Rating: Summary: GOD IS ALIVE AND WELL IN A SUGAR CUBE Review: ..is one of the famous lines you will hear and see in this great Psychedelic Trip of 1968. Directed by Richard Rush, and with a fabulous cast. I had not really heard of many of the actors, then did some investigating on my own. Of course we know what happened to Jack Nicholson; Adam Roarke (plays Ben) died in 1996. What a handsome and good actor he was!!! Also Susan Strasberg (also passed on in 1999) adorable and wonderful! She was the hottest thing going at this time in 1968, and Richard Rush was happy to have her play Jenny Davis, the young deaf runaway looking for her brother (played by Bruce Dern). I had not heard of Max Julien before, he's great, and actually the "baby of the group" (born in 1945 while the others born around 1937, 1938.) So he was 23 when he made the film. Dean Stockwell is terrific as "DAVE", the guy who believes that "all the games gotta go, or else it's just a plastic hassle"!!! I just love his manner of speaking ("Games again, Stoney?") and his great hairstyle with the headband. He's very 1968~~ and such beautiful eyes/lashes on him!!! Also Henry Jaglom, who plays the artist Warren, and goes on a bad trip and his buddies go and rescue him. Look for a group called "THE SEEDS", & of course, the beloved STRAWBERRY ALARM CLOCK. One of the best scenes in this film is called THE BEADS OF INNOCENCE, the music and the "critical focus" of the camera, as Richard Rush puts it in his commentary. Very nice film! sorry they edited it! I noticed some stuff cut short, but thought oh well. Would like to see the longer version of this movie. Either that, or Please Richard Rush, put this out on it's own!!! And add the cut scenes and stuff you may have in the film can at home! Five Star Movie! I watch it over and over. So, Tune In, And Trip Out, to Psych Out!
Rating: Summary: 'Mind-Expansion' - - Cinema style! Review: I guess I wasn't as quick to 'watch it all' & write the review, but it's such a nice package, it takes a few days to see & hear EVERY thing! This is a VERY NICE re-issue of these two classic AIP films [actually 'the Trip' was NEVER even put out on ANY kind of video before!]. You get 2 films on a 2 sided DVD, PLUS interviews, theatrical trailers, commentary & 'The Trip' side has a section of the 'soundtrack score' [in STEREO!] while you watch samplings of the cool kaliedoscope visuals, etc. The Trip also has the option of listening to Roger Corman's scene by scene recollections [by the way... HOW MANY times DID 'Dennis Hopper' use the word 'MAN'?? :-)] Lastly, I first saw 'The Trip' in 1988 on late night TV and have trying to get a copy ever since. It's more 'toned-down' than 'Psych-Out'. The Trip is a more 'experimental' portrayal of it's theme, it's actually quit nice [if you like films like '2001: A Space Odyssey' as I do!!]. I first saw 'Psych-Out' [also!] in 1988 on a rental tape & was dissappointed when compared to 'The Trip'. 'Psych-Out' has too many 'actors' in it ALL trying to 'out-speak' each other [what Corman's film fortunately got away from!]. Jack Nicholson has ALWAYS been a terrific actor [!] but being a musician & watching him acting as a 'guitarist' was cheesy [maybe it was intentional?? :-)] But Nicholson ALSO wrote 'The Trip' script, so his talents are quite broad. You'll see 'actors' portraying a band in the club scene in the 'Trip' too. [OK, I'll shut up about 'actors vs. musicians'!] Bruce Dern is in both films, a 'professor-type' in 'The Trip' ... and a disciple/ hippie [with a really BAD wig!! :-)] in 'Psych-Out'. It's interesting to see a young Dean Stockwell too. Anyway watching BOTH films NOW, they're BOTH good for being slices of culture from that time when...... aww, YOU know! 'The Strawberry Alarm Clock' & 'Sky Saxon & The Seeds' make a good cameo in 'Psych-Out' as well. While the films aren't the 'greatest films ever made', THIS double feature DVD package is VERY NICE, hence the 4 stars. Buy it........it'll Blow Your Mind!' [ha ha!]
Rating: Summary: Edited version is a real bummer, man. Review: I know Psych-Out pretty well, so I was very happy when it was released on DVD. Unfortunatly, scene after scene on this disk has been edited, or cut short, so they could fit two movies on one disk, I guess. Max Julian's excellent acid trip is practically cut out of the movie. You miss him paint 'love' over the stop sign as he babbles "beautiful... really beautiful." You might notice that 'Incense and Peppermints' ends abruptly early. This is really awful. I'm sorry to say it, because I've wanted this movie on disk for so long. What more can I say? A fun movie, but you don't get all of it on this disk. I haven't been able to bring myself to see if they left The Trip intact, it's a weaker movie though. These movies are worth adding to your collection. It's just too bad you don't get the whole movie. Why did they do this?
