. A radiologist inspects the X-rays being told that they seem somewhat abnormal and states “What are you looking for?” - “Looks to me like the architecture is somewhat abnormal.” - “Somewhat? This guy’s a f***ing gorilla!”

        In later experiments, Jessup experiences actual, physical devolution. Jessup emerges from the
isolation tank as a simian like caveman. Jessup goes on a long rampage where he beats up a guard and a janitor, fights off a pack of wild dogs and then eats a goat from the zoo, before returning to his natural form Despite the concern of colleagues, Jessup stubbornly continues with his experimentation.

      In the final experiment that we see in the movie, Jessup experiences a more intense devolution, transforming into a unimaginable mass of conscious, ancient matter. An energy wave released from Jessup stuns his colleagues and destroys the isolation tank. Emily arrives to find a swirling vortex where the tank had been. She searches the vortex for Jessup, finding him just as he gets dangerously close to becoming a non-physical form of consciousness and possibly disappearing from the current reality altogether.

    Jessup is brought home by his friends, who hope his research has ended. With Emily watching over him, Jessup begins to devolve again, the transformations no longer needing the use of the "first flower". Urgently telling Jessup to fight what is happening to him, Emily grabs his hand, immediately being affected by the primordial energy emanating from Jessup. The sight of Jessup's wife being consumed by the energy forces the human consciousness in Jessup's devolving form to fight the ancient form. He fights the transformation and returns to his human form. In the final scene, Jessup embraces Emily, and his love returns them both to normal.  WC: 600

Five Film Techniques
Editing:
The many ways that the editor Stuart Blair has connected images in Altered States were used for a
purpose. This movie is of sci-fi, thriller and horror genre, and all of those were translated in the editing.
Throughout this movie we notice two types scenes: the regular smooth ones when characters are just
having a conversation and where the cuts of the scenes are also smooth and include long takes:
1.  The scene where Eddie turns into a monkey  and the security guard is looking for him, here the
camera follows the guard for a long time which is a long take. We also have jarring scenes where
the cuts are short and fast:
2.  When Eddie is hallucinating inside the isolation tank and he sees the face of a devil, then an image
of his father on his deathbed, then the image of Jesus crucified, then his father then Jesus again, etc…
and it all goes very fast and disturbingly. The use of cross-cutting was intentional of the thriller scenes:

b)   Framing:
Conveying an impression or certain emotions of a scene lies so much in framing it.
In one of the close-ups for example:
1.  We see Emily’s face as she approaches the room containing the isolation tank where Eddie seems
to have exploded, we can clearly see her fear, worry, and curiosity in what she was about to find out
may or may not have happened to her husband. In long shots, actors are framed in a way where we can
see their entire bodies and surroundings, for example:
2.  The scene where Eddie and his friend in Mexico were running after the man of the tribe to ask him
a question, we can see the entire field where the tribe people were collecting the mushrooms, hence
creating a sense of realism into the movie. Here the frame takes more a shape of a window with
endless limits behind it.

c)   Sound:
Diegetic sound is when for example:
1. Eddie and Emily are talking, their voices are the diegetic sound.
Non-diegetic sound is:
2.  When we hear the movie’s scary music playing along with abnormal scary sound whenever
Eddie is hallucinating.
internal-diegetic sound is:
When the music from Eddie’s hallucinations is combined with a voice speaking.
(Sounding like the voice of God).

d)  Lighting:
High-key lighting is like:
1.  In the scene when Eddie went to the bathroom because he was turning into a monkey and the light
was hitting from above, creating an almost completely dark shadow on his face, emphasising the
intensity of the scene, and the dark obscure place where the character was in on a physical and mental
level.
A low-key is like:
2.  The scene when Emily came back home with her kids at night and the phone rang. During her entire
conversation on the phone the light was hitting from below making the background behind her
completely dark, bringing out the feeling of worry this scene was trying to convey. Shadows and light
work together. Whenever the director wants a certain shadow, he places the light in a certain way.

e)   Set and props:
1.  The isolation tank is a scary prop, therefore it was placed in a scary set which is the basement.
2.  The scene when Emily calls Eddie to come over late at night is placed in a living room with warm
props such as a red couch, warm lights coming out of the chimney while the chimney is a symbol of
warmth and coziness. Here Emily needs comfort and both the set and the props were the director’s best
tools to surround his actors with. Those techniques are used in a way that only belongs to this movie,
hence creating the movie’s identity.

