Genres

Visitors Review

2012-05-25 12:13:08

What a fun movie!

This movie is kind of obscure to most but it's still an exceptional film. Dennis Quaid was pre-Inner Space, pre-Dragonheart and was sort of on the threshold of being one of the more fun and interesting actors of our time. This was also an overshadowed film by the mega horror spectacle "A Nightmare on Elm Street" but it's still great fun to enjoy. Very imaginative and different. The dream sequences were phenominal for the time when this film came out. Sort of an Indiana Jones meets Jacobs Ladder. With the exception of a weak ending and geeky special effects it's a great story and one that should be a addition to any collection. Enjoy!

Rob Thomas 2012-05-25 03:26:55

An imaginative sci-fi thriller, even though the effects don't hold up today.

BA_Harrison 2012-05-23 13:33:31

Dream a little dream of me.

Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid), a smart-ass sax-playing psychic, ispress-ganged into taking part in a top secret dream-experiment, wherebyhe is able to enter the subconscious minds of people suffering fromnightmares.When the President of the USA (Eddie Albert) is brought to thehigh-tech dream facility (in an attempt to help rid him of hisrecurring visions of a nuclear apocalypse), Alex discovers that anassassination attempt is about to take place: evil G-man Bob Blair(Christopher Plummer) has recruited Alex's nasty psychic counterpartTommy Ray (David Patrick Kelly) to try and snuff out the Prez byentering his mind while he sleeps and killing him. Only Alex, with somehelp from sexy scientist Jane DeVries (Kate Capshaw), can thwart theplan, by also slipping into the top man's 'dreamscape' and confrontingbad-guy Tommy before he can carry out his dastardly deed.Made in 1984, the same year as A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dreamscape issuspiciously similar, thematically, to Wes Craven's famous horrorflick. Since Craven's film had been in development for some time beforeDreamscape, one can only assume that the people behind this thrillerhad caught wind of Wes's project, and decided to borrow certainelements for their own dream-based adventure. It doesn't really matter,however, because the film ends up taking its own path: where Wes's filmwas purely an out and out horror, Dreamscape is part action, partsci-fi, part horror, and part comedy, and the result is a terrific slabof cheesy 80s fun.Quaid makes a likable protagonist, and he is ably supported by animpressive cast, which also includes the excellent Max Von Sydow asAlex's mentor, and George Wendt (from Cheers) as a novelist who firstalerts our hero to the more sinister side of meddling with dreams. Theaction aspect of the film is its weakest point (mostly consisting ofsome fairly unexceptional chase scenes), but the fantasy angle morethan makes up for things. When Alex masters the art of entering thedream realm, the fun really begins.After testing his psychic abilities on a few easy cases, Alex meets hisfirst real challenge when he volunteers to help a boy who is sufferingfrom recurring nightmares about a snake-man. This sequence, which takesplace in a wonderfully realised expressionist set, is great fun andfeatures some less-than-perfect stop motion animation and creatureeffects which only add to the film's charm.Alex successfully helps the boy confront his fears and defeat thesnake-man, but in doing so, he makes an enemy of Tommy Ray, who isjealous of his new rival. Inevitably, the two psychics eventually meetin the atomic wasteland of the President's subconscious, and Tommy isnot only determined to 'off' the country's leader, but also to get evenwith Alex. In this great finalé, which is surprisingly scary andoccasionally gruesome (at one point, Tommy Ray pulls a still beatingheart from one character's chest),the bad guy uses every trickavailable to him in the dream realm, turning his fingers into blades(Freddy Krueger, anyone?), doing a martial arts routine with glowingnunchakus, summoning the help of radioactive zombies, and transforminghimself into Alex's secret fear—the snake-man.

2012-05-22 21:09:16

Murder In Dreams, With A Crafty, Honest Performance By Dennis Quaid

They're sitting at a table in an off-campus restaurant close to Thornhill College. A pitcher of beer sits between them. "Let's play a little game," says Dr. Paul Novotny, head of a secret psychic research project, to Alex Gardner, who had been one of his top subjects a few years ago. "Let's pretend that a man, with a little help from science, could psychically project himself inside the dream of a sleeping person. Then pretend, once inside the dream, he becomes an active participant in it. He'd actually be there, right in the middle...would feel the dream...experience it...even shape and alter the dream itself. What would you say to a notion like that?"Alex (Dennis Quaid), who had left Dr. Novotny (Max Von Sydow) previously because he was tired of being an experimental subject, reluctantly agrees to help a man he respects and likes. He meets Paul Novotny's associate, Jane DeVries (Kate Capshaw), and an edgy, tentative romance starts. He enters the dream of a nebbishy husband with sexual inadequacy issues and helps identify the cause of the problems. He volunteers to enter the dream of a small boy who has debilitating nightmares about a horrific snakeman and guides the boy, within the dream, to conquer fear. And he meets Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer). He learns Blair is the head of the government's covert intelligence operation, and that it is Blair who is funding Novotny's research program. Just think, Blair says at one moment, how important it could be to have U.S. agents enter the dreams of our enemies...or our friends. Unspoken is the potential to assassinate through dreams. Blair has a problem. The President of the United States (Eddie Albert) is having nightmares about nuclear destruction; he is determined to come to an agreement with the Soviets on nuclear disarmament. Blair is opposed...and sympathetically convinces the President to come to Thornhill College where the special dream program may just be able to help. What Blair doesn't mention is that one of those trained to enter dreams is his creature, and this person, Billy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly) is a psychopathic killer. Blair intends to solve the President's nightmare problems permanently by having Billy Ray be the one to enter the President's dreams.And the plot deepens. Alex and others learn of the plot. Some die. Alex must find a way, while being hunted by Blair's men, to enter the President's dream, cancel out the presence of Billy Ray and bring the President back safely. If he's successful, he will also have to find a way to deal with Bob Blair, who is an unforgiving sort of man.I like this movie a lot, but it seems often overlooked. It has a weird, interesting premise, a performance by Quaid that is crafty and very attractive; Von Sydow is immensely sympathetic and solid, and Plummer is smooth and ruthless; the story line moves along at a fairly rapid pace, taking its time to set up the story, then moving fast to the climax. The movie carries along a romance and some comedy, but plays it serious when it gets down to business. The dream sequences, in particular, I think are well handled. They aren't overpowered as they would be today by Computer Generated Overkill. We find ourselves in strange landscapes, red dusks, ruined escalators diving down into blasted buildings, odd time shifts, hounds with glowing red eyes, swaying steel girders high above the streets, twisting pits and endless staircases, deep shadows in dark greens and purples, odd-angled railway carriages, the dead with radiation scars and dripping wounds, the snakeman all scales and teeth. And in the president's dream we have Billy Ray out to kill, changing shape, merciless. When he tells Alex to have a heart, he means it.The DVD picture looks good. There are a couple of extras which I didn't check out, including a commentary by the writer, producer and special effects artist.

willywants 2012-05-21 18:40:04

Tons of fun!

Mild spoilers in plot description; be warned.A government funded project looks into using psychics to enter people'sdreams, with some mechanical help. When a subject dies in his sleep from aheart attack Alex Gardner becomes suspicious that another of the psychics iskilling people in the dreams somehow and that is causing them to die in reallife. He must find a way to stop the abuse of the power to enter dreams. Anexcellent cast and an interesting premise to back it up. A little bit datedhere and there (Horrendous 80's score, bad blue-screen work among otherthings.) but there is a little suspense and some nice special effects (Thesnake man was great, either in stop-motion or man-in-suit form) and a funclimactic battle make this film an enjoyable, exciting low-budget effort.8/10ABOUT THE DVD: great DVD treatment courtesy of Image entertainment. The filmis presented in 1.78:1 animorphic widescreen which is generally a impressivetransfer for the films age, despite a few grainy scenes but generally theblacks are solid and skin tones fine.Audio is fine too, with a reasonably stimulating sound that packs at least alittle "Umph". We get a nice amount of extras, including a special effectstest reel, a photo gallery, and a commentary by the writer, producer, andeffects artist. Despite the age of the people on this commentary, it's asurprisingly energetic commentary and these people have a lot to say. Myrating for the DVD: 8/10.

jdavenpo 2012-05-21 05:02:29

Inception lovers, consider this one

I watched this as a teenager in the theater. This movie was one of thefew movies in my life that I continually reflected upon.Do dreams really matter, how important are they, and can you trulycontrol dreams as though you lived in the Matrix? I loved this moviethen, and after watching Inception, i wanted to go back and rent thismovie again. Will watch it in the coming week.Nothing is more exciting than to think that every night we enter ourown alien world where we have more control and more power than we haveever realized.We don't have enough dream research going on.

gridoon 2012-05-20 02:10:15

Generally enjoyable film.

"Dreamscape" does require a little more suspension of disbelief that mostentries in the sci-fi genre, but adds up to well-paced, generallyenjoyable,occasionally exciting film. Effects are somewhat dated today, but Quaid'scharming, confident performance makes up for that. Definitely a minorpicture, but still unjustly neglected.

