Dreamscape
Blu-ray (Collector’s Edition)
Director: Joseph Ruben
Screenwriter: David Loughery, Chuck Russell, Joseph Ruben
Cast: Dennis Quaid, Max von Sydow, Christopher Plummer, Eddie Albert, Kate Capshaw, David Patrick Kelly
Distributor: Scream Factory
Rated PG-13 | 99 Minutes
Release Date: December 13, 2016

“So, Jane, what you do here, in effect, is count boners?”

Directed by Joseph Ruben (The Pom Pom Girls), 1984’s Dreamscape has the unique distinction of being the second film released to theaters that was rated PG-13 under then new MPAA ratings guidelines, following Red Dawn, which come out five days earlier. And interestingly enough, the film stars Kate Capeshaw, who starred in a violent PG-rated blockbuster that would help create the PG-13 rating: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

Co-written by Ruben, David Loughery (Star Trek V: The Final Frontier), and Chuck Russell (A Nightmare On Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, 1988’s The Blob), Dreamscape stars Dennis Quaid as Alex Gardner, a man with psychic abilities who is recruited by his old mentor, Dr. Novotny (Max von Sydow), to join the dreamscape project, a government-funded program to diagnose and treat sleep disorders.

There he meets Dr. Jane DeVries (Capshaw), a scientist who has developed a technique that will allow Alex to project himself into peoples’ subconscious through their dreams. Alex uses this technique to help people plagued by nightmares, including Buddy (Cory Yothers), a young boy who dreams of a sinister “snakeman.” Government agent Bob Blair (Christopher Plummer) has bigger plans for the project, however, and wants Alex to plant an idea in the mind of the U.S. president. The psychic soon finds himself at the center of a conspiracy, trapped in a nightmare where the only way out is to go further into the dreamscape.

Having never seen Dreamscape, I was surprised by its impressive ensemble. In addition to Quaid, von Sydow, Capshaw, and Plummer, Eddie Albert (Roman Holiday, Green Acres), George Wendt (Cheers, House), Peter Jason (They Live), Chris Mulkey (Twin Peaks), and David Patrick Kelly (Twin Peaks, The Crow) also show up in supporting roles. A mind-bending mix of horror, science fiction, and action-adventure, Ruben’s film feels like a mash-up of The Fury, Scanners, The Dead Zone, and Inception; an imaginative, often unsettling film that feels kin to Russell’s A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

Scream Factory’s Collector’s Edition Blu-ray features a new, great-looking 2K scan of the film (1.85:1) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track, as well as a great selection of new and archival special features. Perhaps the most intriguing of which is “Dreamscapes And Dreammakers,” a retrospective including brand-new interviews with Ruben, Loughery, David Patrick Kelly, and members of the film’s special effects crew. Read more about the special features and watch clips from the high-def below!

Dreamscape (Collector’s Edition) is now available at Amazon.

Bonus Features

“” NEW 2K scan of the film
“” NEW “The Actor’s Journey” – Interview with Dennis Quaid
“” NEW “Dreamscapes and Dreammakers” Retrospective
“” NEW “Nightmares and Dreamsnakes” – Looking back at Snakeman
“” NEW In-depth conversation with Bruce Cohn Curtis and Chuck Russell
“” Commentary with Curtis, Loughery and Reardon
“” “Snakeman” test footage
“” Still gallery
“” Theatrical trailer

Trailer

Clip: Don’t Fall

Cover Art

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