Circle of Power
Encyclopedia
Circle of Power is a 1983 film, co-produced by Gary Mehlman, Anthony Quinn
and Jeffrey White
, and based on the book The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled
. The film is also known as Mystique, Brainwash and The Naked Weekend.
Yvette Mimieux
plays the chief executive of a giant corporation called "Mystique", but the organization is also known as "Executive Development Training", or EDT. Christopher Allport plays Jack Nilsson, a decent all-American young executive.
Top management executives are required to spend a weekend with her 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
and alcoholism
. Another individual is a closet homosexual, and a fourth is a transvestite. 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.
. Circle of Power played under the title: Mystique, at the 1981 Chicago International Film Festival
.
A review in The New York Times
described Roth's Circle of Power as an "attack on monolithic belief systems", and stated that the film was "a worthwhile movie". Allmovie compared the psychological nature of the techniques utilized by Executive Development Training to Erhard Seminars Training
, calling them "EST-like excesses". Roger Ebert
gave the film three-stars, and wrote that "..it's an entertaining film with serious intentions..". Ebert's review of the film also compared it to events reported in Boston newspapers about a man who died during a Werner Erhard and Associates
seminar, commenting: "Art anticipates life." Ebert further questioned the conceit
of the film, asking the question: "Could a major corporation get away with this brainwashing?" However, 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.".
Anthony Quinn
Antonio Rodolfo Quinn-Oaxaca , more commonly known as Anthony Quinn, was a Mexican American actor, as well as a painter and writer...
and Jeffrey White
Jeffrey White
Jeffrey Steven White is a United States federal judge serving on the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was appointed to the Federal Bench by President George W. Bush on July 25, 2002, and received his commission on November 15, 2002.-Early life, education,...
, and based on the book The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled
The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled
The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled is a non-fiction book on Mind Dynamics, Leadership Dynamics, and Holiday Magic, written by Gene Church and Conrad D. Carnes. The book was published Outerbridge & Lazard, Inc., in 1972, and was republished in a paperback edition in 1973, by Pocket Books. The book...
. The film is also known as Mystique, Brainwash and The Naked Weekend.
Plot synopsis
Yvette Mimieux
Yvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor...
plays the chief executive of a giant corporation called "Mystique", but the organization is also known as "Executive Development Training", or EDT. Christopher Allport plays Jack Nilsson, a decent all-American young executive.
Top management executives are required to spend a weekend with her at a hotel, where they are put under psychological pressure
Psychological abuse
Psychological abuse, also referred to as emotional abuse or mental abuse, is a form of abuse characterized by a person subjecting or exposing another to behavior that may result in psychological trauma, including anxiety, chronic depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder...
. 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
Obesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and/or increased health problems...
and alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. Another individual is a closet homosexual, and a fourth is a transvestite. 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
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Yvette Mimieux Yvette Mimieux Yvette Carmen Mimieux is a retired American movie and television actress.-Early life and career:Yvette Mimieux was born in Los Angeles, California, to a French father and Mexican mother, Carmen Montemayor... |
Bianca Ray |
| Christopher Allport Christopher Allport Christopher Allport was an American actor.-Biography:Allport was born in Boston, Massachusetts. His acting life began at the age of nine in New Canaan, Connecticut at the Children's Theatre. While at Northwestern University, he worked with Paul Sills and Story Theatre... |
Jack Nilsson |
| Cindy Pickett Cindy Pickett Cindy Lou Pickett is an American actress best known for her 1970s role as Jackie Marler-Spaulding on the CBS soap Guiding Light; her role as Dr. Carol Novino on the hugely popular television drama St... |
Lyn Nilsson |
| John Considine John Considine This article is about the writer and actor. For his grandfather, the vaudeville pioneer, see John Considine . For the former Florida state representative, see John J... |
Jordan Carelli |
| Walter Olkewicz Walter Olkewicz Walter Olkewicz is an actor who played Marko in Wizards and Warriors and Coach Wordman in Making the Grade. He also guest starred in many TV shows including Night Court, Seinfeld, ER, and Who's The Boss... |
Chris Morris |
| Leo Rossi Leo Rossi Leo Rossi is an American actor and writer. He is known for his role as Budd in the 1981 horror film Halloween II and as Turkell from the 1990 horror sequel Maniac Cop 2. His other films include Heart Like a Wheel , River's Edge , The Accused , Relentless and Analyze This... |
Buddy Gordon |
| Carmen Argenziano Carmen Argenziano Carmen Antimo Argenziano is an American actor who has appeared in over 50 movies and around 100 television movies or episodes.... |
Tony Annese |
Reception
The film won a Dramatic Films award at the 1982 Sundance Film FestivalSundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the United States. Held in January in Park City, Salt Lake City, and Ogden, as well as at the Sundance Resort, the festival is a showcase for new...
. Circle of Power played under the title: Mystique, at the 1981 Chicago International Film Festival
Chicago International Film Festival
The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America....
.
A review in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
described Roth's Circle of Power as an "attack on monolithic belief systems", and stated that the film was "a worthwhile movie". Allmovie compared the psychological nature of the techniques utilized by Executive Development Training to Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training
Erhard Seminars Training, an organization founded by Werner H. Erhard, offered a two-weekend course known officially as "The est Standard Training"...
, calling them "EST-like excesses". Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
gave the film three-stars, and wrote that "..it's an entertaining film with serious intentions..". Ebert's review of the film also compared it to events reported in Boston newspapers about a man who died during a Werner Erhard and Associates
Werner Erhard and Associates
Werner Erhard and Associates, also known as WE&A or as WEA, operated as a commercial entity from February 1981 until early 1991. It replaced Erhard Seminars Training, Inc. as the vehicle for marketing, selling and imparting the content of the est training, and offered what some people refer to as...
seminar, commenting: "Art anticipates life." Ebert further questioned the conceit
Conceit
In literature, a conceit is an extended metaphor with a complex logic that governs a poetic passage or entire poem. By juxtaposing, usurping and manipulating images and ideas in surprising ways, a conceit invites the reader into a more sophisticated understanding of an object of comparison...
of the film, asking the question: "Could a major corporation get away with this brainwashing?" However, 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.".
External links
Reviews- Review, Roger EbertRoger EbertRoger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, Chicago Sun-TimesChicago Sun-TimesThe Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city... - Review, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- Review, Stomp Tokyo