THE DANMAN CAN

" I feel...like my heart is being touched by Christ. " Altered States  (1980),  Ken Russell  and Paddy Chayefsky 's (who famously clashed) trippy existential psychological sci-fi body horror always leaves an impression, particularly the barrage of sound and images presented in the brilliant out-of-body scenes (looking better than ever via The Criterion Collection 's 4K UHD ).  William Hurt , who went on to many memorable roles, shines in his feature film debut (fun fact: this was also  Drew Barrymore 's film debut). I've never seen  Blair Brown  in any other movies, but here she gives a dedicated, impassioned performance. John Corigliano 's wonderful score was deservedly Oscar-nominated.  Jordan Cronenweth , who two years later gifted us the astounding cinematography of  Blade Runner   ( review ), provided lots of beautifully lit compositions. The special effects and makeup—the former by Bran Ferren , the latter by the legendary...

A marvelous maximalist messianic musical. A truly wild film. I rated this far too low on my previous (first) viewing . Chock full of audiovisual goodness. Astounding production/costume design and cinematography. A near constant assault of images and ideas and sound and style. An explosion of colors. A sensory overload. An all-star, all-in cast completely understanding the assignment ( Ann-Margret  is absolutely unhinged). Unmistakably the work of the singular cinematic madman  Ken Russell . Happy 50th anniversary, Tommy . Ken Russell Feature Films Ranked