The Trip Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

The Trip Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 19, 2016

Roger Corman's "The Trip" (1967) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Signal One Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; archival video interview with special psychedelic effects producer Allen Daviau; archival featurette with clips from interviews with Allen Daviau, Roger Corman, and actor Bruce Dern; archival audio commentary with Roger Corman; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Try it!

There was a period between the 1960s and 1970s when some people truly believed that drugs were the magical fix that could permanently wipe out the misery in their lives. The odd idea quickly gained strength and evolved into a life philosophy that spawned the hippie communes. Then drugs became a lot stronger and easier to get, and the smiles, laughter and free love were promptly replaced by crime and death. The paradise that the hippies had discovered quickly became one big never-ending nightmare and many of these people found themselves permanently trapped in it. It was ugly.

I think that what Roger Corman wanted to do with The Trip was capture on film the moment right before the paradise crashed. The film’s attitude towards drugs is fairly relaxed and there even appears to be an attempt to make a point that the temporary alternative reality that they are capable of creating is a pretty damn good place to visit. It is hard to tell if this attempt was genuine, but there is no denying that the film must have resonated with plenty of ‘dreamers’ who were under the impression that drugs were bringing a positive change in people’s lives.

The plot of The Trip is very simple. A TV director (Peter Fonda, Easy Rider) seeks help from an old friend (Bruce Dern, The Driver) after he realizes that his wife (Susan Strasberg, Psych-Out) has left him for good. He is encouraged to relax and forget about his misery by having his first ‘trip’ with a piece of high-quality acid. At first the fix works exactly as described by the friend and the director enjoys the vacation, but then his brain unexpectedly switches gears and overloads his nervous system. He attempts to explain that something isn’t right, but the friend insists that the best is yet to come.

The exchanges between the director and his friend are largely irrelevant. Basically, they add structure to what is otherwise one big recreation of an actual LSD trip.* So there is an explosion of colorful hallucinatory images with occasional breaks where the director attempts to regain control of his mind and make some sense of his intense experiences.

Whether you enjoy The Trip will depend largely on how you react to the hallucinations. Corman and cinematographer Archie Dalzell do some interesting things with bright colors, light and shadow, but after a while some of the material becomes repetitive.

The one genuine treat in The Trip is the great score from the psychedelic blues rock band The Electric Flag. The music really does channel the spirit of the era and a lot of the tracks that are heard throughout the film definitely help the intended atmosphere.

*I have never taken drugs and I do not know what an actual LSD trip feels like, but Corman and Fonda apparently took some LSD pills before shooting began so the hallucinations in the film probably look fairly authentic. Jack Nicholson and Dennis Hopper have small cameos and according to various reports they also did some ‘research work’.

The Trip Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Roger Corman's The Trip arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Signal One Entertainment.

I don't have any technical credits to share in our review, but there is no doubt in my mind that The Trip has been recently remastered. Also, I would not be surprised if it was confirmed that some of the same people that have done various projects for Fox were involved with this remastering job. I mention this because the color grading of the new remaster is quite aggressive and exhibits qualities that were prominent on Fox's remasters of Phantom of the Paradise, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, and even Porky's. (The new remaster of Psych-Out has similar qualities as well). Basically, there is an obvious push towards stronger browns and blues, with the former making a lot of different characters look as if they have been tanning for months; elsewhere light and moderate blues seem to repeatedly overwhelm the small range of whites as well. While the end result isn't overly distracting, the shift is pretty obvious and not at all easy to ignore. Detail and clarity range from very good to excellent. Depth is also very pleasing, though there are a few sequences where minor black crush sneaks in. Grain is well exposed and typically well resolved. There are no traces of problematic sharpening adjustments. Overall image stability is terrific. Debris, scratches, dirt, cuts, and other age-related imperfections have been carefully removed. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order access its content).

The Trip Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English LPCM 1.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The quality of the lossless audio track is very good. I think that there is room for minor attenuation work, but clarity and depth remain pleasing throughout the entire film. The great music score also breathes very easily. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

The Trip Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for The Trip. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

• Posters and Stills Gallery - a collection of original posters and stills for The Trip.

• Psychedelic Light Box - presented here is a montage of psychedelic visuals from The Trip, with music. (6 min).

• Allen Daviau - in this archival video interview, special psychedelic effects producer Allen Daviau recalls some of the preliminary discussions he had with Roger Corman and cinematographer Archie Dalzell and the psychedelic visual qualities of The Trip. In English, not subtitled. (8 min).

• Tune In, Trip Out - in this archival featurette, special psychedelic effects producer Allen Daviau discusses the cultural scene at the time when The Trip was shot and the role drugs played in different people's lives; actor Bruce Dern explains why he disliked the scene and how difficult it was for him to play his character; and Roger Corman explains how the idea for the film came to exist and discusses some of the key themes in it. In English, not subtitled. (18 min).

• Alternative Ending - this alternative ending can be seen with an optional commentary by Roger Corman. (4 min).

• Deleted Prologue - this deleted prologue can be seen with an optional commentary by Roger Corman. (1 min).

• Audio Commentary - this audio commentary also appeared on the old double-feature DVD release of The Trip (the other film on this release was Psych-Out). To be honest, I find it far, far better than The Trip because Corman has a lot of great things to say about the Counterculture Era, the way in which drugs affected people's lives, the state of the film industry, the film's reception, etc. Fantastic commentary.

The Trip Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are some very unique films that emerged during the Counterculture Era that are slowly transitioning to Blu-ray now. If you are interested in the subjects that they deal with, in addition to The Trip you should consider seeing Psych-Out, Hells Angels on Wheels, Gas-s-s-s, Wild in the Streets, and Candy. I personally think that these films are wonderful time capsules that could be quite illuminating if they are approached with the right mindset, and some also quite entertaining if seen with a group of friends. I have some reservations about the color grading of the new transfer that was prepared for The Trip, but on the other hand the Blu-ray retains the excellent audio commentary with Roger Corman.