Brainstorm (1983 Film) - Reception and Aftermath

Reception and Aftermath

Brainstorm was eventually released almost two years after Wood's death on a small number of screens and with little publicity, despite being trumpeted unofficially as "Natalie Wood's last movie". The film received mixed critical opinion, and review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 64% of 14 critics have given the film a positive review. Janet Maslin of the New York Times gave particular credit to Louise Fletcher's "superb performance"

The film was not a commercial success, with a production budget of $18 million and grossing only $10 million in ticket sales in North America.

Because of the immensely troubled production and disagreements with MGM, Trumbull opted never to direct a Hollywood film again. In 1983 he stated "I have no interest...in doing another Hollywood feature film...Absolutely none. The movie business is so totally screwed-up that I just don't have the energy to invest three or four years in a feature film. Moviemaking is like waging war. It destroys your personal life, too. The people who can survive the process of making films have largely given up their personal lives in order to do that, just because it's such a battle to make a movie. And in doing that, they've isolated themselves from the very audience that they're trying to reach."