What are you watching?

Joanna Lumley, David McCallum and Gerald James in Sapphire and Steel, "The Railway Station" (1979), a cautionary tale about psychical research and the perils facing the investigator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9Dws0VivK0

It strikes me that Mr Tully was a funny psychical investigator, if he was unaware of "Phantasms of the Living," but as he paid the ultimate price for his research, it seems churlish to complain.

That show Evil on CBS, reminds me of another sadly cancelled show Proof but with more emphasis on, well, evil.

The BBC's dystopian drama series about Britain under totalitarian rule, "1990," broadcast in 1977-8, on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KayCsPZF...afsGtu_yNZ

I remember liking this when it was first shown, though as I probably didn't have much taste when I was 15 I started rewatching it with some trepidation. But I still think it's very good. It definitely reflects the preoccupations of the 1970s - particularly the fear of over-mighty trades unions, which seems so quaint today. Though the plots sometimes test the viewers' credulity, it's always entertaining and sometimes really quite powerful and disturbing. Edward Woodward is excellent in the lead role, and the cast is full of the kind of character actors familiar to anyone of my generation ("where do I know him from?"). It's full of political intrigue and conflicted loyalties, though the protagonist rises above it all and always manages to win by the end of the episode - though sometimes at a heavy cost.

The BBC's 1978 "Play for Today" adaptation of Alan Garner's novel "Red Shift," a tragic story of star-crossed lovers and strange communications across the centuries and millennia. Not available for free as far as I know, but quite good value for £2 on Amazon Prime.

The BBC's dystopian drama series about Britain under totalitarian rule, "1990," broadcast in 1977-8, on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KayCsPZF...afsGtu_yNZ

I remember liking this when it was first shown, though as I probably didn't have much taste when I was 15 I started rewatching it with some trepidation. But I still think it's very good. It definitely reflects the preoccupations of the 1970s - particularly the fear of over-mighty trades unions, which seems so quaint today. Though the plots sometimes test the viewers' credulity, it's always entertaining and sometimes really quite powerful and disturbing. Edward Woodward is excellent in the lead role, and the cast is full of the kind of character actors familiar to anyone of my generation ("where do I know him from?"). It's full of political intrigue and conflicted loyalties, though the protagonist rises above it all and always manages to win by the end of the episode - though sometimes at a heavy cost.

It's interesting that Yvonne Mitchell as the Home Secretary gave a stunningly accurate vocal impersonation of Margaret Thatcher, particularly in her public pronouncements. For example, in her broadcast to the nation during the final episode:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1OrNQy1Lvw&t=33m38s

But it never struck me when I first watched it. Is it only an impersonation of what Thatcher would later become? Or did Thatcher model herself on Yvonne Mitchell?

I hope everyone on this forum is having a Very Merry Festive Season so far!! It's coming up to the end of a decade, the year of good vision is upon us! 

I love watching good movies or TV series, more so when they touch upon some of the themes or ideas we love discussing or reading about on forums like this. So, I was wondering what some of the forum posters favourite movies or tv shows are from the past decade that touch on the "altered" themes we discuss on this forum?

I have an absolutely terrible memory for movies and tv shows, I literally forget the characters names immediately upon leaving a cinema, for example! That said (I'm sure I've forgotten some truly brilliant movies or tv shows), here's my personal favourite or most memorable movies and tv shows of the past decade:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/arrival_2016

When mysterious spacecraft touch down across the globe, an elite team--lead by expert linguist Louise Banks (Amy Adams)--are brought together to investigate. As mankind teeters on the verge of global war, Banks and the team race against time for answers--and to find them, she will take a chance that could threaten her life, and quite possibly humanity.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/enter_the_void

ENTER THE VOID, the psychedelic thriller by visionary French maverick Gaspar Noé (IRREVERSIBLE, I STAND ALONE), is a cinematic thrill ride that's riveted audiences at the Cannes, Toronto, Sundance and SXSW film festivals. Nathaniel Brown and Paz de la Huerta star in a visceral journey set against the thumping, neon club scene of Tokyo, which hurls the viewer into an astonishing trip through life, death, and the universally wonderful and horrible moments between. An immersive and just plain mind-bending experience, ENTER THE VOID is sure to be one of the most talked-about films of the year.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/climax

From director Gaspar Noé (Irreversible; Enter the Void; Love) comes a hypnotic, hallucinatory, and ultimately hair-raising depiction of a party that descends into delirium over the course of one wintry night. In Climax, a troupe of young dancers gathers in a remote and empty school building to rehearse. Following an unforgettable opening performance lit by virtuoso cinematographer Benoît Debie (Spring Breakers; Enter the Void) and shot by Noé himself, the troupe begins an all-night celebration that turns nightmarish as the dancers discover they've been pounding cups of sangria laced with potent LSD. Tracking their journey from jubilation to chaos and full-fledged anarchy, Noé observes crushes, rivalries, and violence amid a collective psychedelic meltdown. Starring Sofia Boutella (Atomic Blonde) and a cast of professional dancers, Climax is Noé's most brazen and visionary statement yet.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/upstream_color

A man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism.

