Brainstorm

Starring: Christopher Walken & Natalie Wood Director: Douglas Trumbull  Rated:

DVD Features:

Audio:

• Dolby Surround Sound - English
• Dolby Surround Sound - French

Additional Release Material:

• Trailers - 1.Original Theatrical Trailer

Interactive Features:

• Interactive Menus
• Scene Access

Product Description:

Two scientists, Michael and Karen Brace are developing a virtual reality system that sends sensory inputs into the brain and can record sights, sounds, feelings, and even dreams. The military attempts to take over the project when a senior worker begins to die of a heart attack and uses the system to tape the experience. They will do anything to get it. Natalie Wood's last film.

Plot Keywords:

Military | Suspense | Theatrical Release | Thriller

Production Notes:

• Natalie Wood died on November 29, 1981, only five days before she would have completed filming her role. She drowned in a mysterious boating accident that also involved co-star Christopher Walken and her husband Robert Wagner. Only one scene was altered, with actor Joe Dorsey replacing Wood in a scene with Walken.
• "Brainstorm" was special effects wizard Douglas Trumbull's second directorial effort, after 1972's "Silent Running."
• Additional crew: Robert Jeffords & Eugene Mazzola (assistant directors); Stanislav and Christina Grof (experiental sequence consultants); Durk Pearson (scientific consultant); Sandy Shaw (scientific consultant); Omnivision (special purpose lenses); Don Baker (Compsy [computer-synthesized] effects supervisor); Mark Stetson (action props & miniatures supervisor); Matthew Yuricich (matte artist); Robert Hippard (post-production coordinator); Jack Hinkle (assistant editor visual effects); Michael Backauskas (optical lineup); Richard Hollander (Compsy technical supervisor); Chuck Cowles (optical camera operator); and Evans Wetmore (consulting engineer).
• Estimated budget: $18 million. Trumbull was forced to go to insurance company Lloyd's of London to secure $6 million of that budget to complete the special effects.
• Filmed at Entertainment Effects Group's studios and on location in North Carolina in 1981. Color by Metrocolor. Sound is six-track magnetic Dolby Stereo.
• Most of the film was shot in non-anamorphic 35mm Spherical Panavision, which produced a projected aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Super Panavision 70 was reportedly used in the "experiential" sequences, producing a projected aspect ratio of 2.05:1.
• Released theatrically in the USA September 30, 1983, to 175 theaters. This initial release was only to theaters equipped with 70mm projectors. The film received a wider release to non-70mm theaters in November.
• Not to be confused with the 1965 film, "Brainstorm," which starred Jeffrey Hunter, Anne Francis, Dana Andrews, and Viveca Lindfors.
• Available to buy in the UK.
• DVD Special Features: Trivia and Production Notes and Theatrical Trailer.
• All locations for Brainstorm were in North Carolina, USA.

Cast and Crew: