EcstasY BANDITS a/k/a Dirty Pictures
Focus: Alexander Shulgin
Dirty Pictures features the late psychedelic chemist Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin, co-author of the books PiHKAL: A Chemical Love Story and TiHKAL: The Continuation, and the person responsible for introducing MDMA to psychotherapists in the late 1970s. Considered to be one of the most influential psychedelic chemists of the 20th century, Shulgin synthesized more than 200 new psychedelic compounds during his career, and personally tested them out on himself, his wife Ann Shulgin, and some of their closest friends. This documentary takes a look at his life’s work and brings viewers on a personal tour through the Shulgins’ quirky home, including the makeshift laboratory that gave birth to many psychedelics that are still used to this day.
Neurons to Nirvana: Understanding Psychedelic Medicines
Focus: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ayahuasca, and cannabis
The film explores the most recent resurgence of psychedelic research, focusing on the various ways that psychedelics can be used as medicines. Featuring interviews with the world’s foremost researchers, writers, psychologists, and psychotherapists, Neurons to Nirvana dives into the history and medicinal potential of five classic psychedelics: LSD, psilocybin, MDMA, ayahuasca, and cannabis.
The Substance: Albert Hoffman’s LSD
Focus: LSD
In 1943, the year in which the first A-bomb was built, Albert Hofmann discovered LSD, a substance that was to become an A-bomb of the mind. Fractions of a milligram are enough to turn our framework of time and space upside down. The story of a drug - its discovery in the Basel chemistry lab, the first experiments by Albert Hofmann on himself, the 1950s experiments of the psychiatrists, the consciousness researchers, the artists.
Journeys to the Edge of Consciousness
Focus: LSD and PSYlocibin
Take an animated journey into the depths of the human mind with Aldous Huxley, Timothy Leary and Alan Watts - exploring three psychedelic trips that together changed them, and Western culture, forever.
ERGOT: THE STORY OF A PARASITIC FUNGUS
Focus: LSD, Historic Film (1950s)
This 25 minute documentary from the 50’s delves into the history, medical use, and commercial production of ergot – a fungus that contains Lysergic acid, the precursor to LSD. It was from the alkaloids in ergot that LSD was first synthesized, making this documentary ideal for those wanting to understand the events that led to LSD’s conception.
HISTORY OF THE HALLUCINOGEN LSD ACID - ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA EDUCATIONAL FILMS
Focus: LSD, History (propaganda film)
Set during the time when hallucinogenic culture was at its highest, this documentary primarily comes across as a propaganda film. It highlights to the modern viewer how little science understood about the drug, simply making assumptions and wild accusations. Despite this, some good points are made, and if anything, watching it helps highlight where the unfounded propaganda surround LSD originated.
HOFMANN'S POTION
Focus: LSD
Hofmann’s Potion is a documentary from 2002 which sees researchers look back over LSD’s troubled past, as well as try to delve deeper into the potential medical applications this drug may hold today. It is eye-opening and invites everyone to learn about the true story behind this often misunderstood substance.
INSIDE LSD
Focus: LSD
Inside LSD is a National Geographic documentary from 2012, exploring the new wave of research that LSD is currently enjoying, and the many positive potentials that are being found. It asks the question, after being shunned for so long, could LSD be the medicine of the future?
LSD: The Beyond Within [1986]
Focus: LSD
Two episodes from the BBC combined into a single film. The quality of the recording is low. Nonetheless, this remains one of the best made-for-tv documentaries on LSD.
Histories Mysteries, Getting High: A History of LSD [2000]
Focus: LSD
In the 1960s, LSD exploded into the popular consciousness - and inside the brains of the countless trippers who tried the revolutionary drug. Thirty years later its role in the cultural upheavals of that tumultuous time is still debated.
