You should watch "Jacobs Ladder" its a movie about a haunted Vietnam vet attempting to discover his past while suffering from a severe case of disassociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusion, and perception of death. I have heard mixed reviews about this movie and i think it is a movie that you have to watch twice to really get. Love the show, keep up the great work
that discussion about the movie was the best that's been on this show yet. regardless of the fact that i love existential subjects like that, that was just a great and thought-provoking analysis of the movie. stuff like that is what makes film truly enjoyable, in my opinion. good job, dudes.
DrTomoculus you'd prefer if they said they didn't get it and left it at that, then? i thought craig was pretty on the money and they joked about how they got comically "deep," so i thought it was better than their usual, more basic analyses.
ThomasTheCure I honestly could not watch the whole review - it was that infuriating to see people speak about something they obviously had no clue what it was about. Nor really tried to. Yes I'd prefer they said they just didn't get it, rather than trying to find things to connect to it by, like noticing a cavalcade of 80s actors they recognise like it's going through their school yearbook, or noting A-Ha's homage to Altered States, For one, it's never said the Indians kicked William Hurt out of their community for killing the lizard. They never say that at all. He was left on his own, tripping his brains out. They went to go look for him, and found him as he was. When asked by his friend if this was a problem, they basically said Nah! Leave it as it is. No such thing happened, but these two guys made up their own movie scene! Why would they then give him the concoction if he'd pissed them off or broken some tribal rule? He didn't. They told him what he would find, the First Self. And they let him do that. There's no altercation between Hurt and the Shamans. None. And he definitely didn't get admonished for killing the lizard. So why these guys come up with that scenario is because they're too busy trying to be irreverent when they should be watching the movie and trying to understand it.
DrTomoculus Their friend Mason. The cantankerous, always yelling guy who in the end assists them in their pursuits despite his reservations. You don't even need to know the guy's name, because Ken Russell tells you what his name is. When he has his first real argument with the two SORCERER's (which is what he calls them) they are shown walking across a black and white tiled floor. Well this is synonymous with Freemasonry. I mean, a black and white tiled floor is a hallmark of masonic architecture and design. The guy's name is Mason. COME ON! When Hurt gives up his isolation tank for 7 years (and 7 in a "mystic" sense is a very important number) and becomes a Family Man, what does Ken Russell show you. Well the two reviewers notice that William Hurt wants out of the marriage to go and find himself. At least they noticed that. They fail to notice that as Hurt is walking up to his house with his kids, a woman walks past with an uncontrollable dog on a leash. Before they even get into the house, ANOTHER woman walks by with a dog on a leash. What is Hurt's next step in his "existential evolution". To become a primitive/animal man. I mean, it's right there! Russell shows you what "family life" is doing to this person's "quest". He's a dog on the leash of a woman. But it has a happy ending ;)
DrTomoculus you do realize they're talking during a lot of the movie? they're not trying to study the movie and write a critical analysis on it, they're casually watching a movie and discussing what they thought of it. this isn't film class, it's meant to be fun and entertaining above all else, while still being interesting. give em a break.
This is one of the things that I love about this show. I saw Altered States once, 15 years ago, and although I remembered the major points I never really had a grasp on the actual plot or subtext. WttB helps to not only fill in the gaps but expand my understanding and appreciation of the film. Thanks!
You should definitely watch the obscure classic The Lathe of Heaven... if you haven't already of course. Its mind bending fuckery is about on par with Altered States. Rest in peace Ken Russell.
When he said "something clearly anterior to the larynx," that's improper anatomical vocabulary. Since humans are bipeds, reference to the upper part of the body is superior, lower is inferior, front is ventral, back is dorsal. Unless we we're quadrupeds, anterior would never be used when making observations about relative position of anatomical structures.
Bob Balaban was the sci fi guy in the late 1970s-early 1980s (Close Encounters, Altered States, 2010). In all three films he plays basically the same character.
How about the movie Push starring Chris Evans? It was not well received by the critics, but I really enjoyed it. It's got some creative actions scenes, and it's Hong Kong location lends itself to some great visuals. I'm sad that it will never get the sequel that it was setting up for.
