137. 'Brainstorm' (1983)

After my last episode with the wonderful, artfully creepy 'The Dead Zone'...I wanted more. More Walken. More Sci-Fi. More 1983. And then Louise Fletcher died. And it was all right there: BRAINSTORM. Douglas Trumbull's 1983 science-fiction passion project-turned-albatross. On the surface it has it all: a killer cast, a great premise (what if you could experience the thoughts and feelings of other people through a breakthrough of computer technology), and a proven special effects commodity in its director. But as always seems to be the case with the not-quite-great films that start so promisingly...there were in retrospect warning signs. Trumbull intended to film the movie in his groundbreaking film format 'Showscan' but the studio balked at the expense and need for theater owners to install expensive new equipment. Then, various screenwriters took stabs at the script. And infamously, Natalie Wood, filming her return to the big screen after taking a break to be a Mom, died during filming while on a mysterious overnight yacht trip onboard husband Robert Wagner's boat, with only Christopher Walken along. The case was never solved and was last reopened in 2018. So, for all that sturm und drang...how is 'Brainstorm' as a film? Listen to the episode to find out.