The Mind Benders

Rating:
Summary: penny for [all] your THOUGHTS ........
Review: 'X' rated by the Brits when released in '62 [well, it DOES feature a 'live' home birth at the end ..... then that dangerous experiment .....] Close to "The Pumpkin Eater" and possibly "Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf - with Kids?" - this very advanced thriller set in the early 6oties tentatively explores "Isolation Tanks" - and the effect on its subject - or victim.

BOTH DIRK BOGARDE and MARY URE are stellar as the Mr. & Mrs. involved - Mary Ure especially has fine moments as the loving and later abused pregnant wife - tough stuff for that period [although we did have 'Saturday Night & Sunday Morning'] - but it does somewhat explore the approach to 'mind-bending' - and reprogramming of the subject - timely stuff.....

Bogarde was on the eve of his stellar career - the beautiful blonde, blue-eyed Mary Ure left so few examples of her work - but worth visiting "Look Back In Anger", etc. {NOT forgetting Miss URE in D.H. LAWRENCE "SONS AND LOVERS" - a missing treasure from 1960 long due for a DVD release!!}

Tone of movie is suitably sombre, photography is moody and the score very suitable .... a neglected treasure from that period.

Oh, yes and a young Edward Fox pops in and out of a few scenes as a student.

Rating:
Summary: penny for [all] your THOUGHTS ........
Review: In spite of the obviously psychedelic packaging for this film, The Mind Benders is marginally science fiction. Instead, this is a drama with SF trappings. The story of a scientist, Dr. Longman, played by Dirk Bogarde, who comes to believe that the suicide of a colleague was caused by prolonged exposure in a sensory deprivation tank, he is forced to prove his theory by a British intelligence agent and undergo the same treatment himself.

The agent is convinced that Longman's colleague was a spy and engages in some subtle brainwashing of Longman after he's spent eight hours in the tank. While the opening half hour is definitely gripping--including Longman's harrowing experience in the tank--the final two thirds of the film is sorely disappointing for science fiction fans--or even for those who are expecting a substantial buildup focused on the theme.

The development after the first 30 minutes or so is pretty weak, centering on Longman's relationship with his wife which has been put to the test, and is a real letdown. Although Dirk Bogarde and Mary Ure as his wife are more than competent actors, the film runs out of steam long before its happy ending.

The real value of this film, as indicated in the liner notes of the DVD, is that it is a precursor to Altered States and The Manchurian Candidate. For completists who want whatever film they can find about brainwashing, this is a must. For anyone else, it's really not great. A far better vehicle for Dirk Bogarde fans, also available on DVD, is The Servant.

Rating:
Summary: Pallid
Review: In spite of the obviously psychedelic packaging for this film, The Mind Benders is marginally science fiction. Instead, this is a drama with SF trappings. The story of a scientist, Dr. Longman, played by Dirk Bogarde, who comes to believe that the suicide of a colleague was caused by prolonged exposure in a sensory deprivation tank, he is forced to prove his theory by a British intelligence agent and undergo the same treatment himself.

The agent is convinced that Longman's colleague was a spy and engages in some subtle brainwashing of Longman after he's spent eight hours in the tank. While the opening half hour is definitely gripping--including Longman's harrowing experience in the tank--the final two thirds of the film is sorely disappointing for science fiction fans--or even for those who are expecting a substantial buildup focused on the theme.

The development after the first 30 minutes or so is pretty weak, centering on Longman's relationship with his wife which has been put to the test, and is a real letdown. Although Dirk Bogarde and Mary Ure as his wife are more than competent actors, the film runs out of steam long before its happy ending.

The real value of this film, as indicated in the liner notes of the DVD, is that it is a precursor to Altered States and The Manchurian Candidate. For completists who want whatever film they can find about brainwashing, this is a must. For anyone else, it's really not great. A far better vehicle for Dirk Bogarde fans, also available on DVD, is The Servant.