Dreamscape (1984)

Synopsis

The movie Dreamscape (1984) is a science fiction thriller directed by Joseph Ruben. The story revolves around a young man named Alex Gardner, played by Dennis Quaid, who has the ability to enter and control people’s dreams. He is recruited by a government agency to help cure the President of the United States of his nightmares about nuclear war. However, Alex soon discovers a sinister plot to assassinate the President in his dreams.

Alex is initially reluctant to help the government agency, but he is convinced to do so by his former mentor, Dr. Paul Novotny, played by Max von Sydow. Alex is trained by the agency to enter and control dreams, and he is sent into the President’s dreams to try and cure him of his nightmares.

While in the President’s dreams, Alex discovers that the nightmares are not just random fears, but are actually visions of a nuclear apocalypse. He also discovers that the assassination plot is being orchestrated by a powerful psychic named Tommy Ray Glatman, played by David Patrick Kelly. Tommy Ray is using his psychic powers to enter the President’s dreams and kill him.

Alex must use his own psychic powers to stop Tommy Ray and save the President. He is aided by a woman named Jane DeVries, played by Kate Capshaw, who also has psychic abilities. Together, they enter the President’s dreams and battle Tommy Ray in a series of intense and surreal dream sequences.

Cast

Dennis Quaid as Alex Gardner
Max von Sydow as Dr. Paul Novotny
Christopher Plummer as Bob Blair
Eddie Albert as The President
Kate Capshaw as Jane DeVries
David Patrick Kelly as Tommy Ray Glatman

Trivia

Dreamscape was released on August 15, 1984.
The film was produced by 20th Century Fox and was made on a budget of $6 million.
Dreamscape was directed by Joseph Ruben, who also directed The Stepfather (1987) and Sleeping with the Enemy (1991).
The film was written by David Loughery, who also wrote The Three Musketeers (1993) and Obsessed (2009).
Dreamscape was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Science Fiction Film in 1985.
The film features a score by composer Maurice Jarre, who also composed the scores for Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Doctor Zhivago (1965).