{"id":6573,"date":"2009-04-25T10:59:46","date_gmt":"2009-04-25T17:59:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6573"},"modified":"2021-03-28T10:42:16","modified_gmt":"2021-03-28T17:42:16","slug":"brainstorm-1983","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6573","title":{"rendered":"Brainstorm (1983)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Don&#8217;t take my project. This is MY project!&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster-201x300.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"201\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-67183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster-201x300.png 201w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster-687x1024.png 687w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster-86x128.png 86w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster-181x270.png 181w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Poster.png 747w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 201px) 100vw, 201px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nTwo idealistic scientists (Louise Fletcher and Christopher Walken) who have created a headpiece allowing users to experience someone else&#8217;s reality must fight to maintain the integrity of their invention when their boss (Cliff Robertson) sells their work to the military.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Christopher Walken Films<\/li>\n<li>Cliff Robertson Films<\/li>\n<li>Life After Death<\/li>\n<li>Louise Fletcher Films<\/li>\n<li>Natalie Wood Films<\/li>\n<li>Psychic Powers<\/li>\n<li>Science Fiction<\/li>\n<li>Scientists<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\nPeary is rather unenthusiastic in his assessment of this infamous final feature of both Natalie Wood (she died before filming was complete) and special-effects guru-turned-director Douglas Trumbull, whose insistence on finishing the film despite Wood&#8217;s death soured him against Hollywood producers more interested in collecting insurance money than releasing the movie. While Peary acknowledges that the film&#8217;s &#8220;much ballyhooed visuals (shot in 70mm) are truly impressive&#8221;, he unjustly claims that Trumbull elicited &#8220;atrocious performances&#8221; from Walken and Robertson (both are actually fine in their respective roles), and that his use of &#8220;chain-smoking as Fletcher&#8217;s dominant personality trait is really lackadaisical&#8221; &#8212; in truth, her smoking seems to fit her nerve-wracked personality to a tee, and actually helps to substantiate the legitimacy of her fatal heart-attack midway through the film. <\/p>\n<p>Peary claims that the film &#8220;has enormous gaps&#8221; but, for the most part, I disagree. I&#8217;m impressed by how screenwriters Bruce Joel Rubin and Robert Stitzel smartly explore the various ethical ramifications of a virtual reality device which we have yet to experience, but whose arrival surely can&#8217;t be that far away. The device&#8217;s potential for &#8220;good&#8221; is made abundantly clear throughout the first half hour of the film: in addition to the obvious money-making application of allowing people to experience a world of visceral thrills (roller coaster rides, sweeping views of majestic mountains) without ever leaving their chairs, it miraculously helps bring Walken and his estranged wife (Wood) back together by allowing them to relive the glory days of their early romance. The U.S. military, of course, has much more nefarious plans for the headset (torture, anyone?), but the screenwriters draw an appropriately sticky line between these two extremes, as demonstrated in the scene in which a naive employee (Joe Dorsey) decides to splice a strategic section of a sex tape and run it continuously, only to become mildly brain damaged as a result.   <\/p>\n<p>The most exciting sequence in the movie is undoubtedly Fletcher&#8217;s dramatic heart attack, which &#8212; scientist that she is until the very end &#8212; she struggles to record so that others can study the experience of dying. It&#8217;s the natural extension of this crucial plot element (in which Walken &#8220;plays&#8221; the tape and sees visions of heaven and hell) which most reviewers take issue with &#8212; and it&#8217;s certainly easy to agree that the cheesy special effects don&#8217;t &#8220;do justice&#8221; to the experience. Yet I would counter, what <em>could<\/em>? How can <em>any<\/em> of us &#8220;know&#8221; what this ultimate experience might look and feel like &#8212; and then transfer this effectively to a two-dimensional screen? <\/p>\n<p>Where the film does begin to lose steam for me, ironically, is during its final climactic half-hour, as Walken and Wood valiantly fight against the Powers That Be to rescue the tape and destroy the military&#8217;s mass-operations facility. While it&#8217;s somewhat amusing to hear the couple voicing banalities to each other over the phone as a cover-up (it works &#8212; nobody pays them any attention), the action sequences &#8212; including machines going haywire and suds spilling out across the floor &#8212; come across as both juvenile and out-of-place. Despite this flaw, however, <em>Brainstorm<\/em> remains undeniably provocative sci-fi viewing, and should be seen once by all film fanatics. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> Trumbull only helmed one other film &#8212; 1972&#8217;s equally flawed but engaging <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=2532\"><em>Silent Running<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Louise Fletcher as Dr. Reynolds<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Fletcher.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Fletcher.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"630\" height=\"346\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Fletcher.png 630w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Fletcher-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Fletcher-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Fletcher-492x270.png 492w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Natalie Wood &#8212; who, as Peary notes, is &#8220;lively and lovely in her last role&#8221;<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Wood.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Wood.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"639\" height=\"351\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67178\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Wood.png 639w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Wood-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Wood-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Wood-492x270.png 492w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 639px) 100vw, 639px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Christopher Walken as Michael Brace<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Walken.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Walken.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"635\" height=\"346\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Walken.png 635w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Walken-300x163.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Walken-128x70.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Walken-496x270.png 496w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 635px) 100vw, 635px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Impressive visual effects<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Effects.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Effects.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"634\" height=\"299\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-67179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Effects.png 634w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Effects-300x141.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Effects-128x60.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/04\/Brainstorm-Effects-573x270.png 573w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 634px) 100vw, 634px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>A fascinating premise<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes, as a smart sci-fi film with a provocative premise. Film fanatics will likely also be curious to see Wood&#8217;s final performance. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Good Show<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.imdb.com\/title\/tt0085271\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1983\/09\/30\/movies\/screen-brainstorm-discovery-goes-away.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.scifimoviepage.com\/dvd\/brainstorm-dvd.html\">SciFi Movie Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rogerebert.com\/reviews\/brainstorm-1983\">Roger Ebert&#8217;s Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.moriareviews.com\/sciencefiction\/brainstorm-1983.htm\">Moria Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/reviews\/68376\/brainstorm.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t take my project. This is MY project!&#8221; Synopsis: Two idealistic scientists (Louise Fletcher and Christopher Walken) who have created a headpiece allowing users to experience someone else&#8217;s reality must fight to maintain the integrity of their invention when their boss (Cliff Robertson) sells their work to the military. Christopher Walken Films Cliff Robertson Films Life After Death Louise Fletcher Films Natalie Wood Films Psychic Powers Science Fiction Scientists Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: Peary is rather unenthusiastic in his assessment&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=6573\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6573"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":70911,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6573\/revisions\/70911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}