Brainstorm

Name: Brainstorm
Genre: Sci-Fi, Thriller
Released: September 30, 1983
Duration: 106 min
Rating: 57
Cast: Alan Fudge, Bill Morey, Christopher Walken, Cliff Robertson, Donald Hotton

1983

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Mixed or average reviews based on 14 Critic Reviews

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Universal acclaim based on 5 Ratings

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Brainstorm

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Movie Details & Credits

MGM/UA Entertainment Company | Release Date: September 30, 1983 | PG

Starring: Alan Fudge, Bill Morey, Christopher Walken, Cliff Robertson, Donald Hotton, Jason Lively, Joe Dorsey, Jordan Christopher, Louise Fletcher, Natalie Wood

Movie Facts:

This film was Natalie Wood's final performance before her death.

Summary: Brilliant researchers Lillian Reynolds and Michael Brace have developed a system of recording and playing back actual experiences of people. Once the capability of tapping into "higher brain functions" is added in, and you can literally jump into someone else's head and play back recordings of what he or she was thinking, feeling, seeing,Brilliant researchers Lillian Reynolds and Michael Brace have developed a system of recording and playing back actual experiences of people. Once the capability of tapping into "higher brain functions" is added in, and you can literally jump into someone else's head and play back recordings of what he or she was thinking, feeling, seeing, etc., at the time of the recording, the applications for the project quickly spiral out of control. While Michael Brace uses the system to become close again to Karen Brace, his estranged wife who also works on the project, others start abusing it for intense sexual experiences and other logical but morally questionable purposes. The government tries to kick Michael and Lillian off the project once the vast military potential of the technology is discovered. It soon becomes obvious that the government is interested in more than just missile guidance systems. The lab starts producing mind torture recordings and other psychosis inducing material. When one of the researchers dies and tapes the experience of death, Michael is convinced that he must playback this tape to honor the memory of the researcher and to become enlightened. When another researcher dies during playback the tape is locked away and Michael has to fight against his former colleagues and the government lackeys that now run his lab in order to play back and confront the "scariest thing any of us will ever face" - death itself.… Expand

Director: Douglas Trumbull

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Thriller

Rating: PG

Runtime: 106 min

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Critic Reviews

Bob Thomas

BRAINSTORM, despite its tragic history, emerges as a well made, thought provoking, exciting piece of science fiction. [7 Oct 1983]

Jay Scott

Except for the ending (more about that in a minute), Brainstorm is near the pinnacle of popular entertainment, just below "WarGames". [30 Sept 1983]

Clayton Purdom

As provocative as all this is, Trumbull keeps things grounded, interested to an almost baffling degree in the technical and logistical sides of this theoretical technology, as well as the emotional arcs of the humans creating it. Read full review

David Ansen

Under the direction of special-effects whiz Douglas Trumbull, Brainstorm provides lots of good cheap thrills and a juicy performance by Fletcher as a passionate scientist. But Trumbull is consistently more at home with technology than with the human drama (can Walken rescue his relationship with his wife, played by the late Natalie Wood?), and the spectaculariy cosmic ending leaves too many key questions unanswered. [10 Oct 1983, p.94]

Roger Ebert

This is a good idea for a movie. Unfortunately, in Brainstorm it remains basically an idea. The characters take such a secondary importance to the gadget that we never feel much for them. Read full review

Staff (Not Credited)

Producer-director Douglas Trumbull’s effects wizardry – and the concept behind it – is the movie...On the downside, majority of players, including stars Christopher Walken and Wood as a married couple in a research environment, seem merely along for the ride. Read full review

Rita Kempley

Brainstorm is like being caught in a Novocaine hurricane -- if you're not a numbskull when you walk in, you will be by the time you walk out. Talk about your brain drain. [30 Sept 1983, p.19]

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tonyGreen

Sep 12, 2022

Well made and a lot of fun. The special effects and use of changing aspect ratios is particularly well done. Good performances. A little melodramatic in parts. Recommended.

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