A bizarre film, written by the erudite Paddy Chayefsky and brought to life by the outrageous Ken Russell, turns out to be rather profound and entertaining. Much credit goes to the two leading performers, William Hurt and Blair Brown, who manage the rapid-fire convoluted overlapping dialog with incredible finesse. While keeping the storyline coherent, Russell lets loose with several fantasy sequences which, despite the pre-digital special effects, get the message across. One particular image sticks in mind - the protagonist has reverted to primitive state and is running wild with some dogs. It probably lasts no more than ten seconds, but it's an image only Ken Russell could have conceived and executed so indelibly. Added to this experience is an effective and wholly appropriate score by John Corigliano. Considering what a troubled production this was, it holds up rather well after more than forty years.
Review of Altered States