Rating: Summary: The LSD tripumentary Review: I was so pleaed to see both these movies on a single DVD cause I was going to buy both of them anyway. First off Psych out shows Jack Nicholson in his heyday as 'Stoney' a hippie in the haight ashbury district of San Francisco smack dab in the middle of the hippie movement with lots of great sixties psychedelia and a wonderul soundtrack and a good storyline. Next on the double bill is 'the Trip' the reason I bought this DVD;It was written by Jack Nicholson and stars Peter Fonda,a man who just went through a divorce seeks his friends guidance in an LSD trip to better understand his problems but as the hallucinations grow and the confusion of the trip set in you are guided on a trip through the city from paranoia to horror to ecstacy and you in the end are as unsure of things as he is cause you all in'all experience what he experiences. Truly brilliant film making for a truly surreal glimpse into the often misunderstood world of psychedellic drugs. You get the impression LSD is neither glorified or villified just documented.
Rating: Summary: I was so excited when I saw Psych-Out was on dvd Review: It is such a fun movie, and has the best cheese that a 60s psychedelic flick can bring. But reading the reviews, and finding that the movie has been cut, is disappointing. Why would they do that?? Can someone post how much is cut from it, and what scenes? I'm still debating whether or not to buy it anyway."The Trip" is pretty boring, but still worth watching once if you're into these kinds of movies.
Rating: Summary: Two groovy movies - - - one groovy disk Review: Psych-Out, weird from the start, but a true classic in every sence of the word. The film has some really good performers in it; the greatly missed Susan Strasberg, who stars as a young deaf lady looking for her brother in San Fransico, Dean Stockwell and Jack Nicholson and others. It has a soundtrack that is outstanding, featuring The Strawberry Alarm Clock and The Seeds and a very important anti drugs message. A film NOT to be missed! I had never seen The Trip before, Susan Strasberg also appears, though not as prominent as she was in Psych-Out, Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper (always welcome) and Bruce Dern (who has a minor, but pivotal role in Psych-Out). IMHO it's not as well acted as Psych-Out, but it's enjoyable. Another important message about the dangers of drugs. An extremely weird movie! Both movies come complete with some interesting features. Interesting to see how American International (maker of these movies) changed with the times, from early 60s Beach Party, to late 60s happenings with these movies. I cannot recommend this movie enough, especially for Psych-Out, which is a true classic!
Rating: Summary: Acid IS Groovy Review: Really great double feature! Psych-Out features a new documentary interviewing Rush, Kovacks, Dick Clark, and a bitter Bruce Dern! Fun! Then you get a real great looking and sounding print of the film. Nice to see that Nicholson couldn't really act much back then too! He's perfected his "Jack" character so well that he literally turns it on and off for the cameras. Then, suddenly, Dern walks in and blows Nicholson's "talent" away. To top it off, Dern's hippie wig is even more silly than Nicholsons, yet his acting is superior. Great music to boot: The Seeds and The Strawberry Alarm Clock! I'm going to watch The Trip tonight, and expect nothing less than what I got with Pysch-Out. In fact, I will be so "loaded" that this film should blow my mind!
Rating: Summary: Wait until the FULL versions come out - stick it to the man! Review: Sadly, The Trip and Psych-Out have apparently been cut up and censored beyond belief. And why? Of course it was all done by the establishment, man. That's right - the powers that be don't want we the people to see and hear the real truth. They had already proved that by banning these flicks from VHS as well. This is just so totally bogus! So I say we boycott these films until the Republican jack-boot army, that hates all expressions of peace and love, finally stops hiding all that beautiful footage from us! Yes, I said boycott! Boycott! BOYCOTT!
Rating: Summary: What a bummer! Review: The Trip and psych-Out, two great movies in same package, on DVD...sounds too good to be true, and is too good to be true, I'm afraid, since BOTH of the movies are shorter versions from the originals. So be aware, if you are about to buy this DVD, you won't get the whole movie. The movies have really been mutilated, I was really angry to notice how ridiculously they have been cut. Especially Psych-Out suffers from this mutilation. Since I'm writing my thesis about the 60's films, I really feel these movies earn a better treatment. I feel cheated, but I quess there is no way getting your money back if you live in Finland like I do. So, be aware, it's a rip-off. I'm afraid that we serious movie collector's still have stick to our precious VHS!
Rating: Summary: Rack Focus! Review: This disc is so worth getting just for the mini-documentaries included for each. If you have any interest at all in filmmaking, they're even better. Director Richard Rush discusses his technique for the film "Psych Out." If you're familiar with the concept of rack focus, he discusses how he shot his film built entirely around that concept. Using it in lieu of cuts and fades. Fascinating! There's also technical stuff about "The Trip" and how they achieved the special effects. Even funnier is the fact that Roger Corman dropped acid for research purposes! (What people will do for their art!) Bruce Dern is highly amusing as he discusses how drugs ruined people's work ethic and habits back in the day (hmm, he wouldn't be including Jack in that, would he?). Bruce also does quite a fine Nicholson impersonation. Overall, both films are worth seeing. I love the look of both, with beautiful saturated colors -- they don't make film stocks like that anymore. The films are pristine, too, with little evidence of scratches and whatnot as so often you get when older movies are transferred to DVD. "Psycho Out" is extremely funny. There's a wonderful love scene that looks like one of those old black light posters brought to life. Lots of bad acid trips. And a gay couple is presented very matter-of-factly, like, hey, this is set in San Francisco, no big deal. I never even realized that the two characters were a gay couple when I first saw the film years ago on television. The things you learn from DVD viewing! Anyways, this is a must-have DVD, a real bargain, and a potential learning experience for film students. Get it! It's a trip!
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