Dreamscape (1984)

Lucid Dream adventures...

Alex Gardner was born with certain "talents" - a telepathic genius - able to manipulate the conscious mind. But it is not until he is approached with an offer to further parapsychology that he learns just how profound his abilities can fathom.

Living a life of mundane concerns*, at the behest of Dr. Novotny {Max Von Sydow}, he returns to his former life engaging in psychical research to further the efforts of the mind to tap the abyssal subconscious, projecting into others' dreams, in what is essentially the practice of Lucid Dreaming, what some of us have already mastered. With the aid of a 'dream machine' situated in the 'dream chamber' {"Who's your decorator, Darth Vader?"; it is a nice chamber!}, which merely regulates bio-functions, it begins as a form of therapy, witnessing patients' fears, such as the man who suspected his wife of cheating {including with his brother, a priest, and... even you... Fakuda...?}; and the construction worker with bathophobia {fear of falling from high places}. The reality of the situations amaze Alex, who thereby dedicates his skills full into the project.

Upon reaching REM sleep state, each dream sequence is quite a remarkable spectacle {whose ingress, incidentally, very much resembles the I-Tunes visualizer}, with amorphous transmutations in light and sound surrounding until full presence is achieved.

Then he meets Bob Blaire, whose innocuous first introduction belies his true character as sinister mastermind, and later Tommy Glatman, a psychopathic dream killer obsessed with Martial Arts movies who actually murdered his own father. Blaire runs a top-secret organization within the CIA whose nefarious influence is all-pervasive. The two work in tandum and plan to assassinate the President {Eddie Albert**} in his dream by whatever imaginative scenario, utilizing dream weapons to achieve that end, which results in various stress and shock related maladies in "dayside" state. That is the ultimate idea herein - to cause reactive effects in which a kill in the dream results in the actual demise of the dreamer IN ACTUALITY.

Through entering the dream of an attractive female Doctor with what is essentially an incubus visualization, Alex eventually learns to project without the use of the machine, by merely stilling himself in a quiet, gloomy environment, initiating controlled breathing techniques {sounds familiar...}, he sharpens his senses enough to subsequently confront a serpentine creature known as 'The Snakeman' {a boogie-man archetype and Glatman's fearsome "totem"} who has invaded a boy's dreams. From within a haunted house on a stormy night, down a twisting staircase into an inferno of horrors, the two battle the snake beast in a fantastical scene reminiscient of white knight verses dragon. Although in the dream world, anything is possible.

After the sad execution of Novotny ordered by Blaire, Alex and Tommy square off in The President's nightmare wherein the one with the greater imagination, cleverness, and willpower prevails. The Snakeman manifests again, and through a very shrewd apparition, the President is saved.

Demon hounds, a snake monster, nuclear zombies, sudden scares, cloak and dagger scenarios, secret government conspiracies, a motorbike chase, and horrific environments fill this dreamscape of nucleic creation.

__________________

* Seems he was betting on the horse races and runs afoul of some bookies who want in on his continual success, and otherwise was also concentrating his efforts on carnal pleasures. The question remains - there is no reason why he could not continue to pursue his fleshly interests while also contributing to the project.

** Whom you may remember as portraying Dr. Samuel Richards in the film 'The Devil's Rain', and probably more recognizably as Oliver Wendell Douglas from 'Green Acres'. May 20, 2007

Dreamscape Is Pure Escapsim

A mild classic little film that I was happy to rediscover while DVD surfing here on Amazon. Although this film is somewhat dated, it still holds up well enough today. The dream sequences are wild and fanciful so the effects there work quite well except for the stop-action effects that while good, are very dated. They will remind you of the classic works of that early special effects pioneer Ray Harryhuasen (misspelled???). Anyhow, he did films like "Clash of the Titans" which is another fun, but again, dated film.

I always find it kinda fun to see some of my favorite actors as they looked when they first started out. This early Dennis Quaid flick is no exception. My son, who is 15, and a fan of his current work, Flight of the Phoenix and The Day After Tomorrow, quickly noticed how boyish he looks in this film and, during a shirtless scene, how he hadn't started working out yet. He boasts a decent 6-pack today at 50. Kate Capshaw, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, looked radiant in spite of her horrific 80's hairdo and gave a better performance that she did in Indiana Jones. Unfortunately, if you've seen her recently, whenever she's out with hubby Steven Spielberg, you will notice that the years were not as kind to her as to Quaid. The ageless Christopher Plummer, Captain Von Trapp in The Sound of Music, has played this kind of evil character he plays here many times. He was a staple sinister baddie for quite some time until Anthony Hopkins stepped in with his Silence of the Lamb films and other creepy roles. Plummer plays the overly zealous government man taking over a scientific experiment project for the safety of the free world in his own myopic perspective. The newcomer in this film is an actor who never made it big but should have. Sean Patrick Kelly as the villain is inspired casting in this film. He is very effective in his role of the jealous "top lab rat" as Quaid's character calls him. He is perfectly cast and his role and acting will get under your skin and stay there.

Now throw in some older and highly respected actors during this time period, Max (The Exorcist) Von Sydow playing the respectable scientist not understanding the danger of his work (which he went on to play many times later in his career such as in Tom Cruise's Miniority Report), and Eddie (Green Acres) Albert and you have a stellar cast to go with an intelligent script that does make an effort to avoid cliche-ridden roles and lines (even though some are still present). The direction is fast-paced and the score by Maurice Jarre is effective.

My only quibble with this film is noted by others who remember this film from its original release and VHS transfer and that is the subtle editing that is done for this "updated" release. It's not that I'm bothered so much by the bits that were edited out to better fit the PG-13 rating as it was very close to R in it's time, it's that they don't tell you that they altered the film and that just isn't right. In any event, the subtle editing doesn't change the film significantly and allows for more family friendly viewing. April 23, 2007

A Thrilling Sci Fi Picture

The photo makes one think of Indiana Jones (and Kate Capshaw, who was in "Temple Of Doom", is a good reason for the comparison), but this is more science fiction. It deals with psychics who are able to enter people's dreams. This puts it into the category of true science fiction, speculating possibilities, their benefits, and their dangers.

Dennis Quaid does an excellent job as a con man with an exceptional ability. Max Van Sydow is just as good as his mentor. Christopher Plummer makes an great villain. And when somebody casts one of my favorite actresses like Kate Capshaw as the love interest . . . George Wendt also is good in a brief role, and Eddie Albert is presidential.

I will conclude that the ending bothered me philosophically. If someone wants to discuss it, feel free to let me know. However, I don't want to spoil any surprises.

In spite of that one disturbing part, I think this is a great movie. It is PG-13, meaning it is not for children; feel free to attend with your junior high or older child, where you can discuss the issues with him. And there is a lot of food for thought you can teach your children with in this movie. Not bad for a sci-fi adventure, huh? January 20, 2007

It's been along time since I've seen this one.

I enjoyed being able to see this movie again. July 12, 2006

altered

i love this movie, however, for some reason, someone has decided to edit all of the romantic scenes, brief nudity, etc. from the dvd version. if that isn't bad enough, they don't tell you that it has been altered from it's original content. i bought this dvd thinking i was getting the original that i loved only to get a chopped up version. rotten deal! June 19, 2006

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