Jonathon Dabell 2012-05-19 04:56:13

Inventive science fiction film which runs short of imagination by the end, but is thought-provoking most of the way.

On the level of interesting concepts, there can't be many films morepromising than Dreamscape. The finished product might not beparticularly great, but the central idea upon which the entire story isbuilt is very impressive indeed. Dreams are such a weird and personalphenomena. They throw up so many fascinating possibilities andquestions. And most importantly of all, EVERYONE has dreams, whichmeans that Dreamscape is a film that people can identify withuniversally.Psychic Alex Gardner (Dennid Quaid) joins a dream research project runby ambitious scientist Dr Paul Novotny (Max Von Sydow). Dr Novotny hasdevised a sophisticated laboratory where he can carry out these studiesof dreams. More innovatively, the doctor has also made a breakthroughin the idea of "dream-linking", a process by which one person can enteranother's dreams and have a direct influence over the events takingplace. Gardner becomes a dream linker and learns how to enter thedreams of other people. During his dream linking he has variousoutlandish experiences, including helping an insecure man to catch hiswife having sex with his brother, and helping a young nightmare-plaguedboy to defeat a snake-man who haunts his dreams. Gardner also dreamlinks with one of Dr Novotny's pretty assistants, Dr Jane Devries (KateCapshaw), and together they share an erotic fantasy. The research takesa turn for the sinister when the President of the USA (Eddie Albert)comes forth admitting that he has been experiencing recurringnightmares about a nuclear holocaust. Gardner has begun to suspect thatdream linkers may have the power to murder people in their dreams,thereby causing them to die in real life. He figures out thatgovernment conspirator Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer) has pumpedfunding into the dream research project, but all along has harbouredthe ulterior motive of sending in an assassin to kill the President inhis dreams. Gardner is the only person who knows of the assassinationplot, so he enters the President's dreams to protect him from thedream-linking assassin, Tommy Ray Glatman (David Patrick Kelly).Dreamscape is imaginative and rather philosophical stuff, withenjoyable dream sequences. The special effects are a little dated,especially during the snake man sequence, but for the time are justabout acceptable. Quaid gives a likable performance as the reluctanthero, with Von Sydow in his usual commanding form as the innovativescientist in charge of the research. Kate Capshaw is attractive andintelligent as the love interest (it's a shame she never got strongerroles after this), while Plummer does another of his shadowy villainroles with customary silky menace. The film eventually settles down tobecome a political-assassination thriller, and at this point thefantastical, limitless possibilities inherent in the story suddenlybecome all too conventional. But, for the majority of the way,Dreamscape is an enjoyable and thought-provoking film.

Noel Bailey 2012-05-14 18:29:54

A generation almost before THE CELL, there was DREAMSCAPE

Beloved by most who have seen it (Hell that places you more than likely at40 plus to start with) DREAMSCAPE, besides being a clever and meaningfultitle, presents a thought provoking concept - the ability to enter another'sdreams and influence the outcome of real-time. In THIS case to commitpresidential assassination. Makes DREW BARRYMORE'S talents in FIRESTARTERpositively out-dated!A young Quaid is Alex Gardner, whose mentor Dr Novotny (Von Sydow) hassupported his work in dream-time research. Alex is real hot stuff at hiscraft and has helped devised apparatus that can project one's dream-stateinto the mind of another. Some of the early dreamscape sequences are reallyquite well done which reflect positively on the director and productionteam. Not easy after all to bequeath credibility to what is after all, apreposterous concept.Christopher Plummer does his usual, though limited (screen-timewise)impression of Christopher Plummer having a bad day. Quaid's nemesis isa remarkably evil little man - Tommy Ray Glatman, who regrettably sharesQuaid's abilities to infiltrate dreams. Tommy Ray, played by slimy David(why wasn't I a jockey?) Patrick Kelly, was last seen playing exactly thesame character, while being hung unceremoniously upside-down over a cliff byBig Arnie in COMMANDO.Eddie Albert who unfortunately will ALWAYS look like he's wandered off theset of GREEN ACRES plays the President, haunted by decidedly worryingdreams. The denouement is well done and most satisfying. Miss Capshaw, inthe days before she decided to be Mrs Spielberg is suitable fluffy atQuaid's romantic interest.All up though, one to catch!

A.J. 2012-05-14 09:41:17

Neat Movie

This is a neat little movie about invading other people's dreams. Dennis Quaid is great as the loose cannon with the gift juxtaposed with lovely Kate Capshaw as the scientist. Christopher Plummer is great as the villain trying to assassinate the president in his dreams.

2012-05-13 09:27:17

Great old ridiculous Sci-Fi yarn.

