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Released
1983 · FILM

Brainstorm

A brilliant but reckless scientist and his collaborator invent a machine that can record and replay human experiences, but when he uses it to capture his own death, they unleash a terrifying and uncontrollable force.

“The door to the mind is open.”

Directed by
Douglas Trumbull
Written by
Bruce Joel Rubin, Robert Stitzel
Rated
MPA · PG
Runtime
106 min
Sci-FiThriller
Streaming on
  • HBO Max

Synopsis

Two research scientists, both highly skilled, invent a device that can record and playback sensory experiences. The project takes a dark turn when one of them uses the device to record their own death, leading to severe and unintended consequences.

Credits

Actors
Editor
Production Designer
Director of Photography
Writers
Director

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How many hands made this film

The scale of the collaboration

Principal cast & crew: 34

These are the principals we have on file — the full crew ran to the hundreds. Every film this size was made by far more hands than any credits list ever names.

Why a floor?

This is a minimum, not a total. We only count the credits we’ve captured so far, and coverage is uneven — a blockbuster might show a few hundred names while another of the same size shows a couple dozen. The real crews all ran into the thousands. The number here only grows as full credits are enriched — so we frame it as a floor, never a headcount.

Craft leads on file

Edited by Freeman A DaviesShot by Richard YuricichScored by James HornerDesigned by John Vallone

Box Office

1983 · Box office

📉 Underperformed — grossed 0.6× its budget

Why 2.5×?

Cinemas keep roughly half of every ticket sold, and a wide release’s marketing often costs about as much again as the film — so a movie needs to gross around 2.5× its production budget just to break even theatrically. It’s a rule of thumb, not the studio’s ledger (home video and streaming come later).

Worldwide gross

$10.2M

Budget$18.0M
Worldwide gross$10.2M
break-even (2.5×)

Also known as

  • Projekt Brainstormde

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