Dying Young (1991)

User Rating:

5.3/10   

Director:

Joel Schumacher

Writers (WGA):

Marti Leimbach (novel)
Richard Friedenberg (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 June 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She's giving him something nobody else could. A reason to live.

Plot:

After she discovers that her boyfriend has betrayed her, Hilary O'Neil is looking for a new start and a new job...

Plot Keywords:

Cancer | Nurse | Tragic Love | Maze | Dying Young

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Julia Roberts	...	Hilary O'Neil
Campbell Scott	...	Victor Geddes
Vincent D'Onofrio	...	Gordon
Colleen Dewhurst	...	Estelle Whittier
David Selby	...	Richard Geddes
Ellen Burstyn	...	Mrs. O'Neil
Dion Anderson	...	Cappy
George Martin	...	Malachi
A.J. Johnson	...	Shauna
Daniel Beer	...	Danny
Behrooz Afrakhan	...	Moamar
Michael Halton	...	Gordon's Friend
Larry Nash	...	Assistant
Alex Trebek	...	Host of Jeopardy
Richard Friedenberg	...	Jeopardy Contestant
Duncan Henderson	...	Jeopardy Contestant
Bettina Rose	...	Jeopardy Contestant
Howard Morris	...	Voice on Jetsons (voice)
Fran Lucci	...	Annabel
John M. Rosenberg	...	Bandleader
Patrick Cage	...	Shauna's Boyfriend
Tim Bohn	...	Guest
Holly Del Russo	...	Child in Hospital
Trevor Fant	...	Child in Hospital
Kevin O'Connor	...	Child in Hospital
Lauren Oymainan	...	Child in Hospital
Erin Vallely	...	Child in Hospital
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ron Krauss	...	Hilary's Night Club Friend (uncredited)
Ron Roggé	...	Head Waiter (uncredited)

Directed by
Joel Schumacher

Writing credits (WGA)
Marti Leimbach		(novel)
Richard Friedenberg		(screenplay)

Produced by
Sally Field	....	producer
Mauri Syd Gayton	....	associate producer (as Mauri Gayton)
Duncan Henderson	....	co-producer
Kevin McCormick	....	producer

Original Music by
James Newton Howard

Cinematography by
Juan Ruiz Anchía		(director of photography) (as Juan Ruiz Anchia)

Film Editing by
Robert Brown
Jim Prior

Casting by
Mary Goldberg

Art Direction by
Guy J. Comtois
Richard L. Johnson		(as Richard Johnson)

Set Decoration by
Cricket Rowland

Costume Design by
Susan Becker

Makeup Department
Richard Arrington	....	makeup artist
Bridget Cook	....	hair stylist (as Bridget McNamara Cook)
Tom Lucas	....	makeup artist
Edward St. George	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Todd Arnow	....	production supervisor
Duncan Henderson	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Carla Corwin	....	second assistant director
Stephen P. Dunn	....	first assistant director (as Stephen Dunn)
David Larson	....	dga trainee (as David E. Larson)

Art Department
Tim Ackers	....	stand-by painter (as Timothy D. Ackers)
Rodney Armanino	....	props: Northern California
Laurie Arnow-Epstein	....	construction accountant (as Laurie Arnow)
Giovanni Bianchini	....	assistant props
Tana Bishop	....	art department coordinator
Marc Bissaillon	....	propmaker
William Boyd	....	mill foreman
Chris Buchinsky	....	illustrator
Larry Clark	....	paint foremen
R. Gilbert Clayton	....	set designer
Thomas Culberhouse	....	propmaker (as Tom Culberhouse)
Gary Deaton	....	construction foreman (as Gary L. Deaton)
Cal DiValerio	....	construction coordinator
Thomas B. DiValerio	....	construction foreman
Joanna Gilliam	....	swing gang
Billie Greenbaum	....	swing gang
George E. Hanson	....	paint foremen
Donald D. Hardenburg	....	construction foreman
Ross Harpold	....	swing gang (as Daniel Ross Harpold)
Philip C. Hurst	....	greensman
Audrey A. Johnson	....	assistant property master
Kent H. Johnson	....	property master
Kristin Leachman	....	junior set designer
Jane Lucas	....	swing gang: Northern California
William Middleton	....	labor foreman (as Bill Middleton)
Barbara Munch	....	swing gang: Northern California
Charles Nixon III	....	lead man
Paul Schultz	....	propmaker
Terry Sheffield	....	drapery foreman (as Terry A. Sheffield)
Neil Spisak	....	visual consultant
Peter Stolz	....	swing gang: Northern California
Michael Whitten	....	construction foreman
Teresa Williams	....	stand-by painter: Northern California
Warren Williams	....	propmaker
Bruce Di Valerio	....	general construction foreman (uncredited)

