Brainstorm (1983)
The door to the mind is open!
Walken is Mike Brace, a technological genius who's created a device that can record and play back human thought. But when the military emerges as an unwanted "silent partner" in his project, he and his wife are thrust into a breathless, non-stop race to prevent the machine from falling into the wrong hands and becoming the ultimate government weapon!
Member Reviews
i liked it - FRISCOSAURAS
Call it sci-fi, call it anticipation, it primarily boasts an original concept of scientific research in recording brain activity for educational purposes gone wrong. At the time it came out, it was considered fairly well done but by today's standards, the special effects and the props seem a bit outdated. The cast is great, comprised of numerous familiar faces doing an appropriate acting job with a slightly uneven dialogue. The sets and locations are pretty good, the soundtrack is appropriate and the camera work is good, even quite impressive at times. Highly recommended.A classic, one day it will happen - Chuck_Bytes
Still one of my old time favorites, yes outdated so you won't find really cool special effects, but you will find a ground breaking idea put to film. This will happen, it's just a matter of time. The concept is what amazes me, the film itself is old and if remade, could do so much better in this day and age. I recommend it to an open mind.These "Computers" might really catch on... - Lego4eveR
Brainstorm is classic retro-formage sci-fi. And if there is no sub-genre called "retro-formage sci-fi" there should be one.
Get ready for cheap costumes and props like tinfoil covered helmets with smoke blasting out the ears. There is clipped dialogue and wooden performances. However there are some sweet old computers and a lot of filming in fancy looking Silicon Valley research labs.
Key to the plot is a scene were Christopher Walken hacks into the evil military industrial complex's mainframe using a revolutionary method. Phones connecting commuters!!! This was amazing it was like the computers had been linked by a sort of "Interconnected Network". I will invent a shorthand to refer to this, I dub it "ConnectedWork", which will be easy to remember and is sure to catch on.
Back to the movie. I'm not sure if it will ever be feasible to record and playback one individual's thoughts for other individuals. I imagine it could lead to some pretty embarassing situations. So here's hoping it does happen one day.
Although I find it totally plausible that the corporate-military powers would seek to exploit the technology, as happens in "Brainstorm". Hopefully this never happens in real life! (see recent Alternet story about US military recruiters all over MySpace).
As a footnote, the first "ConnectedWorks" were funded by US military interests, although developed by academic researchers.
Zip.ca has a great and hard to find documentary called "BBS" about the first online communities connected through the Bulletin Board Systems. I didn't live through that age, coming online after the Internet took off, so it was very cool to learn about the Net before the Net. "BBS" uses a novel technique of having extra information playing on the English subtitle track. So what you get is little snippets appearing like in "Pop Up Video".
No review of "Brainstorm" would be complete without a Rest In Peace to Natalie Wood. By all accou
Member Reviews
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i liked it - FRISCOSAURAS
Call it sci-fi, call it anticipation, it primarily boasts an original concept of scientific research in recording brain activity for educational purposes gone wrong. At the time it came out, it was considered fairly well done but by today's standards, the ...A classic, one day it will happen - Chuck_Bytes
Still one of my old time favorites, yes outdated so you won't find really cool special effects, but you will find a ground breaking idea put to film. This will happen, it's just a matter of time. The concept is what amazes me, the film itself is old and if ...These "Computers" might really catch on... - Lego4eveR
Brainstorm is classic retro-formage sci-fi. And if there is no sub-genre called "retro-formage sci-fi" there should be one.
Get ready for cheap costumes and props like tinfoil covered helmets with smoke blasting out the ears. There is clipped dialogue ...