''Circle of Power'', also known as ''Mystique'', ''Brainwash'' and ''The Naked Weekend'', is a 1981 film, co-produced by Gary Mehlman,
Anthony Quinn
Manuel Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca (April 21, 1915 – June 3, 2001), known professionally as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican-American actor. He was known for his portrayal of earthy, passionate characters "marked by a brutal and elemental v ...
and
Jeffrey White
Jeffrey Steven White (born September 2, 1945) is a Senior United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Early life, education, and career
Born in New York City, New York, White received ...
, and based on the non-fiction book ''
The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled''. It stars
Yvette Mimieux
Yvette Carmen Mimieux (January 8, 1942 – January 18, 2022) was an American film and television actress. Her breakout role was in '' The Time Machine'' (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards during her acting career.
Early li ...
in one of her final film performances.
Plot
Yvette Mimieux
Yvette Carmen Mimieux (January 8, 1942 – January 18, 2022) was an American film and television actress. Her breakout role was in '' The Time Machine'' (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards during her acting career.
Early li ...
plays Bianca Ray, the chief executive of a giant corporation called "Mystique",
but the organization is also known as "Executive Development Training", or EDT.
[Erickson, Hal.]
''Brainwash''
, Overview, Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...
, retrieved 4/20/2007. Christopher Allport plays Jack Nilsson, a decent all-American young executive.
Top management executives are required to spend a weekend with Bianca Ray at a hotel, where they are put under
psychological pressure.
As a prerequisite to the training course, participants must sign a waiver giving the company the release to physically and psychologically abuse the individuals in the course.
The participants struggle with their shortcomings, such as
obesity
Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's ...
and
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...
.
Another individual is a closet homosexual, and a fourth is a
transvestite
Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western ...
.
At one point in the film, the obese trainee is forced to eat trash and discarded food in front of the other seminar participants.
Eventually, the seminar executives and their wives lose their inhibitions later on in the "consciousness-raising" coursework.
Cast
*
Yvette Mimieux
Yvette Carmen Mimieux (January 8, 1942 – January 18, 2022) was an American film and television actress. Her breakout role was in '' The Time Machine'' (1960). She was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards during her acting career.
Early li ...
as Bianca Ray
*
Christopher Allport
Christopher Allport (born Alexander Wise Allport Jr.; June 17, 1947 – January 25, 2008) was an American actor.
Biography
Alexander Wise Allport Jr. was born in Boston. His acting life began at the age of nine in New Canaan, Connecticut, ...
as Jack Nilsson
*
Cindy Pickett
Cindy Pickett is an American actress.
She is known for her 1970s role as Jackie Marler-Spaulding on the CBS soap ''Guiding Light'' and Dr. Carol Novino on the television drama '' St. Elsewhere'' in the 1980s. Pickett, however, is best known to au ...
as Lyn Nilsson
*
John Considine as Jordan Carelli
*
Walter Olkewicz
Walter Olkewicz (May 14, 1948 – April 6, 2021) was an American character actor. He played Marko in the short-lived TV series '' Wizards and Warriors'' and Coach Wordman in the feature film '' Making the Grade''.
Biography
Olkewicz was born in ...
as Buddy Gordon
*
Leo Rossi
Leo Rossi (born June 26, 1946) is an American actor, writer and producer. A character actor with over 100 credits to his name, he is known for his role as foul-mouthed EMT Vincent "Budd" Scarlotti in the 1981 horror film '' Halloween II'', as ...
as Chris Morris
*
Carmen Argenziano
Carmen Antimo Argenziano (October 27, 1943February 10, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in over 73 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes. He was best known for playing Jacob Carter on ''Stargate SG-1''. He had recurring role ...
as Tony Annese
Reception
The film won a Dramatic Films Award at the 1982
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
.
[''Brainwash'', Dramatic Films, 1982, ]Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,6 ...
, Allmovie
AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne.
History
AllMovie was founded by popular-cul ...
''Circle of Power'' played under the title ''Mystique'' at the 1981
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...
.
A review in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' described ''Circle of Power'' as an "attack on monolithic belief systems," and referred to it as "a worthwhile movie."
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
of the
Chicago Sun-Times
The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...
gave the film three out of four stars, writing that "...it's an entertaining film with serious intentions." Ebert compared it to events reported in Boston newspapers about a man who died during a seminar, commenting: "Art anticipates life." Ebert questioned the
conceit An extended metaphor, also known as a conceit or sustained metaphor, is the use of a single metaphor or analogy at length in a work of literature. It differs from a mere metaphor in its length, and in having more than one single point of contact bet ...
of the film, asking the question: "Could a major corporation get away with this brainwashing?"
The authors of the book upon which the film was based concluded their preface by stating: "And please remember as you read -- it's true."
See also
* ''
Semi-Tough'' (1977)
References
External links
;Reviews
Review ''Stomp Tokyo''
*
*
{{Bobby Roth
1981 films
American drama films
Films based on non-fiction books
Films directed by Bobby Roth
Films scored by Richard Markowitz
1980s English-language films
1980s American films