Sound Department
Barbara Barnaby	....	sound editor
Danny Benson	....	cable person: Northern California crew
James Beshears	....	supervising adr editor
Noah Blough	....	sound editor
Brad Brock	....	dialogue editor
Paul Timothy Carden	....	co-supervising sound editor
Simon Coke	....	sound editor
C.T.W.	....	sound editor
Chris David	....	sound re-recording mixer
Richard C. Franklin	....	supervising sound editor (as Rick Franklin)
Albert Gasser	....	sound editor
Gary Gegan	....	dialogue editor
David Hagberg	....	assistant sound editor (as David Lee Hagberg)
Gary A. Hecker	....	foley mixer
Daniel Kent	....	cable person (as Dan Kent)
David MacMillan	....	sound mixer
Robert Morrisey	....	apprentice sound editor (as Rob Morrisey)
Alan L. Nineberg	....	adr editor (as Alan Nineberg)
Richard Overton	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Dick Overton)
Geoffrey Patterson	....	boom operator (as Geoffrey Lucius Patterson)
Robert Renga	....	sound recordist (as Bob Renga)
Sergio Reyes	....	sound re-recording mixer
Charleen Richards	....	dialogue editor (as Charlene Richards)
Lisa M. Risen	....	assistant adr editor
Catherine Rowe	....	foley artist
Joseph T. Sabella	....	foley artist
David E. Stone	....	sound editor (as David Stone)
Mark A. Tracy	....	apprentice sound editor (as Mark Tracy)
Bernard Weiser	....	sound editor
Ed Callahan	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Special Effects by
Pat Lee	....	special effects
Richard Ratliff	....	special effects coordinator
Wayne Rose	....	special effects foreman
Neil Smith	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Peter Donen	....	visual effects supervisor

Stunts
Bill Erickson	....	stunt coordinator
Solly Marx	....	stunts (as Solly Marks)
J. Suzanne Rampe	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunts
Pat Romano	....	stunt double (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Michael J. Bailey	....	best boy electric
J. Chuck Biagio	....	grip: Northern California (as Chuck Biagio)
Chris Centrella	....	key grip
Richard Clot	....	grip: Northern California
James B. Crawford	....	rigging gaffer (as Jim Crawford)
Sherman Fulton	....	electrician
Scott Gillis	....	grip
Frank Helbig	....	electrician: Northern California
Larry Kennedy	....	gaffer
Jeff Kluttz	....	key grip/rigging
Christine M. Loss	....	still photographer (as Christine Loss)
Hugh McCallum	....	best boy grip
Art Monzo	....	electrician (as Arthur Monzo)
Joe Carl Parsons	....	electrician: Northern California
Brent Poe	....	electrician
Brad Rea	....	dolly grip: "a" camera
Greg Rhineer	....	second assistant camera
David Sanchez	....	film loader
Martin Schaer	....	additional photographer: Northern California
Martin Schaer	....	camera operator
John Stadler	....	electrician
Frank Strzalkowski	....	electrician: Northern California
Brian Sullivan	....	first assistant camera
Terry Sullivan	....	electrician: Northern California
Mike Sweeney	....	electrician
Amy Vincent	....	assistant camera: Northern California
Doug Byers	....	electrician (uncredited)
Tom Jensen	....	second assistant camera: second unit (uncredited)
Dan Kneece	....	additional Steadicam operator (uncredited)
Richard J. Lee Jr.	....	rigging set lighting technician (uncredited)

Casting Department
James Adams	....	casting associate
Barbara Harris	....	adr voice casting
Nancy Hayes	....	local casting: Northern California
Amy Lippens	....	casting associate

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Kirsten Everberg	....	costumer
Rosemarie Fall	....	costume supervisor
Barbara Marko Friedman	....	costumer
Wingate Jones	....	costumer
Evan L. Sidel	....	costume assistant

Editorial Department
David E. Blewitt	....	additional editor (as David Blewitt)
Gary Burritt	....	negative cutter
William Henry	....	assistant editor (as Bill Henry)
Sean Hubbert	....	assistant editor
Pattye Rogers	....	assistant editor
James Seidelman	....	assistant editor
Mike Stanwick	....	color timer
Christopher Waters	....	post-production coordinator (as Darren Waters)

Music Department
Brad Dechter	....	orchestrator
Kenny G	....	musician: saxophone
Michael Mason	....	scoring coordinator
Joel Moss	....	score recordist
Shawn Murphy	....	score mixer
David Olson	....	assistant music editor
Marty Paich	....	conductor: score
Ellen Segal	....	music editor
Jim Weidman	....	music editor
Chris Boardman	....	orchestrator (uncredited)
Sandy DeCrescent	....	orchestra contractor (uncredited)
Jeff Porcaro	....	musician: drums (uncredited)

Transportation Department
James G. Africa	....	driver
Bonnie Alden	....	driver
George Alden	....	driver
Brendan W. Coll	....	driver
Charles Conn	....	driver
Thomas J. Hoke	....	driver
Bradford B.L. Jones	....	driver
Dean E. Mason	....	transportation captain
Russell McEntyre	....	transportation coordinator
David Edward Metiver	....	driver
Robert J. Riedell	....	driver
Julio Salazar	....	driver
Melody Ballard Scott	....	driver
George F. Sheppard	....	driver
Tim Sisson	....	driver
Dennis C. Ward	....	driver (as Dennis Christopher Ward)
Ed Wirth	....	driver (as Edward Wirth)
Michael Avallon	....	driver (uncredited)
Barbara Rosing Hoke	....	transportation office coordinator: San Francisco/Napa locations (uncredited)

Other crew
Tom Ajar	....	projectionist
Pamela Alch	....	script supervisor (as Pam Alch)
Robert Barbosa	....	craft service (as Bob Barbosa)
Kim Bodner	....	assistant: D. Henderson (as Kim Loren Bodner)
Gena Bravos	....	stand-in: Julia Roberts
Kris Cagan	....	production assistant: Northern California
Karen Chalk Wheeler	....	assistant accountant (as Karen Chalk)
Glenn Christodora	....	assistant accountant
Richard E. Crass	....	technical advisor
Guy Ferland	....	assistant: J. Schumacher
John Fink	....	technical advisor
Dorothy Fridley	....	stage security
Louise Goodspeed	....	assistant: S. Field
Scott Harris	....	production assistant
T.J. Healy II	....	assistant location manager
Craig Hosking	....	helicopter pilot
Derek E. Johansen	....	production assistant (as Derek Johansen)
Jo Ann Kane	....	copyist (as Jo Anne Kane)
Shane Kerwin	....	production assistant: Northern California
Jim Lamb	....	stand-in: Campbell Scott
Fran Lucci	....	production accountant
Michael John Meehan	....	location manager
Kat Miller	....	production assistant: Northern California
Bruce Moessen	....	production assistant
Jan Nizen	....	assistant accountant
Kaaren F. Ochoa	....	technical advisor (as Karen Ochoa)
Pat O'Connor	....	technical advisor
Ruben Padilla	....	caterer: Angel's Food Service
K.A. Parker	....	assistant accountant
Darren Pearce	....	production assistant
Pliny Porter	....	assistant: K. McCormick
Brigitte Prochaska	....	unit publicist
Mary Quigley	....	company nurse
Bettina Rose	....	assistant: J. Schumacher
Scott Rosencrans	....	production assistant: Northern California
Randy Runkle	....	assistant production coordinator
Ellen Smith	....	production assistant: Northern California
Karyn Smith	....	animal trainer
Douy Swofford	....	title designer
Hyle Talbott White	....	assistant: J. Roberts (as HyleT. White)
Angel Trujillo	....	caterer: Angel's Food Service
Jaime Trujillo	....	caterer: Angel's Food Service
Eileen Turner	....	production assistant: Northern California
Michelle Wright	....	production coordinator

