Psychedelic movies: Weird scenes inside the gold mine

As long as there have been movies, there have been those strange images. Kaleidoscopic, surreal, magical, twisted — celluloid serving as the universal dream catcher.

Films make terrific companions for those in couch lock, of course. Midnight movies … always a trip. Whether invoking the psychedelic experience or keeping those already in its thrall in giggles, movies have never been late to the party.

Here find 10 top psychedelic movies, followed by an expanded list of recommended viewing. (Please add your favorites in the comments.)

1. ‘Spirited Away’ (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

While made for children, “Spirit Away’s” parade of surreal and often disturbing images seems worlds apart from your basic kiddie fare. It came from Hayao Miyazaki, the creator of animated films that range from the fantastic to seriously weird. No wonder he winces when called the “Walt Disney of Japan.” The story follows a sullen 10-year-girl who finds herself trapped in an alternate world filled with spirits and scary monsters. It’s a hallucinogenic place where parents turn into pigs and friends come without faces. Come hungry. Feed your head. Also highly recommended: Miyazaki’s “Howl’s Moving Castle.” Read the “Spirited Away” review.

2. ‘Fellini Satyricon’ (Federico Fellini, 1969)

It’s the ultimate road trip: A trio of English-speaking hippies wander the ancient world in search of sex and riches. They find murder, cannibalism, paint-by-numbers orgies and an endless supply of Fellini grotesques. The Italian director and his below-the-line collaborators craft an alien landscape, populated by among the most bizarre characters Federico Fellini ever herded onto a screen. He illustrated that “antiquity might be completely unintelligible” to modern humans if they traveled there, one historian notes. Fellini unleashed “Satyricon” in 1969, the year of Altamont and Manson. In retrospect, it proves a handy wormhole between the bad craziness of the end of the hippie era and the debauched times of Rome’s Emperor Nero. Read the “Fellini Satyricon” review.

3. ‘La Jetee’ (Chris Marker, 1962)

Chris Marker’s most famous film, “La Jetee,” is best known for inspiring Terry Gilliam’s science fiction entertainment “Twelve Monkeys.” A cousin of Godard’s “Alphaville,” Marker’s relatively short film about post-apocalyptic Paris consists almost entirely of still images that are given meaning and spin by the voice-over. While his films can be difficult, especially upon first viewing, the director always knows where he’s going. Fans delight in trying to catch up. “Jetee”remains unusual for the French filmmaker in that it’s fiction, but the sci-fi film established a Marker marker: a focus on time as a pliable, interlaced dimension barely controlled via the interface of memory. Also highly recommended: Marker’s bizarre travel journal “Sans Soleil.” Read the “La Jetee” review.

4. ‘Monterey Pop’ (D.A. Pennebaker, 1968)

“Monterey Pop” was, remarkably, the work of a filmmaker without a clue. New Yorker D.A. Pennebaker knew nothing of the bands he was filming or of the world-changing events unfolding before his cameras in 1967. “I was the most ignorant person there,” Pennebaker recalled. “It was a strange kind of Martian adventure for me.” Monterey the rock festival still stands in the shadows of the unruly and iconic Woodstock, but “Monterey Pop” the film has no rival as a time capsule of late-’60s rock and the peace-and-love festival experience. The psychedelic fireworks come from Country Joe and the Fish, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, the Who and Big Brother and the Holding Company. Read the “Monterey Pop” review.

5. ‘Waking Life’ (Richard Linklater, 2001)

Sartre meets slackers in Richard Linklater’s “Waking Life,” a terrific film of ideas. The animated meditation on dreams and man’s place in the universe moves so quickly — and in so many visual styles — that viewers barely have time to absorb one concept before another comes rushing in. The film’s hero with a dozen faces is a young man who wanders an urban dreamscape, encountering various guides and fellow sleepwalkers, most having something to say about the meaning of life. The plot such as it is doesn’t take form until midway, giving the proceedings a wonderful surreal quality. Adding to the disorientation is “Waking Life’s” unique combination of live action and animation. Read the “Waking Life” review.

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