Great show. I liked AS very much. Nobody is putting much stress on the idea of the sensory deprivation tanks. Apparently, they can really affect you. So, start with a guy who's mind has hallucinations already, add some peyote-type stuff, put him in a SD tank and remember you're watching a movie and, yes he could transform. Thanks for making that Jekyll/Hyde connection for me; never thought of that and it's so obvious.
Love what you guys do!! Have you ever seen "Mr. Smith goes to Washington"? Jimmy Stuart puts on an amazing performance and the movie turns a normally dull subject (The Senate) and turns it into an intense showdown that left me on the edge of my seat! Keep it up guys! Best show on RU-vid!
HAHAHA...GREAT EPISODE...MAN'S SEARCH FOR TRUTH IN THE UNIVERSE THRU DRUGS, HOW QUAINT. SAW THIS FLICK WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT AND LOVE IT. IT JUST BRINGS A ANOTHER VOICE TO THE CONVERSATION...POST CONSCIOUS MEMORY...AND NO YOU WEREN'T CLEOPATRA IN ANOTHER LIFETIME!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK...
That was a great. I just watched this. The only thing you forgot to mention was how amazing the visual effects were. Ken Russell sure knows how to evoke mental terror.
My first reaction was, what, did this guy view these films through remote viewing? Because he looks like he's been psychically battered, he looks like I feel, really. I love it.
Drug related movies I always think of Enter the Void, the level of mindfuck i suffered trying to perceive most of the messages...then i thought maybe i was just to sober to see it. Either ways, awesome video and comentary about Altered States.
Have you guys seen "The Adventures of Prince Achmed" by Lotte Reiniger? It was the first feature length animated movie, released in 1926. I watched it recently and was blown away by the visionary animation and powerful storytelling. If you haven't seen it already, I heartily recommend you give it a watch.
This movie gives me the he-be-gebies. Like dreams I had mixed with that creepy daijavu feeling. Where what you saw didn't happen. didn't like movie and I only watched what you showed. But this has been my favorite episode to watch where you talked about it. I liked what both of you got out of it. Pretty deep stuff! I just could have done without the sick feeling. I saw that ah-ha thing too. As soon as i saw that i was like what the parody? Along with a flashing pizza hut logo\ cave entrance.
Some great,quirky, little known movies that you might want to check out... Mr. Nobody (Sci-Fi, Fantasy, mindfuck with Jared Leto), Aaah! Zombies!! (comedy from the zombies' point of view), and Cashback (British comedy with a little fantasy thrown in).
Even though Altered States takes place over a nearly ten year period, all the characters look exactly the same throughout the film (film makers didnt worry about details like that in films 50-40 years ago.)
Fun fact: There is a chase scene (Janitor been pursued down a hallway in the lab and just escaping) that was duplicated in season 1 of Stranger Things. I was like OMG that's Altered States! (all my friends didn't get the reference lol) I had rented it out a few time on VHS back in the day so I was familiar with it, this was more of a cult classic form the 80's. Maybe it's why it got a nod in Stranger Things.
I remember that one clip from south park where cartman is changing colors and smashing the walls in the hallway of his house. I knew it was a reference to something but never knew what. Now I know.
Another awesome episode! Perhaps you could do Gigantic: A Tale of Two Johns. They Might Be Giants are my favorite band ever and i would love to see you guys do another rock doc.
They made a sequel, which involved Jessop exploring the inner rectum and crawling up inside his own bowels on the trip to end all trips. The best line from the movie comes when Dr.Twatberg, who is helping Jessop, sees the maverick scientist climb into his own bottom, and he asks him; "What's it like?" To which Jessop replies; "It fucking reeks, and it's really dark".
have you seen "A matter of life and death" 1946 movie, also called " Stairway to heaven" David Niven, Kim Hunter, and a very young Richard Attenborough Still one of my all time favorite movies
You guys ever seen Kusturica's Black Cat, White Cat? Serbian movies have their very own special humour and atmosphere and I definitely recommend watching a few. Makes you wanna ride around the country side in a run-down rusty car with booze, balcanic music and Kalashnikovs.
