Altered States (1980) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Animation Biographies-Cast & Crew TV Spots-2 Theatrical Trailer Notes-Behind The Scenes Trailer-Blade Runner: Director's Cut; Contact; Outbreak; Outland
Rating
Year Of Production	1980
Running Time	102:43
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Sided	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	1,4	Directed By	Ken Russell
Studio Distributor	Warner Home Video	Starring	William Hurt Blair Brown Bob Balaban Charles Haid
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	John Corigliano

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Full Frame	English Dolby Digital 5.1 (384Kb/s) French Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English French	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    Altered States is a gripping and entertaining movie on a decent DVD.

    I can still vividly recall seeing this movie theatrically as a child of ten or eleven (believe it or not, my parents took me!). In terms of genre, it lies somewhere between a horror movie and a taut psychological thriller. Based on the novel by Paddy Chayefsky, Altered States tells the story of research scientist Dr. Jessup (William Hurt), a physiologist teaching at Cornell Medical College who is haunted by his past. Obsessed with the mysteries of the brain, Jessup believes that not only physical information is passed from one generation to another through genetics, but memories as well. With the help of fellow scientist and friend, Arthur (Bob Balaban), his devoted wife, Emily (Blair Brown), and sceptic Mason (Charles Haid), Jessup begins exploring altered states of consciousness through the combination of sensory deprivation (via an isolation tank) and powerful hallucinatory drugs. Jessup becomes convinced that through this combination, his hallucinations can be externalised, or in other words, his experiences can become real.

Video

    Sadly, this movie is presented in NTSC, and apart from the limitations of NTSC, the source material is also quite dated and grainy.

    A nice feature of this DVD is that it has two presentations of the movie, on either side of a dual sided DVD. On one side, the widescreen transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced, while the flip-side of the disc has a 1.33:1 version of the movie.

    The sharpness of the image is generally good, but occasionally it is a little soft, such as at 96:47. The quality of the shadow detail is a little variable, but okay.

    The colour appears to be a little aged and rather drab.

    There were no major problems with MPEG or film-to-video artefacts. Film artefacts appear throughout, but they are mostly just small flecks.

    English and French subtitles are present on the DVD, and the English subtitles are accurate.

    This is a single layered disc, so there was no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    Originally released theatrically in Dolby Stereo-Surround, this movie was nominated for Best Sound at the Academy Awards. Brilliantly remixed into Dolby Digital 5.1 for this DVD, the audio is a real treat.

    Apart from the English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track, there is also a French Dolby Stereo-Surround track.

    The dialogue quality and audio sync are fine on the default English Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track.

    The Oscar nominated musical score is credited to John Corigliano, and it really captures, and helps create, the various moods of the movie.

    The surround presence and activity is fairly aggressive. The rear speakers are used throughout to help carry the score, such as at 10:12, and to provide surround effects, such as the wind at 35:50. There are even some great split-rear directional effects, for example at 38:08.

    The subwoofer is also utilised very effectively to support both the score and the sound effects.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    There are a surprising number of extras, considering the age of the movie.

Menu

    An animated menu, presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It is silent.

Cast & Crew

    Text-based information.

Behind The Scenes

    Text-based information.

TV Spot 1 (0:34)

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 1.0 audio.

TV Spot 2 (1:06)

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, with Dolby Digital 1.0 audio.

Theatrical Trailer (2:17)

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, 16x9 enhanced, with Dolby Digital 1.0 audio.

Reel Recommendations

    Some text-based information, and the trailers for Blade Runner Director's Cut, Contact, Outbreak, and Outland.

    This is exactly the same disc as released in the US -- it even includes the FBI copyright warning.

    With striking visual imagery and direction by Ken Russell, wonderful make-up, visual, and sound effects, and some great acting performances (film debuts by William Hurt and Drew Barrymore), Altered States is well worth renting, or buying -- if you already like the movie (the RRP is under $20).

    The video quality is limited, as the source material is dated and NTSC, but it is still good.

    The audio quality is excellent.

    The extras are good.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall