Coma (1978)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Michael Crichton

Writers:

Robin Cook (novel)
Michael Crichton (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 January 1978 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller | Mystery

Tagline:

Imagine your life hangs by a thread. Imagine your body hangs by a wire. Imagine you're not imagining.

Plot:

A young woman doctor discovers something sinister going on in her hospital. Relatively healthy patients...

Plot Keywords:

Surgery | Coma | Hospital | Doctor | Body Part

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Geneviève Bujold	...	Dr. Susan Wheeler (as Genevieve Bujold)
Michael Douglas	...	Dr. Mark Bellows
Elizabeth Ashley	...	Mrs. Emerson
Rip Torn	...	Dr. George
Richard Widmark	...	Dr. Harris
Lois Chiles	...	Nancy Greenly
Hari Rhodes	...	Dr. Morelind (as Harry Rhodes)
Gary Barton	...	Computer Technician
Frank Downing	...	Kelly
Richard Doyle	...	Jim
Alan Haufrect	...	Dr. Marcus
Lance LeGault	...	Vince (as Lance Le Gault)
Michael MacRae	...	Chief Resident
Betty McGuire	...	Nurse
Tom Selleck	...	Sean Murphy

Runtime:

113 min | Belgium:104 min (video version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:15 (video rating) (1986) | UK:AA (original rating) | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 (cut) | Finland:K-18 (uncut) | USA:TV-PG (2006) | Netherlands:16 | Norway:18 (1978) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:PG | West Germany:16 (f) | Australia:M | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Beacon Hill, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Director Michael Crichton and author Robin Cook are both doctors.

Goofs:

Continuity: The MG-B that Dr. Wheeler drives in the opening scene with a tan interior and a black plastic honeycomb grille switches to an earlier model with a black interior and an all chrome grille (noticeable in the scene where the car will not start). When Dr. Wheeler visits the Jefferson Institute, it has switched back to the MG-B with the tan interior and black grille.

Quotes:

Dr. Susan Wheeler: You did it.
[Put people in irreversible comas]
Dr. George A. Harris: No decision is easy, Sue. It only looks that way when you're young. When you're older, everything is complicated. There is no black and white, only gray.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Sopranos: Do Not Resuscitate (#2.2)" (2000)

Good, fun thriller that still holds up

I just revisited this movie after 25 years and was surprised how well it held up, even given the rather absurd plot and advances in medical technology in the interim. Genevieve Bujold has forever been underused and underrated, and she is simply superb here. And while I wouldn't tarnish Hitchock's reputation by comparing Coma too closely to any of his work, Crichton does a good job of maintaining suspense. I love the scene where Richard Widmark explains the crazy rationale behind it all, and we see it through Bujold's drug-addled eyes, which somehow makes it more palatable than if we were watching it straight.

And I love all the cameos -- Lois Chiles! Tom Selleck! Ed Harris! Many other recognizable faces. Elizabeth Ashley is so over-the-top she's camp. All in all, a fun movie.