Brainstorm

Brainstorm (1983)

1 corrected entry

(2 votes)

Corrected entry: A device that works by reading the human brain wouldn't record the afterlife as that by definition transcends human bodily experience and occurs in another plane of existence. The movie could clear this if at any point the characters acknowledged they'd accidentally created a supernatural device that doesn't actually work the way they thought it did at all, but as is the story seems to confuse the human mind (which is dependent on the physical brain) with the human soul.

TonyPH

Correction: The device actually does cease to record anything once the user has died and all brain activity has ended: it's not that the device itself can suddenly see into "the other side" somehow, but rather it's picking up the brain's experience in the midst of death, whether induced by spiritual means or simply a dream-like interpretation by the mind.

TonyPH

Correction: This is a fictional device that operates exactly as the filmmakers say it does. Whether it works as you think it should is irrelevant.

This is 100% true, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a plot hole, it just means the audience doesn't mind that it doesn't strictly make sense.

TonyPH

Continuity mistake: As Mike and Karen walk the aisle at Lillian's funeral, she links her arm with his. The camera cuts to a wider angle and they're not touching. (00:59:50)

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Dr. Michael Anthony Brace: When I found her, she looked so peaceful. Why do you have to die to let go? All my life, I never needed anybody... And now, because of this thing she left me, I'm scared. For the first time in my life, I'm scared. But the thing is, I like it. I want more. You're married to a man who has a chance to take a scientific look at the scariest thing people ever have to face. I've gotta do this... gotta play that tape, and you gotta help me.

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Trivia: It was because of Natalie Wood's (Karen Brace) untimely demise that the plot was rehashed at extreme variance to the original script, and to maintain continuity, Wood's sister was used as a body double. Also, the bodily "energy rejuvenation" experienced after playing the looped orgasm tape was supposed to be a major plot-point, not something shuffled off to the side.

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