Hello. It is 2018. I came back to watch this episode because Bob Balaban was recently on Marc Maron's podcast and talked about this movie. I know you talked about issues between Russell Chayefsky, but there were more details. Apparently Ken Russell did some of the things he did while directing this movie just to piss off the writer, Paddy Chayefsky, who had final approval on any dialog changes (but nothing else). Russell, apparently, hated this arrangement and changed around scenes just to spite Chayefsky. In fact, the dailies given to Chayefsky every day were just a punch of shadow puppets saying "Fuck you, Paddy". Russell apparently also drank through most of the direction of the movie.
Another movie that touches on the same lines of finding the ultimate truth, although not through drugs, is Bickford Schmeckler's Cool Ideas. It's a pretty fun and funny movie and I really like it!
I love you guys and I honestly think that the both of you make a great team!!! I do wonder if you and/or Craig have ever seen McClintock!? It's a great John Wayne movie with Maureen O'Hara (another great team)!!
this is a favourite now. great video guys as always. this one had me laughing out loud so much. drugs are apparently crazy shit that everyone should be doing for science. yes what is our consciousness? you guys could do a whole video on that topic just back and forth discussion. id watch and your opinion is my thoughts as well Matt
Excellent as always. You both have driven me to watch many of my new favorite movies. You might have seen it, but what about El Topo? I finally watched it in theaters recently and am interested in your opinions on it.
As a kid, BETA and VHS were not a thing. The Viewmaster was as close as we had. I saw 20+ Disney movies this way. I havd the projector that had a record attached to it. We spent HOURS enjoying it.
if you want to watch a movie about drugs you could watch "The Beatles Magical Mystery Tour" its a super trippy movie that makes you question what the heck they were on to make such a movie, but nether the less yet another amazing album by them
It's probably too late to request you watch Blueberry (released in the US as 'Renegade'), but look for "blueberry ayahuasca scene" on RU-vid - a lot of the imagery used that in that scene was, in my opinion, a nod to this film. It was also because the director of Blueberry had done ayahuasca many, many times with Peruvian shamans and tried to model the scene after his own experiences. It's pretty cool scene if you have 7 - 10 minutes to spare, but try to find one that explicitly states it doesn't have spoilers if you actually want to watch the film; considering it has Michael Madsen, Eddie Izzard, and Vincent Cassel in it, it's worth your time, IMO.
I have to say how impressed I am that you knew how to spell it! I would of had to put waska at the end and just told spell check to shut up! Kudos! You know your obscure psychedelic's.
Just read the novel. Not really seeing Chayefsky's issue. The book is literally beat for beat the movie. It's the most faithful adaptation I've ever seen. #OnePotatoAManBecomes
I figure you've seen it, but for a much more entertaining and satisfyingly gory body horror experience than Altered States I recommend Brian Yuzna's adaptation of HP Lovecraft's "From Beyond."
a huge piece of why i've never tried hallucinogens is cuz i always here the same thing from people that do. not the exact same experience but symptoms of the experience, and why it's worth trying it. the brain is a muscle all the same as the heart, and it needs to keep moving, so it's absolutely ridiculous to make these "unlocking" statements. just because that part of the muscle isn't exercised as much, doesn't mean it is REQUIRED to create a chemical imbalance in order to stimulate it. that's like saying "you unlock the full power of muscles by injecting steroids and there is no other way to do it!" the end of Altered States can be read as all the surreal imagery is a reflection of what these characters BELIEVE is happening. she didn't actually turn into a lava monster, but in order for him to break the trip, he has to believe she needs saving so she has to be in this state of peril. it just continues the cycle that you just see weird shit cuz the brain is coated in a thick warm syrupy goo of acid, and that there is nothing more to it. shit mushrooms are literally poisonous, if you wanna really trip skip this dousing thing, and just drink some fucking bleach....not lethal amount, just enough to get you giggly.
The "Seen It" section of this video seemed a lot shorter than in past videos. Are you in need of more "Seen It" suggestions? How about "Go West" a Marx Brothers film that was actually filmed in my home town. (Same place a lot of Back to the Future 3 was filmed.)
I never understood why this movie just skims right over the two homicides. Clearly Jessup would be the suspect. Also, there are no zoos in that part of town in any city. Especially not Cambridge.
