Avant-Garde Poet Henri Michaux Creates Educational Film Visualizing Effects of Mescaline & Hash (1964)

You don’t need to understand French to appreciate the project. In 1964, the Swiss pharmaceutical company Sandoz (now Novartis) commissioned the Belgian writer, poet and painter Henri Michaux to produce a film that demonstrated the effects of hallucinogenic drugs. The company saw the film as a way to help its scientists get closer to the hallucinogenic experience — not surprising, given that Sandoz was the company that first synthesized LSD back in 1938.

Henri Michaux had already published accounts where he used words, signs and drawings to recount his experiences with trip-inducing drugs. (See his translated book, Miserable Miracle.) And that continued with the new film, Images du monde visionnaire (Images of a Visionary World.) At the top, you can find the trippy segment devoted to mescaline, and, below that, Michaux’s visual treatment of hashish. Watch the complete film, except for one unfortunately blemished minute, here.

Related Content:

This is What Oliver Sacks Learned on LSD and Amphetamines

Aldous Huxley’s LSD Death Trip

Ken Kesey’s First LSD Trip Animated

How to Operate Your Brain: A User Manual by Timothy Leary (1993)

Beyond Timothy Leary: 2002 Film Revisits History of LSD


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  • kostas says:

    WOW!Great music also but i have a question.In the film says that music is made by Gilbert Amy,but as i found out later is a jam by the band or musician named Pir!But i can’t find any more details about Pir,can someone please help me ’cause the music is perfect!

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