Researchers develop a system where they can jump into people's minds. But when people involved bring their personal problems into the equation, it becomes dangerous - perhaps deadly.Researchers develop a system where they can jump into people's minds. But when people involved bring their personal problems into the equation, it becomes dangerous - perhaps deadly.Researchers develop a system where they can jump into people's minds. But when people involved bring their personal problems into the equation, it becomes dangerous - perhaps deadly.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 6 nominations
Ira David Wood III
- Barry
- (as David Wood)
Mary Fran Lyman
- Realtor
- (as Mary-Fran Lyman)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBecause of the immensely troubled production and disagreements with MGM, Douglas Trumbull opted never to direct a Hollywood film again. In 1983 he stated, "I have no interest . . . in doing another Hollywood feature film . . . Absolutely none. The movie business is so totally screwed-up that I just don't have the energy to invest three or four years in a feature film. Moviemaking is like waging war. It destroys your personal life, too. The people who can survive the process of making films have largely given up their personal lives in order to do that, just because it's such a battle to make a movie. And in doing that, they've isolated themselves from the very audience that they're trying to reach."
- GoofsSeveral of the tapes play back from a third-person perspective, which would be impossible if the tapes were actually a person's recorded memory.
- Quotes
Dr. Michael Anthony Brace: [whispers to statue] That's the girl I'm gonna marry.
- Crazy creditsAfter the final credit has rolled, 'TO NATALIE' appears for a couple seconds
- Alternate versionsIn the psychotic episode sequence when Michael's (Christopher Walken) son Chris (Jason Lively) wears the headset, there's a slight difference between the 70mm version and 35mm version. In the 70mm version of Chris's hallucination when Michael flips a lever presumably sending an electrical current to Chris's head, the camera cuts to and remains on a shot of a circular device with electricity running through it, as Michael is heard to say, 'Now you're gonna find out it's mine!' In the 35mm version, the shot arrangement is the same except that it cuts back to a closeup of Michael saying the line 'Now you're gonna find out it's mine!'
- ConnectionsEdited into Trumbull Land (2018)
Featured review
"Nobody locks me out!"
Cutting edge sci-fi film is interesting and absorbing enough to make it good entertainment. It's not so much about story. There really isn't much of one, and we don't ever get to know the characters *that* well. This is more a film about concepts - and imagery, of course. Marking a directorial effort for visual effects specialist Douglas Trumbull ("2001: A Space Odyssey", "Silent Running"), it definitely has the right look to it. Trumbull uses multiple aspect ratios in order to maximize the experience. Fortunately, he does give the proceedings a level of humanity, particularly as they pertain to a shaky marriage, and there are moments of poignancy during the narrative.
Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher star as Michael Brace and Lillian Reynolds, two old- fashioned mad scientists working to perfect a virtual reality device that records human experiences. It can allow you to taste what somebody else is eating, for example, or feel what it was like for them as they rode a roller coaster. The people funding and backing Brace & Reynolds ultimately don't like the way they do things, and try to alter the course of the research. Michael becomes obsessed with checking out a tape made by Lillian, and figures out a way to sneak past the defenses of the computer program running the show.
Overall, this is an amusing show, with solid acting by all concerned. Fletcher is indeed a standout. "Brainstorm" is notable for being the last credit for co-star Natalie Wood (who isn't given very much to do), whose untimely death occurred during production. Supporting cast members include Cliff Robertson, a likable Joe Dorsey ("Grizzly"), and a young Jason Lively ("Night of the Creeps") as Walken and Woods' son. (Walkens' real-life spouse Georgianne, who usually works as a casting director, appears on screen here as Dorseys' wife.) The technical work on the film is of course first rate, with eye popping visual effects, effective production design, and a thunderous music score by James Horner.
Worth a look for fans of this genre.
Seven out of 10.
Christopher Walken and Louise Fletcher star as Michael Brace and Lillian Reynolds, two old- fashioned mad scientists working to perfect a virtual reality device that records human experiences. It can allow you to taste what somebody else is eating, for example, or feel what it was like for them as they rode a roller coaster. The people funding and backing Brace & Reynolds ultimately don't like the way they do things, and try to alter the course of the research. Michael becomes obsessed with checking out a tape made by Lillian, and figures out a way to sneak past the defenses of the computer program running the show.
Overall, this is an amusing show, with solid acting by all concerned. Fletcher is indeed a standout. "Brainstorm" is notable for being the last credit for co-star Natalie Wood (who isn't given very much to do), whose untimely death occurred during production. Supporting cast members include Cliff Robertson, a likable Joe Dorsey ("Grizzly"), and a young Jason Lively ("Night of the Creeps") as Walken and Woods' son. (Walkens' real-life spouse Georgianne, who usually works as a casting director, appears on screen here as Dorseys' wife.) The technical work on the film is of course first rate, with eye popping visual effects, effective production design, and a thunderous music score by James Horner.
Worth a look for fans of this genre.
Seven out of 10.
helpful•141
- Hey_Sweden
- Mar 5, 2014
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- The Gordon Forbes Tapes
- Filming locations
- Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA(Burroughs Wellcome Pharmaceutical Corporation HQ)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $15,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,219,460
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $1,196,965
- Oct 2, 1983
- Gross worldwide
- $10,219,460
- Runtime1 hour 46 minutes
- Color
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