A preposterous but very fun film from the mid-80s, with great casting, quick pacing, above-average dialogue and a solid plot that weaves together some very imaginative ideas. Don't know what Dr. Freud would think of this band of Dream Psychologists, and things get a little silly once it the film comes full circle with its psuedo-scientific premises...but it all works in a Twilight Zone kind of way. That is to say - despite the incredible suspension of disbelief required, or perhaps because of it, the dark and cautionary messages of the film are nested in pure escapism.Brainstorm is a similar film, but that one gets way too preachy and turns idiotic in the last half. The Dead Zone is a totally different tone which takes its subject more seriously and has more to say about the responsibilities of those who have "gifts". Dreamscape, although it is by far the most goofy, makes equally good points and is a hell of a lot more fun than either of the other two. Also included is the requisite mid-80s romance with the future Mrs. Spielberg, who thankfully doesn't have to either sing or scream in this outing.

2012-05-12 18:29:54

Dream a Little Dream of Me

Is it true that if you die in your dream that you die in real life?The Upanishads show that dreaming is just another reality. This is revolutionary for its time. Now we have seen the schema several times since and there is more versions to come. However, this still plays well today. You will have to overlook the cheap cheesy electronic background music. O.K. and the cheap cheesy graphics. However, there is a beautiful shot of the Pacific coast Highway.Psychic Alex Gardner (Dennis Quaid) is compelled to take part in an experiment that as with any science can have a great impact for good or evil. Therefore, we need to figure out who are the good people and who are not. He works with a beautiful doctor Jane DeVries (Kate Capshaw), his old mentor, Doctor Paul Novotny (Max von Sydow) and a mysterious authority Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer). Watch the commentary with producer Bruce Cohn Curtis, writer David Loughery and special effects artist Craig Reardon on the Blu-ray version. This will fill in all the items that the review overlooked.The Thirteenth Floor [Blu-ray]Inception (2010)

Scarecrow-88 2012-05-03 19:19:26

Dreamscape

I've always been fond of movies whose topic is about dreams because itprovides room for filmmakers to be unpredictable, imaginative, andinventive, both visually and thematically. While Joseph Ruben'sDreamscape carries the oft-used plot of a shadowy government conspiracyregarding a dangerous bureaucrat with powerful ties whose plan is tokill the President of the United States because of fears that he'llweaken our country due to his desires to start nuclear disarmamenttalks, I thought the movie's bread and butter is the many dreamsequences where we go inside the night terrors which plague certainhuman subjects.Achieving the power to enter the dreams of troubled people who havebecome so deeply affected they aren't able to function normally insociety or in life in general, Dr. Paul Novotny(Max Von Sydow)recruitspowerful telepaths to work in his "dream chamber" in an attempt to helpthose in need of rescue. Alex Gardner(Dennis Quaid) is such a telepath,incredibly gifted and intelligent, but lacks the motivation or care touse them towards the greater good. Reluctantly committing to Novotny'sexperiments, Gardner finds that helping others recover from thenightmares that haunt them is an exciting, wonderful ability which hegradually embraces and finds rewarding. Meanwhile Bob Blair(ChristopherPlummer), responsible for funding Novotny's project, prepares to murderthe President(Eddie Albert), believing he's weakening our country dueto how he's allowed his nightmares to affect his conduct as thenation's leader. Blair intends to use a psychopathic telepath, TommyRay Glatman(David Patrick Kelly in one of his customary smarmy creeproles)to kill the President inside his dream. It'll be up to Alex, andJane(Kate Capshaw), Novotny's assistant, to stop Blair or else riskequipping a tool of destruction into the hands of dangerous peoplewilling to exploit it's power. A horror novelist, Charlie(GeorgeWendt)risks his life getting vital information to Alex, motivating hiscause to upend Blair and his nefarious schemes.I personally found the whole political intrigue rather ho-hum, reallyenjoying the angle of the ability to enter the dreams to help those inneed instead. Alex uses the term "cerebral voyeurs" as their titlewhich I thought was an apt description of us, the viewers, as well. Iparticularly found the journeys into the nightmares of a little boytormented by a killer snake man, and the President's nuclear holocaustwhere the world represents destruction and ruin(..with diseased anddead asking why they were victimized)rather harrowing and thrilling.This, I felt, was where the movie really hums. The sub-plot, however,allows the horrifying idea of how such abilities can be used negativelyin the wrong hands, where, initially, the project was for thebetterment of the human race. Plummer is the perfect choice to portraya governmental sociopath in a suit and tie, more than willing to killwhoever in order to see that America remains the way he thinks it oughtto be. Eddie Albert, albeit a small role, has a pivotal part as thePresident, particularly when he and Alex are protecting themselvesagainst Tommy, who has become a major threat since being given a placeto practice his homicidal tendencies. Quaid is a young hunk, with acharming smile, and has a likable air about him, despite his cockyreckless behavior, with the on-going crisis asking him to grow up andget serious about the developing situation. Capshaw, in a ratherthankless role, has the part of attractive love-interest who helps Alexin their mission to stop Blair(..her train car fantasy with Quaid getsquite steamy, interrupted before they get busy). Max von Sydow is thedisappointed scientist who thought his work offered the world abenefit, saddened that Blair had other plans for the dream project,with designs on using it to kill instead of heal.When Alex enters the dreams of subjects, we witness a path through atype of multi-colored wormhole. Most of the dreams are shot using softfocus light, with Ruben often incorporating odd angles, creating adisorienting atmosphere that projects a unique universe for which Alexoperates within the subjects he wishes to help. The conclusion is niceand tidy, rather predictable, those with malevolent intentions gettingtheir just desserts.You can really see why Quaid became a star, with his looks and talenton display.