USC LSD Experiment by Dr. Nicholas Bercel, 1955
Nicholas A. Bercel, M.D. of the University of Southern California Medical School’s Department of Physiology gives "Bill" 100 micrograms of LSD. Bercel was the first American to take LSD, and conduct research at USC for many years. (This work was primarily funded by the CIA during the 50s).
LSD Reunion Video [1979]
Reunion video, discussed in Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind. In February 1979, virtually all the important figures in the first wave of American psychedelic research gathered for a reunion in the home of Oscal Janiger. The meeting was videotaped, although of low quality. A discussion of Leary's role is discussed, more conciliatory than one might anticipate.
Fantastic Fungi: The Magic Beneath Us
Focus: Psilocybin
High production values, thoughtful interviews and a nice mix of coverage of psychedelic and non-psychedelic mushrooms.
Brie Larson narrates, starring Paul Stamets, Michael Pollan, Eugenia Bone, other iconic experts, scientists, each discussing of the mycelium network. Includes an extensive discussion of psychedelic mushrooms.
A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin
Focus: Psilocbyin
A New Understanding: The Science of Psilocybin focuses on the current scientific research being conducted for treating end-of-life anxiety in terminally ill cancer patients with psilocybin “magic” mushrooms. The documentary looks at both the hard science as well as the spiritual content that is coming out of the first psychedelic research studies that have been conducted with terminally ill patients since the 1970s. This research has shown that psychedelic medicines like psilocybin have the potential to unveil new ways to understand life and death, helping patients believe that a “good death” is possible before they die. A New Understanding presents the latest scientific research in an easily digestible way, which could go a long way toward helping the public recognize the benefits that psychedelic medicines have to offer.
Aldous Huxley interviewed by Mike Wallace on May 18, 1958 (The Mike Wallace Interview show)
The Mike Wallace Interview was a series of 30-minute television interviews conducted by host Mike Wallace from 1957 to 1960. From 1957-1959, they were carried by the ABC American Broadcasting Company television network, and in 1959-1960, they were offered by the NTA Film Network. A collection of interviews are available from the University of Texas, at Austin: https://hrc.contentdm.oclc.org/digita...
Aya Awakenings: A Shamanic Odyssey
Focus: Ayahuasca
Aya: Awakenings was adapted from a book—Rak Razam’s Aya Awakenings: A Shamanic Odyssey. The film follows Razam into the Amazon jungle to uncover the mysteries of ayahuasca and the shamans who work with it. Razam discovers a swarm of Western tourists heading into the jungle to experience ayahuasca. Along the way he encounters rogue scientists conducting brain scans on the people guzzling cups of ayahuasca, indigenous curanderos who have worked with the vine for generations, and the new wave of Western shamans who have begun to study with them. Similar to the vine that is uncovered in the film, Aya: Awakenings provides an inside look at a tradition that first sprouted in the jungle but has since spread to all corners of the world.
DMT: The Spirit Molecule
Focus: DMT
DMT: The Spirit Molecule is a film that was adapted from Rick Strassman’s book of the same name. The film features several interviews with a variety of people including a psychotherapist (Neal Goldsmith), writers (Erik Davis and Graham Hancock), a visual artist (Alex Grey), and a comedian (Joe Rogan). There are also some interviews with volunteers from Strassman’s DMT study that took place in the early 1990s, which offer some insight into the astonishing and sometimes downright bizarre experiences that they had during their psychedelic voyages.
Dosed
Focus: Iboga
After many years of prescription medications failed her, a suicidal woman turns to underground healers to try and overcome her depression, anxiety, and opioid addiction with illegal psychedelic medicine such as magic mushrooms and iboga.
Adrianne’s first dose of psilocybin mushrooms catapulted her into an unexpected world of healing where plant medicines are redefining our understanding of mental health and addiction.
From Shock to Awe
Focus: MDMA and ayahuasca
A look at the transformational journey of two combat veterans suffering from severe trauma as they abandon pharmaceuticals to seek relief through the mind-expanding world of MDMA and psychedelics.
