Serious Sci-Fi # 8

Here we go with 1983’s Brainstorm another rarely seen classic, this film has a superb cast and features Natalie Wood in her final role. The cast also features the great Christopher Walken, Louise Fletcher a.k.a. nurse Hatchett, and Cliff Robertson. With such an ensamble one would think this film was some kind of a court room drama. This tale asks the question, can our thoughts and feelings be recorded and can another person experience these emotions as if they were their own.

This film take place in the 80’s in some Research lab where scientists are working on some type of helmet that can transfer memories onto a gold magnetic film. The techno babble is kept to a minimum for you newbies, but the concept is so vividly shown on film. The director Douglas Trumbull a veteran of visual effects has worked  on many classic sci-fi films most notably 2001: A Space Odyssey and Blade Runner. The director explores the Scientists life and their constant battle with the liaison to their funding, that being the U.S. Government.

What is at the center of this conflict is the technology and the lifetime of work devoted to perfecting this technology. The basic concept is explained in the film, a person puts on a helmet and experiences everyday life, like eating and playing, these emotions are recorded and played back on another helmet through a large centralized computer network at their lab. The film progresses on and we quickly learn that the government is not looking into this technology for peaceful purposes, but rather as some kind of military asset.

When lead scientist played by Louise Fletcher finds out that the government plans to take total control of the technology she is terrified that her life’s work has become just another tool for the military. Sadden she heads to her lab and in her distress begins to have a heart attack, as she stumbles alone she quickly starts recording her death!

What follows is another example of why I love sci-fi, basically the two remaining scientists hack into their own system and try to download the death experience recorded by their deceased partner. The two partners quickly hack into the system as government agents try to track them down and stop them from destroying the technology. Christopher Walken experiences the death of his friend and this trip is visually exciting and dangerous, for to experience death he himself begins to die. What follows is a trip down someones life flashing before their eyes. He experiences her heartbreaks and past loves and hardships. As he continues the viewer is taken for the ride, as her death takes her to the heavens and we catch a glimpse of the afterlife. What happens to our leads I will not divulge but the film remains one of my favorites.

 Sadly Natalie Wood passed away in a drowning accident in 1981 and this movie was not released till 1983 and to have such a classic Hollywood starlet in a sci-fi film lent some credence to the film. That is all my friends catch this one on cable or just ebay or you could ask old Klytus and I will get you a copy. On our next exciting post I will tackle 1990’s Total Recall staring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Kuato. End of line.