We gave this movie:

The actors are a very strong part of this movie. While the character were hard to play
(Dr. Jessup’s craziness), Hurt managed to fit the role quiet well in a very believable manner. As for
Emily’s character, the witty, strong wife of the crazy doctor, even though seemed to be an easy role
to play, Blair Brown had it right under her thumb. She kept us all intrigued in what she will do next
to deal with her husband’s episodes. However, the voice quality was disturbing, as we found it hard
to listen and sometimes to even carry on with a scene especially the devilish scenes where the music
was too scary and hypnotizing in an annoying way.

This movie’s strength was in its plot. The story is very strong and left enough for us to stay engaged.
It followed a very interesting sci-fi topic that we’ve hardly ever seen in any other movie. Perhaps it is
the ambiance of the “classic” that is this movie, old enough to call it that, and old is truly gold.

Relations to course

One of the main concepts this movie revolved around was, epistemology. Epistemology which is
the study of knowledge, often questions our knowledge. Edward had the ultimate question written
all over his forehead throughout the entire movie which was: what is it that I don’t know? He wondered
if there was more inside of him, inside his brain that he was not aware of. He wanted to know and
reach the limit of his knowledge to touch it and know where it stops, making sure he knows it all, and
that there was nothing more in there that he was not aware of.

Another concept that was very much brought up in this movie which was metaphysics. Metaphysics is
the study of existence. The difference between what is real and what is not real to the main character
Edward Jessup seemed to be a confusing matter. He believed his hallucinations to the point where us
viewers started to believe them too. We got brought up into this milky way of endless confusion and
we started to question: are these hallucinations actually real? if we tried the isolation tank experiment,
will we also genetically regress into a monkey or some kind of creature? Are we just people with one
consciousness, or do we actually have several states of consciousness? The most important question is:
Was what Jessup did a found for the ultimate truth or an epistemological finding that will change the
scientific paradigm?

The movie also explores qualia. Qualia is the internal and subjective component of sense perceptions,
arising from stimulation of the senses by phenomena. Edward sees the experiments he had been doing
as absolutely mind bogglingly and wonderful while his peers time and time again are nothing but
confused and terrified by them. The differences in their experiences show the true subjectivity of the
experiments being conducted. While Jessup is drowned in his own crazy mind, he is 100% certain
that he is on to something, and on the verge of a discovery that will change the world! What he cannot
see is, the reality around him, which is blocking his view hence hiding the truth that is right under his
nose (love).

Questions:
1. To those who watched the movie what do you think the religious hallucinations were about?
2. Do you think there are different states of consciousness that we can or can not access that give us
insight into deeper metaphysical realities?
3. Explain why you would or would not try a sensory deprivation tank?

Related Links/References:
1. N.A. “Floatation Baths.” Spa Ovarium, N.A, www.spaovarium.com/en/treatments-services/
floatation-baths/
Sensory deprivation tank in Montreal

Sensory deprivation tanks as discussed in class are meant to cut off most senses mainly sight, hearing and touch. These tanks are viewed as a form of therapy and most people experience various hallucinations created by the brain due to lack of sensory stimulus. This spa offers time in their sensory deprivation tanks or "floatation baths" and is fairly close by when compared to others.

2. N.A. “Introduction.” Ayahuasca, N.A, www.ayahuasca-info.com/introduction.
Ayahuasca is a drug taken in parts of Mexican tribal culture for rituals or ceremonies. It is the drug
used by Edward Jessup in the movie to further his experiences in the deprivation tank. This link gives
you an inside look on how the actual drug works and its effects.

MLA Citations

N.A. “Altered States.” Science Fiction Theatre, N,A, 6 May 2017, sciencefictiontheatre.co.uk/blog/
archive/altered-states/.

N,A. “Altered States (1980).” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt0080360/mediaviewer/
rm779692288.

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

N.A. “Altered States Movie Poster.” IMP Awards - All the Latest Movie Posters, N,A,
www.impawards.com/1980/altered_states.html.

oldhollywoodtrailers. “Altered States Trailer (1980) Ken Russell Movie.” YouTube,
YouTube, 9 July 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=67lYG7a4YOA.

N.A. “Snakes in Movies, Snake Films, Snakes in Cinema, Snakes on Screen, Snake Movies,
Snake Motion Pictures.” California Herps, N.A, www.californiaherps.com/films/snakefilms
/AlteredStates.html.