The ultimate cinematic head trip of the 1980s, British renegade Ken Russell’s first Hollywood production—adapted by the legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky from his own novel—is part hallucinogenic freak-out, part gonzo creature feature, part transcendent love story, all played at a fever pitch. When researcher Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) begins using himself as a test subject for his mind-expanding psychological experiments, it sends him on an increasingly dangerous, substance-fueled odyssey from humankind’s primordial past to the outer limits of consciousness. It’s all visualized by Russell in a psychedelic supernova of out-there imagery that encompasses everything from the pagan to the cosmic sublime, culminating in a brain-wave-blasting battle between the mind and the heart.
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- New audio commentary featuring film historian Samm Deighan
- Archival interviews with director Ken Russell and actor William Hurt
- New interview with special-visual-effects designer Bran Ferren
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Jessica Kiang
New cover by Richey Beckett
Cast
- William Hurt
- Eddie Jessup
- Blair Brown
- Emily Jessup
- Bob Balaban
- Arthur Rosenberg
- Charles Haid
- Mason Parrish
- Thaao Penghlis
- Eccheverria
- Miguel Godreau
- Primal man
- Dori Brenner
- Sylvia Rosenberg
- Peter Brandon
- Hobart
- Charles White Eagle
- The brujo
- Drew Barrymore
- Margaret Jessup
- Megan Jeffers
- Grace Jessup
- Jack Murdock
- Hector Orteco
- Frank McCarthy
- Obispo
- Deborah Baltzell
- Schizophrenic patient
- John Larroquette
- X-ray technician
- George Gaynes
- Dr. Wissenschaft
Credits
- Director
- Ken Russell
- Written for the screen by
- Sidney Aaron
- From the novel Altered States by
- Paddy Chayefsky
- Associate producer
- Stuart Baird
- Executive producer
- Daniel Melnick
- Producer
- Howard Gottfried
- Director of photography
- Jordan Cronenweth
- Editor
- Eric Jenkins
- Special visual effects by
- Bran Ferren
- Special makeup by
- Dick Smith
- Production designer
- Richard McDonald
- Costume designer
- Ruth Myers
- Music by
- John Corigliano
- Title sequence design
- Richard Greenberg
