Altered States 4K 1980 Ultra HD 2160p

Storyline
In the late 1960s, just for a lark, graduate student Eddie Jessup, known for being unconventional, brilliant and slightly mad, conducts experiments with an isolation chamber, using himself as the subject. His experiences in the chamber cause him to hallucinate, much of the imagery being religious-based although he's not religious. Seven years later, he is a respected full professor in the Harvard Medical School. Believing he has lost his edge and fallen into an unwanted state of respectability, Eddie decides to resume his work with sensory deprivation, this time using hallucinogens, specifically untested ones used in mystical Mexican rituals, to enhance the isolation-take experience. After initial tests, he claims he entered an alternate physical and mental state. Although unbelieving of Eddie's claims, his colleagues Arthur Rosenberg and Mason Parrish, as well as Eddie's wife Emily, herself a respected academic, are concerned for Eddie's well being. However, if Eddie's claims are indeed true, he could do irreparable harm to himself and others around him, especially if his altered states are uncontrollable.

User Review

Ken Russell achieved the seemingly impossible: combining such contrasting elements as science fiction and mysticism in a single film. And to do so, he found the most suitable ground—schizophrenia.

Eddie Jessup takes herbal drugs and immerses himself in an isolation tank filled with a 10% solution of magnesium sulfate, thereby inducing a powerful stream of hallucinations. All this, to some extent, mimics schizophrenia. And since experiments on animals, which do not possess consciousness, are impossible, and on humans are prohibited, he himself becomes a participant in the experiment, largely repeating the experience of the hippies. However, he does so with only one goal in mind: to look into the depths of human consciousness and awaken the memory of ancestors that is millions of years old.

Eddie's visions are a continuous stream of symbols, all of which are virtually impossible to decipher, but they form a coherent picture, similar to surrealist art. At first, he sees a man with a goat's head, with many horns and eyes; he is nailed to a cross and falls into an abyss. After trying a brew made from Indian mushrooms, he sees Adam and Eve, symbolically depicted on a rock (it is very difficult to recognize them as the first humans), stylized in the manner of Indian drawings, with a snake between them that resembles a huge lizard. Then we see a live monitor lizard that turns into his wife Emily, then she becomes a stone sphinx, and the wind slowly blows the sand out of it. It is very beautiful and symbolic: his wife is the tempting serpent leading him to the truth. Yes, I think Eddie would gladly eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge, or, as Emily says, he would sell his soul to the devil for the knowledge of absolute truth.

The visions are not only competently filmed, but also beautifully described in words: for example, “the feeling that Christ had touched me” or “the feeling of a tremendous acceleration of time.”

The central place in the film is occupied by the relationship between Eddie and Emily, who understands that she will never be able to take the place in his heart that is reserved for scientific research. Their dialogues are very revealing in this sense. For example, he says:

"I don't feel very comfortable with women. I doubt I could find anyone even half as similar to you," which is both a declaration of love and a marriage proposal.

The film is philosophical: it tells about the nature of human consciousness and memory; it emphasizes the role that love plays in a person's life and the search for the original essence of a person. The film also makes you wonder whose position in the scientific world is more correct: Eddie, who is testing an unexplored drug that ultimately has shocking consequences, or his friend Mason, an orthodox scientist who follows classical research methods and is skeptical of Eddie's experiments.

I won't reveal how far Jessup went in his attempt to transport himself millions of years back in time in his mind. However, he did get to the truth. After he reveals the significance of his discovery to Emily, the next few minutes seemed too fantastical and unnecessary to me.

Overall, the film leaves a pleasant impression of an extremely intelligent, interesting, but emotionally impulsive work.

Info Video

Codec: HEVC / H.265 (96.4 Mb/s)
Resolution: Native 4K (2160p)
HDR: Dolby Vision, HDR10
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Info Audio

#English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
#English: FLAC 2.0
#Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
#German: Dolby TrueHD with Dolby Atmos 7.1
#German: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Info Subtitles