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(About Our Ads) DVD REVIEW FOR "ALTERED STATES" (1980) (William Hurt, Blair Brown) (R) Length Screen Format(s) Languages Subtitles Sound Sides 103 minutes Letterbox (1.85:1) 16x9 - Widescreen Pan & Scan English French English French Dolby Digital 5.1 2 Plot: A scientist, enlisting the aid of mind-altering drugs, experiments on himself hoping to find the evolutionary source and meaning of life. (Parental Review currently not available) VIDEO: (C) Although I don't recall how this film looked during its theatrical run, the DVD picture is decent, but certainly not ultra-sharp. Not surprisingly (when considering its age), the disc shows a mild amount of film artifacts (scratches and blips) and its flesh tones are a bit warm in an otherwise less than vibrantly colorful picture. Unfortunately, a moderate amount of pixelation -- especially evident in solid, lighter colored parts of the picture, such as with early shots in the isolation tank and many shots of the sky -- is rather distracting at times. At other times, the compression scheme gives parts of the picture a likewise distracting "slow motion" look that isn't homogenous with the rest of the overall picture. AUDIO: (B-) Despite the soundtrack being remastered in Dolby Digital, it lacks any real decent dynamic range (due to the original source recordings) and occasionally sounds flat, especially regarding the dialogue. Some decent effects do take place, however (it got an Oscar nomination for that), especially during the many "trip" or altered states sequences. EXTRAS: Scene selection/Jump to any scene. Cast and crew filmographies and biographies. "Behind the Scenes" -- 4 pages of on-screen text regarding the production Theatrical trailer and 2 TV spots. Additional trailers for "Blade Runner," "Contact," "Outbreak" and "Outland." COMMENTS: Viewed today, the film has something of a hokey feel to it (especially the special effects), although it's occasionally spooky and its attempts to visually and audibly assault the viewer (in keeping with the motif of "altering one's state) do keep it interesting throughout most of the production. Once a noteworthy sci-fi flick (and William Hurt's first cinematic gig), this is a long-forgotten picture that apparently didn't warrant much in the way of supplemental material.