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Released By: Olive Films
Released On: March 22, 2016
Director: Roger Corman
Cast: Peter Fonda, Bruce Dern, Susan Strasberg, Dennis Hopper
Year: 1967
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The Movie:
Thank you, Jack Nicholson. And I'm not talking about the many times that he's brought us joy through some crazed acting role, raised eyebrows or axe-waving; no, I'm talking about the gift that he gave us in writing 1967's AIP Roger Corman psychedelic monstrosity, the Lovely Sort of Death brought to us in "Psychedelic Color"....The Trip. Paul (Peter Fonda) is a successful west coast television commercial director, immersed in a reluctant divorce, and searching for something to make his life, largely perfect to most, complete. Fortunately for Paul, his career has given him access to all of the groovy people in town, and a visit to the very hip Max (Dennis Hopper) with his friend and LSD guru John (Bruce Dern) provides the tools required for such a search; 250 micrograms of pure Lysergic Acid Diethylamide.
Establishing a safe home base for such a vacation to the mind's eye is key, so Paul rounds up some poetry, music, and a Super-8 camera, and attempts to shake off his nervous feeling. John does his job as an experienced guru, advising Paul to turn off his mind, relax, and float downstream....no, really...inspiring faith and confidence. But just in case, he also informs Paul that he's got Thorazine on hand in case of the dreaded "Bad Trip". Things start out well enough, with Paul experiencing bursts of colour, tangerine dreams, marmalade skies, kaleidoscope eyes and visions of making love to beautiful women overlapped with psychedelic patterns. He even falls in love with an orange, man, which is like a sun, a sun, man, in his hand, and warmth and life are spilling out and it's groovy.
But, as all good things must come to an end, his visions of love and colour give way to haunted houses, foggy caves, cackling witches and a stew-serving dwarf, prompting Paul to dive naked into the swimming pool, after which he emerges for a full-frontal man-cuddle with John, begging for the Thorazine (wonderfully sampled at the beginning of Ministry's, "Just One Fix"). And when John disappears quickly into the kitchen to get his friend some calming apple juice, Paul cleverly hides briefly in the closet, battling coats in a strobing colour fight for freedom, after which he flees from the house into the darkness of night with a head full of chemicals and some whacky ideas about social etiquette. Lock your doors and warn the neighbours....The Trip has only just begun, and nobody, not even the occupants of late-night laundromats will be the same.
Few movies will make you feel slighted that you missed the privilege of seeing it in the theatre, and The Trip is definitely one of those films. Essentially 80 minutes of crazy acid visuals, this is the epitome of a "Head" movie (Nicholson would, in fact, make The Monkees' "Head" his next writing project), with very little in the way of storyline. Still, it's endlessly entertaining, with the jarring, stilted lingo of the times and Fonda's naivety providing constant mirth. And though the visuals are pretty dated almost 50 years after it ws made, Corman and Nicholson somehow manage to capture the essence of tripping your balls off in a roomful of straight people. Trust me on that one. And, of course, The Trip maintains the amazing aesthetic of Corman's AIP films more commonly associated with the Vincent Price/Edgar Allan Poe films that so many of us love.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Olive brings The Trip to Blu-ray in a 1.85:1 AVC-encoded transfer that looks great, considering the age and what appears to be minimal restoration done to the elements. As such, there's a healthy amount of grain present, and the occasional emergence of film damage or dirt, but the earlier-mentioned Corman/AIP aesthetic is preserved perfectly. Outdoor scenes are clear and brilliant, detail is crisp throughout, and the visual effects have to be seen to be believed...the colour palette here is stunning.
A surround track would've probably provided for a more immersive experience, but the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track does a great job as well, with dialogue carried clearly and consistently, balanced nicely with the psychedelic score. No distortion or any other issues were overly apparent, and a bag of mushrooms or high-powered blotter will probably make the audible experience that much better.
There are no subtitles available.
A Trailer, fun and funky as it is, is the only extra to be found on the disc, which is sad, considering the worthy supplements found on the DVD, and available in other regions. It should be noted that the menu choices are made by moving a blob around on the screen, but no text is available to indicate what you are actually picking...trippy, man.
The Final Word:
It's an outdated, wacky display of 60's psychedelia, but The Trip is a whole lot of fun. And if you were one of those people who were getting high in '67 and had the chance to experience this on the big screen, I tip my hat to you. For the rest of us, the Olive Blu-ray is the next best thing.
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