The Last Shaman
Focus: Ayahuasca
Directed by Raz Degan, The Last Shaman is the story of James Freeman, a young man who decides to take matters in his own hands when faced with incurable depression. He undergoes a life-changing journey in the Amazon jungle that brings him a deeper understanding and acceptance of self. Along the way, he experiences the healing properties of the tribal plant medicine Ayahuasca and the world around it.
Ayahuasca: Vine of the Soul
Focus: Ayahuasca
On a quest for spiritual awakening and healing, a naturopathic doctor and an accountant join others in the Amazon to drink a hallucinogenic brew called ayahuasca or 'Vine of the Soul'. Their dramatic encounters with the sacred medicine offer new insights into the nature of faith and self-healing through a heightened state of consciousness.
Entheo:Genesis
Focus: Psychedelics and Rituals
The film examines the re-emergence of archaic techniques of ecstasy in the modern world by weaving a synthesis of ecological and evolutionary awareness, electronic dance culture, and the current pharmacological re-evaluation of entheogenic compounds. Within a narrative framework that imagines consciousness itself to be evolving, Entheogen documents the emergence of techno-shamanism in the post-modern world that frames the following questions: How can a renewal of ancient initiatory rites of passage alleviate our ecological crisis?
Shamans of the Amazon: A Timeless Journey
Focus: Ayahuasca
An exploration of Shamanic use of Ayahuasca, the extraordinary visionary brew. Featuring Dean Jeffreys, Terence McKenna, and Rick Strassman.
Path of the Shaman: The Story of Luis Romero
Focus: Shamanism
A son never meeting his father is not uncommon in today's society. But when your father is a Mayan high priest, that uses spirits to contact you through lucid dreams, it is a story worth telling. This is the story of Luis Romero, and his path to shamanism.
Psychonautics: A Comics Exploration of Psychedelics
Focus: Psychedelics
Comedian Shane Mauss goes on a series of adventures to deepen his understanding of psychedelics. With moments of both confusion and clarity, this show is a comedic but honest account of his experiences.
The Reality of Truth: What If You Already Know?
Focus: Psychedelics, Shamanism
Michelle Rodriguez (Avatar, The Fast and the Furious). and her friends search for ancient advanced technology. Under the guidance of many of the best experts - Rodriguez travels the Globe in search of a Hidden Technology from our Ancient past that has been locked away for thousands of years and in the process, uncovers a connection between religion, psychedelics, and mysterious spirit cultures.
Ibogaine: Rite of Passage
Focus: Ibogaine
Ibogaine: Rite of Passage follows an American heroin addict through an ibogaine session at a clinic in Tijuana, Mexico. Through a series of critical interviews with former addicts, ibogaine facilitators, and other experts, the documentary asks if the controversial status of ibogaine is due to economics or to its hallucinogenic effects?
Peyote to LSD: A Psychedelic Odyssey
Focus: Psychedelics
Plant Explorer Richard Evans Schultes was a real life Indiana Jones whose discoveries of hallucinogenic plants laid the foundation for the psychedelic sixties. Now in this two hour History Channel TV Special, his former student Wade Davis, follows in his footsteps to experience the discoveries that Schultes brought to the western world. Shot around the planet, from Canada to the Amazon, we experience rarely seen native hallucinogenic ceremonies and find out the true events leading up to the Psychedelic Sixties. Featuring author/adventurer Wade Davis ("Serpent and the Rainbow"), Dr. Andrew Weil, the Grateful Dead's Bob Weir and many others, this program tells the story of the discovery of peyote, magic mushrooms and beyond: one man's little known quest to classify the Plants of the Gods.
The Nature of Ayahuasca
Focus: Ayahuasca
Ayahausca is a traditional plant medicine from the Amazon used to treat a variety of physical and psychology illnesses and conditions. This documentary explores the use of the Ayahausca as a holistic medicine, challenging stigmas around its use and helping people become more conscious and ethical consumers of the plant if that's the path they choose.