Q H 2012-05-03 05:02:15

dream scenes

I don't remember seeing this in the 80's, but watched it on AMCrecently. The dream scenes may have been "cheesy" as some put it, but theyworked. Better than having them all shiny and computerized. The stylelooked a lot like the Twilight Zone movie....all crooked doors, funkyangles etc. It might be cool to see it redone, maybe not TOO computerized though.More psychological than visual. Some seriously big names in this movie though. Was fun seeing DennisQuaid all perky and cocky, like he was in Breaking Away. Have fun...there is nothing better than a good sci-fi or any sci-fi forthat matter!!!

coolspot 2012-05-01 07:56:00

An original story with lots of ironic twists

Reminds me of the old Outer Limits and it's ironic twists. I thought themovie had a good story, with good actors. The movie setting was not likeyouexpect in a big epic movie but the story is good and well worth checkingout. I recommend it to anyone over 13 due to a few scaryparts.

2012-04-30 16:27:40

Blu Ray Version Is A Rip Off

I am disgusted that companies can market a movie as a blu ray which implies enhanced sound and picture only to provide you with an unaltered straight from DVD transfer. While the sound was on par with standard DVD audio the picture was horrible. The movie had all the little white static-like spots in every frame as if you were watching a high school reel projector movie. It was VHS quality visuals. Nothing is touched up visually from the original movie. The green screen scenes are obvious. And with barely 5 minutes of extras, most of which are still photos, this can hardly be considered a "special edition" of anything.Image Entertainment has made a name for themselves releasing IMAX and concert blu rays. Reviews of those discs have me scratching my head as to why they would release "Dreamscape" on blu ray at all when they enhance other films for the blu ray upgrade. It is apparent to me this movie came out to capitalize on the upcoming blu ray release of "A Nightmare On Elm Street" which shares some similar themes.Do not buy this blu ray. You can purchase the "Special Edition" DVD release here on amazon.com for $6.99 or this movie shows up in the Walmart $5 bin from time to time. There is no difference in the quality of the DVD and blu ray releases except for the price. Someone should prevent these companies from releasing "fake" blu rays at once. And amazon.com should pull this release from their site before someone else makes the same mistake I did and purchases this "fake" blu ray.

James Plath 2012-04-25 20:20:34

Pretty solid thriller with Quaid in his element.

2012-04-25 08:48:22

Joseph Ruben's "Dreamscape"

To Some It Will Seem A Little Far Fetched, But In This Film, Psychics Can Enter Other People's Nightmares And Put An End To Them...If You Can Go Along With The Premise, This Movie Will Reward You With Fantastic Special Effects, Thrills, Chills, And Surprises...Starring Dennis Quaid, Max Von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Kate Capshaw, And Eddie Albert...

2012-04-20 19:35:56

Found it At Last

We used to have this one VHS and the tape broke ::wibble:: I have been looking for it on DVD for years. It's A Sci-Fi/Fantasy with Dennis Quaid (who we both had teen crushes on) and Max von Sydow an accomplished actor who run a project on getting into people's dreams. Christopher Plummer gets to be the governmental bad guy just "trying" to protect Eddie Albert who is the country's President but who really wants the position for himself after the president decides to take the Russians up on the SALT talks (yep this was waaay back in the 80's).One watches it and laughs at the huge computers but the story is still good and we both still loved it as much as we did when we saw it in the theater.

Douglas Pratt 2012-04-20 12:04:46

A perfect piece of escapist entertainment