Release Date: October 21, 2025
Prices and Links:
Criterion- $39.96 (4K+Blu-ray), $31.96 (Blu-ray only)
OrbitDVD- $33.99 (4K+Blu-ray)
Director: Ken Russell
Writer: Paddy Chayefsky
Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid, Thaao Penghlis
The ultimate cinematic head trip of the 1980s, British renegade Ken Russell’s first Hollywood film—adapted by the legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky from his own novel—is part hallucinogenic freak-out, part gonzo creature feature, part transcendent love story, all played at a fever pitch. When researcher Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) begins using himself as a test subject for his mind-expanding psychological experiments, it sends him on an increasingly dangerous, substance-fueled odyssey from humankind’s primordial past to the outer limits of consciousness. It’s all visualized by Russell in a psychedelic supernova of out-there imagery that encompasses everything from the pagan to the cosmic sublime, culminating in a brain-wave-blasting battle between the mind and the heart.
Prices and Links:
Criterion- $39.96 (4K+Blu-ray), $31.96 (Blu-ray only)
OrbitDVD- $33.99 (4K+Blu-ray)
Director: Ken Russell
Writer: Paddy Chayefsky
Starring: William Hurt, Blair Brown, Bob Balaban, Charles Haid, Thaao Penghlis
- United States
- 1980
- 103 minutes
- Color
- 1.85:1
- English
The ultimate cinematic head trip of the 1980s, British renegade Ken Russell’s first Hollywood film—adapted by the legendary screenwriter Paddy Chayefsky from his own novel—is part hallucinogenic freak-out, part gonzo creature feature, part transcendent love story, all played at a fever pitch. When researcher Eddie Jessup (William Hurt) begins using himself as a test subject for his mind-expanding psychological experiments, it sends him on an increasingly dangerous, substance-fueled odyssey from humankind’s primordial past to the outer limits of consciousness. It’s all visualized by Russell in a psychedelic supernova of out-there imagery that encompasses everything from the pagan to the cosmic sublime, culminating in a brain-wave-blasting battle between the mind and the heart.
4K UHD + BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
- New 4K digital restoration, with 2.0 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Alternate 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- One 4K UHD disc of the film presented in Dolby Vision HDR and one Blu-ray with the film and special features
- New audio commentary featuring film historian Samm Deighan
- Archival interviews with director Ken Russell and actor William Hurt
- New interview with special-visual-effects designer Bran Ferren
- Trailer
- English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- PLUS: An essay by film critic Jessica Kiang