Ayahuasca: Expansion of Consciousness
Focus: Ayahuasca
The story of Ayahuasca, from its emergence in the Amazonian Forest, to its popularity with the Santo Daime religion, and on to its arrival in urban centers. Combining scientific, religious and anthropological perspectives on the use of Ayahuasca in modern society, and in parallel with the director own healing process, a holistic, yet balanced view of the subject.
Hallucinogen Honey Hunters
Focus: Misc. Psychedelics
In Nepal, an isolated tribe known as the Gurung go on the hunt for a special honey perched high upon a series of cliffs. The honey is known for its hallucinogenic potency, and is often taken for recreational use or medicinal purposes by the villagers. Hallucinogen Honey Hunters takes viewers on a rarely glimpsed journey to this region, and observes the culture surrounding this mystical honey.
Embrace of the Serpent
Focus: Dramatization of the search for yakruna in the Amazon
An Academy Award nominee, Embrace of the Serpent is a 2015 Colombian internationally co-produced adventure drama film directed by Ciro Guerra, and written by Guerra and Jacques Toulemonde Vidal. Shot almost entirely in black and white, the film follows two journeys made thirty years apart by the indigenous shaman Karamakate in the Colombian Amazonian jungle, one with Theo, a German ethnographer, and the other with Evan, an American botanist, both of whom are searching for the rare plant yakruna. It was inspired by the travel diaries of Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes, and dedicated to lost Amazonian cultures.
Icaros: A Vision
Focus: Fiction (drama), shamanistic psychedelics
A film shaped like a shamanic journey, steeped in a psychoactive brew, exploring fear and destiny in the jungle of the mind.
Manifesting the Mind
Focus: Shamanism
This film is the first in a series of three films discussing various aspects of shamanism. This first film, Manifesting the Mind, is a broad look at psychedelics in general. Why are psychedelics so brutally suppressed in our culture? What exactly are some of the psychedelic plants and chemicals and how can they benefit us? With philosophy and insight from Dennis McKenna, Daniel Pinchbeck, Alex Grey, and many others, this film is not to be missed by anyone interested in psychedelics and shamanism.
Interviews include - Robert Bussinger, Mike Crowley, Timothy Freke, Peter Gandy, Alex Grey, Clark Heinrich, Nick Herbert, John Major Jenkins, Dennis McKenna, Terence McKenna, Daniel Pinchbeck, and Dr. Rick Strassman.
Psychedelica
Focus: TV Series (14 episodes)
The enigma of psychedelic use tugs at the curiosity of those seeking to connect with the source of consciousness. Since the earliest days of shamanic initiation to the dawning of a new era of spiritual evolution, psychedelic plants have been thought of as the initiators of expanded consciousness.
Bufo Alvarius
Focus: Bufo Alvarius
A radical testimony of the strongest natural psychedelic, tryptamine 5-MeO-DMT produced by Bufo Alvarius. The breathtaking audio-visual adventure is enhanced by immersive animations inspired by the psychoactive effects of this extraordinary substance. Originally intended to simply document these experiences, the film evolved into an intense meditation on the nature of consciousness and being.
ABC News Close Up: Mission Mind Control [1979]
Focus: LSD and MK Ultra Project
In 1979, ABC News aired a three-part report "Mission Mind Control" on the MK Ultra Project, a secret CIA program in the 1950's in which thousands of subjects were given experimental doses of LSD.
Hooked: Illegal Drugs & How They Got That Way - LSD, Ecstasy, and the Raves (2000)
Focus: Ecstasy and LSD
An overview of ecstasy and LSD, including the history of regulation and scientific information about each drug.
Most of the information in the early part of the show is scientific and historical oriented information and one of the better overviews of how the drugs have been regulated in the United States. However, it turns to an anti-drug (mis)infomercial by the end.