About this Event
In celebration of their collaborative, two-venue run of Michael Almereyda and Courtney Stephens’ JOHN LILLY AND THE EARTH COINCIDENCE CONTROL OFFICE, 7th House and Brain Dead are thrilled to co-present ALTERED STATES (1980), Ken Russell’s mindbending and mouth-dropping journey into the farthest frontiers of consciousness.
Adapted from the novel by Paddy Chayefsky and shot through with Russell’s unmistakable feverish imagination, the film follows brilliant but obsessive scientist Eddie Jessup (William Hurt, in his extraordinary screen debut) as he conducts radical experiments combining sensory deprivation with powerful psychoactive substances. Working within a flotation tank designed to eliminate external input, Jessup begins to experience overpoweringly vivid visions—encounters with primordial landscapes, ancient ritual, and evolutionary memory itself. As the experiments intensify, these interior journeys begin to manifest physically, causing Jessup to undergo startling transformations that blur the boundary between psychological exploration and biological regression. What begins as a rigorous scientific inquiry soon spirals into a dangerous quest to unlock the deepest layers of human perception.
Though the film emerges from Chayefsky’s speculative fiction, its foundations were directly inspired by the work of pioneering neuroscientist and psychonaut John C. Lilly, whose own experiments using himself as a test subject in sensory deprivation tanks—along with his research into psychedelic consciousness and interspecies communication with dolphins—helped ignite a generation-wide fascination with the hidden architectures of the mind. Lilly’s notion that the brain might act as a “biocomputer”—capable of accessing extraordinary internal realities when freed from external input—echoes throughout the film’s central conceit (his work on dolphin communication likewise inspiring ).
Russell translates these ideas into one of the most audacious visual spectacles in modern cinema: a special-effects heavy barrage of primal imagery, cosmic visions, and evolutionary hallucinations that attempt nothing less than to depict the mind encountering its deepest origins. Part metaphysical science fiction, part psychedelic horror, and part philosophical inquiry,, ALTERED STATES stands as one of Russell’s most daring and singular works—a film that pushes cinema itself toward altered states of perception.
Dir. Ken Russell, 1980, 102 mins, United States, English, Rated R, Digital.
Alongside their two-venue presentation of JOHN LILLY AND THE EARTH COINCIDENCE CONTROL OFFICE, 7th House and Brain Dead present two films shaped by his work: and Ken Russell’s ALTERED STATES (Sunday, 4/5 at The Philosophical Research Society). Together, these films chart the strange and fascinating cultural wake of Lilly’s quest to understand the mind, the ocean, and the hidden systems that might connect them both.
Tickets: $12 (All Screenings Are In Person Only)
Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.
ADVISORY DISCLAIMER
With some exception, The Philosophical Research Society’s 7th House Screenings does not typically provide advisory warnings about potentially upsetting content or subject matter, as sensitivities are particular to each viewer. Please be sure to read event listings, research on the web, or visit Common Sense Media, IMDb, and DoesTheDogDie.com for thorough info on content and age-appropriateness. If you have any specific content advisory questions, please email [email protected].
CONTENT DISCLAIMER
The views, opinions, and thoughts expressed within exhibited works are solely those of their creators and may not represent those of the Philosophical Research Society (PRS), its affiliates, or any individuals associated with PRS. Screenings are intended for educational and entertainment purposes.
ACCESSIBILITY
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In the event that PRS is forced to cancel an event entirely, tickets will be refunded or vouchers offered for a rescheduled event.
PARKING
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Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Philosophical Research Society, 3910 Los Feliz Boulevard, Los Angeles, United States
USD 14.64