A gorgeous, utterly intoxicating Möbius strip, a wholly original work of art that defies simple categorization and achieves something few modern films ever do - a true sense of cinematic discovery.

TV Shows:

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/true_detective/s01

New Orleans native and novelist Nic Pizzolatto ("Galveston") wrote and created this crime drama that focuses on a pair of homicide detectives in Louisiana and a trail of murder, mayhem and mystery that spans 17 years. Featuring the music of T Bone Burnett and directed by Cary Fukunaga, the series opens in 1995 as good ol' boy Martin Hart (Woody Harrelson) and his brooding, Texas-born partner, Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey), are called to the scene of a gruesome, ritualistic killing of a young woman, who was posed by a tree, adorned with deer antlers on her head and accompanied by strange symbols. Fast-forward to 2012, Hart and Cohle are grilled by another pair of detectives (Tory Kittles, Michael Potts) who are investigating a case that bears striking similarities to the one before. In between is a glimpse of 2002, when Hart and Cohle struggled to deal with their inner demons in separate but equally destructive ways. With Michelle Monaghan, Kevin Dunn, Lili Simmons and Shea Whigham.

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/legion

Legion follows the story of David Haller, a troubled young man who may be more than human. Since he was a teenager, David has struggled with mental illness. Diagnosed as schizophrenic, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. But after a strange encounter with a fellow patient, he's confronted with the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees might be real.

Would love to hear the favourites of the other posters here.

Happy New Year to all!!

The first episode of the current series of the "Inspector Morse" prequel, "Endeavour":
https://www.itv.com/hub/endeavour/2a1229a0028

Set in 1969-1970, the episode centres on the "Department of Latent Potential" at Oxford University, whose staff divide their time between auditioning for Open University broadcasts and conducting very primitive card-guessing ESP experiments. They were already making use of the Ganzfeld state, but tragically used it only as a means of preparation for card-guessing, rather than in its own right. Inexplicably, they conducted all their experiments wearing lab coats, and - though they belonged to a university department - felt their funding was being threatened by "the bursar."

Morse began as a sceptic. "And you get paid for this?" he asked incredulously, at one point. But all that would change ...

Not sure if this will be everybody's cup of tea, but I thought this was a brilliant tv show/cartoon that touches on so many of the subjects discussed on this forum. Suspect it will be loved by some, not so much by others. Not sure how to summarise it, but I guess it's like Waking Life but with psychedelic cartoon imagery. :

https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80987903

Traversing trippy worlds inside his universe simulator, a space caster explores existential questions about life, death and everything in between.

Starring:Duncan Trussell,Phil Hendrie,Drew Pinsky
Creators:Pendleton Ward,Duncan Trussell

I'm conflicted as to whether I should post the trailer, because it may give the mistaken impression this is a childish/immature cartoon......it really isn't and contains/is all about some very deep philosophical questions and speculations, tied up with some very clever, and yes psychedelic, imagery. I'll post the trailer none the less:




Finally, as I'm here (and I promised not to post in the Divine Quote thread again!     ), and apologies for adding to an incorrect thread, but I couldn't help but mention again what is one of the absolute best books on NDEs I've ever read (and I've read quite a few over the decades!), which just so happens to focus on so called negative or hellish NDEs. I hardly ever hear it mentioned, which I think is a shame because it really is one of the most interesting, sophisticated, thought-provoking, insightful etc etc books on NDEs just generally. An absolute must read if you have had any kind of a "negative NDE" experience, or indeed any kind of "negative spiritually transformative experience" of any sort. The book is called Dancing Past the Dark and is written by Nancy Evans Bush. Here is the author's website:

https://dancingpastthedark.com/

Take care everyone! 

Not sure if this will be everybody's cup of tea, but I thought this was a brilliant tv show/cartoon that touches on so many of the subjects discussed on this forum...

...Take care everyone! 

Heh was just about to post this, I'm at the one about ceremonial magick now.