The Movie:

While Douglas Trumbull is better known for his special effects work on classics like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Close Encounters Of The Third Kind he's directed a couple of interesting science fiction pictures like Silent Running and 1983's Brainstorm which starred a young Christopher Walken alongside Natalie Wood in her final performance.

The film follows a pair of scientists - Lillian Reynolds (Louise Fletcher) and Michael Brace (Christopher Walken) - who have developed a new technology that allows them to record people's experience so that they can be played back and relived at a later date. From here, with further research, they figure out a way to basically let someone else tap into your brain to experience what was previously recorded allowing people to experience other people's memories.

With the technology not quite perfected, Michael decides to use it to try and rekindle his relationship with Karen (Natalie Wood), his ex-wife, who he still carries a torch for and who has also helped out with the research required for this experiment. If that weren't enough, there are others who want to use the technology for purely sexual reasons while members of the government want to take the project away from Brace and Reynolds and use it for their own nefarious purposes. Once the government does get their fingers in this pie, they start using it for missile guidance systems and for torturing people and eventually a fellow researcher dies, his experiences recorded. Michael decides to enlighten himself by experiencing death, but with the technology having already fallen into the wrong hands, there's no telling what will happen...

A fairly high concept science-fiction picture, Brainstorm is a fairly interesting picture that can be a little unsettling at times. Thanks to some trippy effects work and plenty of swirling, colored lighting techniques (Trumbull perfected this sort of acid tinged sci-fi with 2001: A Space Odyssey and it shows in this film!) the movie is a bit dated in how it demonstrates its technology and this does hurt the picture a bit but the concept behind it still works fairly well. There's a very human side to the film, the best example being Michael Brace's intentions of fixing his broken relationship but which is also evident in the ways in which the characters become curious and inquisitive about exploring the experience that is death. Considering how death obsessed so many cultures are, it makes sense that the characters would react the way that they do to the recorded death that they find themselves in possession of.

Performance wise, however, the film holds up really well. Walken has this really effective distance to his acting that works perfectly in the cold context of the technology that his character becomes increasingly obsessed with. His interaction with Wood, who sadly passed away during the film of this picture (leading to a fight between Trumbull and the studio about finishing the picture - Trumbull won, the film was finished after Wood's passing and so because of that you'll notice some scenes are shot with a stand in seen from behind) is believable and a little bit sad as most broken romances tend to be, again lending well to the humanity that is such a big part of why the movie is effective. Fletcher too delivers strong work here, and she's well cast as a scientist.

Despite the fact that aspects of the picture have definitely started to show their age and despite the fact that parts of the film are a bit on the slow side, the movie remains a visually impressive and interesting science fiction movie. It isn't a perfect picture but it's a great showcase for Trumbull's knack for visuals and a picture that makes the most out of its concept.

The Video:

Technically, the progressive scan transfer on this DVD is in 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen, though as though who have seen the movie before will no doubt remember, the aspect ratio switches throughout the film meaning that within that 2.35.1 frame you're going to see some window boxing on the left and right hand side of the picture. This is the way that the film was shot and the way that it is meant to be seen. As far as the image quality goes, the transfer is pretty solid. Color reproduction is fairly lifelike and natural looking and detail levels aren't bad at all for an older picture. A few scenes look a bit on the soft side and there's a mild coat of grain noticeable throughout but no real problems with print damage. The encoding is good ensuring that there are no problems with mpeg compression artifacts or edge enhancement and generally fans should be pretty pleased with the image quality of this disc.

The Audio:

Warner Brothers have supplied two audio options on this release - a remastered Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound mix in the film's native English or a Dolby Digital Mono mix presented in Japanese. Optional subtitles are available in English, French and Japanese. The 5.1 mix is pretty solid, making good use of the surrounds and presenting the film with nice, clear dialogue. The mix isn't as active as you might expect it to be during certain scenes but the rears kick in nicely a few times as does the subwoofer. For a remixed film that's now over twenty-five years old, Brainstorm sounds just fine though purists will no doubt lament the inclusion of the original sound mix in lieu of this 5.1 track.

The Extras:

Aside from a static menu and chapter selection, the only extra included on this DVD is the film's original North American theatrical trailer. While it's nice to see the trailer here (it plays well), a featurette or commentary with Walken or Trumbull would have gone a long way towards making this release more interesting than it is.

Overall:

Douglas Trumbull's moderately interesting science fiction thriller is still worth a watch even if it feels a bit dated in terms of technology and the like. Warner Brothers has done a nice job with the transfer and with the audio, even if the original audio track should have been included and the extras are slim. Recommended for Walken fans and science fiction buffs, a decent rental for everyone else.

Ian lives in NYC with his wife where he writes for DVD Talk, runs Rock! Shock! Pop!. He likes NYC a lot, even if it is expensive and loud.