A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.A psycho-physiologist experiments with drugs and a sensory-deprivation tank and has visions he believes are genetic memories.
- Nominated for 2 Oscars
- 1 win & 7 nominations total
- Obispo
- (as Frank McCarthy)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaFilm debut of William Hurt.
- GoofsWhen the Brujo tells Eccheverria that he'll allow Eddie to participate in the ceremony, he walks off. Although in only a matter of seconds he's far enough away that they have to run quite a distance to catch up to him to ask him some further questions, this is consistent with other literary and screen depictions of shamans having "spooky" abilities, sure-footedness, and being surprisingly limber for their age. Rather than an error in continuity, this seems to be a dramatic device.
- Quotes
Eddie Jessup: Emily's quite content to go on with this life. She insists she's in love with me - whatever that is. What she means is she prefers the senseless pain we inflict on each other to the pain we would otherwise inflict on ourselves. But I'm not afraid of that solitary pain. In fact, if I don't strip myself of all this clatter and clutter and ridiculous ritual, I shall go out of my fucking mind. Does that answer your question, Arthur?
Arthur Rosenberg: What question was that?
Eddie Jessup: You asked me why I was getting divorced.
Arthur Rosenberg: Oh, listen, it's your life. I'm sorry I even asked.
- Crazy creditsIn the end credits, the cast list appears last after all but the movie company name and logo. Usually the cast list appears either very early in the credits or sometimes approximately a third of the way through.
- Alternate versionsABC edited 7 minutes from this film for its 1983 network television premiere.
- ConnectionsEdited into 365 Days, also Known as a Year (2019)
- SoundtracksVoile d'Orphee
by Pierre Henry
But this movie breaks real ground.
One of my all time favorites.
And I'd like to point out that everyone is crazy about the much-touted and notoriously-expensive hallucination sequences, ...
Of course if you've seen Russel's "Tommy," some of the over-the-top sequences will look familiar and tinged with peculiar British-isms. And then there's the ending - well, it's controversial, that's for sure - anticlimax or not ?
But for me the most electrifying parts are the ensemble cast acting.
In the scene where Blair Brown is trying to cope with the trauma of the events in the isolation tank room, there's a very beautifully conceived long single shot through house windows. Russel needs credit especially for the argument between Balaban and Haid - some of the best acting I've ever seen - character actors hardly EVER get to put this kind of stage-acting energy on film. It stays with me still. They truly seem absolutely furious with each other, their lines overlap, it's absolutely convincing.
Some of the greatest effects of this movie are simply good movie craft - when Jessup first sees the love of his life walk through the door, fantastically back-lit, and the music comes up and cross-fades into the next scene - it's breathtaking.
It's the moments like that, and the very intro of the movie, with the slow title crawl, the deadpan lines read by Balaban, the first shots of Hurt in the tank, the eerie music ... This movie still stands out, still looks good,... and stands superior to other, more recent imaginings of internal hallucination become external.
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Der Höllentrip
- Filming locations
- Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua, Mexico(Rock formations visited by Eddie)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross US & Canada
- $19,853,892
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $174,650
- Dec 28, 1980
- Gross worldwide
- $19,853,898
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1