The first third of this film is outstanding, great acting, the story compelling.
Then the devolving into the caveman scene showed up. And from that point on the film fell apart, including the silly ending and everyone had to know he was finally going to tell her that thing he couldn't before.
I guess some scenes are trippy and meant to inspire, evoke emotions through images ala 2001. But even though some of those were well done it added very little to the film.
Lost in all that are some fine performances, particularly William Hurt. In the hands of a better director this could have been a masterpiece.

Agreed. I mean, what was the director thinking?! Everything was going so good, and then it all got ruined with the "ape man".

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I don't think he was an ape man, but a prehistoric man. The character had gone back to his "first form." That may be what you're all referring to as an ape man or what the radiologist called "a gorilla," but the two would be different.

the ape scene rules! And it was clearly paid homage to in Walk Hard:Dewey Cox when Dewey tries angel dust.

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The ape man takes up maybe fifteen minutes of the film. The story is after all about Ed Jessup's regression to the "First Thought", which is why the ape man is only one phase of the transformation. Maybe the scene could have been shortened, but it was essential to the process.
Sorry, I wasn't listening or thinking, whichever one applies.

I totally agree. The movie was intense and visually stunning until that apeman BS. The lame interpretaive running, the ricotta cheesy noises/screams he yelped, weren't his eyes electric blue also? Really lame especially since I thought it was a great film before all that ape crap. I would recommed it to friends but warn them that it get's pretty cheesy at a certain ponit but the 1st half is a must see

If the movie had continued with the ape man concept going into like a werewolf-type storyline it would have sucked. But it's used properly in the concept of his backwards evolution.

this movie may i say is an astonishing work of visual art. absolutly beautiful.
i will say the apeman scene was kinda bad. the idea wasn't bad but the scene seemed really corney to me. omg that tweak out scene newar the end good god that is as close as it gets to a visual orgasm.

FYA The A-ha video was made well after Altered States and the ending was inspired by it.
Question: Did you ever hurt yourself to make somebody sorry?

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