Thanks
Dave Bartlet	....	special thanks
Mike Curry	....	special thanks
Tom Davies	....	special thanks
Guy	....	dedicatee
Mike Halfhill	....	special thanks
Richard	....	dedicatee
Darrell Sattul	....	special thanks
Ann Taylor	....	special thanks
V. Sattul Winnery	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Fogwood Films
• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Distributors

• Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation (1991) (USA) (theatrical)
• Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1996) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• Abril Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Gativideo (Argentina) (video)
• Manuel Salvador (Spain)

Other Companies

• Angel's Food Service  catering
• Arista Records  soundtrack
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  camera cranes and dollies
• Movie Movers  cast trailers
• Pacific Title  titles and opticals
• The Casting Group  extras casting
• Video Image  video displays

Also Known As:

The Choice of Love (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Brazil:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | Spain:T | Sweden:11 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Filoli Ranch, Redwood City, California, USA

Company:

Fogwood Films

Trivia:

The late Colleen Dewhurst who played Estelle Whittier's character was Campbell Scott's (Victor Geddes) mother (George C. Scott was Campbell Scott's father).

Goofs:

Continuity: Snow covers the ground the night of the big party in Mendocino, and the roads are frozen over with ice, but the next morning, the snow and ice is completely gone from the entire landscape.

Quotes:

Hilary O'Neil: What is it?
Victor Geddes: Raw cow... dead.
Hilary O'Neil: What if I throw up?
Victor Geddes: Then I'll take care of you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Mystery Science Theater 3000: Alien from L.A. (#6.16)" (1993)

Soundtrack:

OH YEAH

A film that takes off -- but forgets how to fly

To put it simply, the opening third of this film is intense. Quite intense. Campbell Scott's Vincent is a tortured young man who only wants to live enough to prepare himself for death. Julia Roberts' Hillary is essentially her Vivian from Pretty Woman (I hope everyone who sees this film is as unimpressed as I was with the shameless allusion to Pretty Woman when Hillary steps off the bus in -- gasp -- a red suit), but it suits the film well. But the passionate acting from Roberts, yes, but mostly Scott absolutely rends one's heart. When Hillary declares that she thought "this guy was going to die," the audience is right there with her. Scott's performance is so rare and so special during these opening minutes because he is not self-pitying. He is aware of his disease, and he's trying to fight it. He's beyond emotional pain, and as he struggles through the physical pain, we start to feel it too. By the time Victor announces that his treatment is finished and he's ready for a vacation, the audience is ready for one too--it's really too much to watch a character we're instantly so attracted to come so close to death so many times.

However, with the change of scenery comes a change of momentum. This is not surprising considering how emotional the opening third of the movie is--I'm not sure any movie could sustain that degree of intensity for the length of a feature film. Sadly though, the couple's time in the beach house becomes, as one critic put it, a kind of music video which features long shots of "endearing" moments between the two main characters. I would have liked to see more *real* discussions, interactions, etc. between the two than the endless close-ups of their pretty faces. The townsfolk are superfluous--essentially they're stock characters, cut-outs of real people that serve no real purpose in the film. Vincent D'Onofrio's Gordon is the most confusing character of all. He seems to have some sort of flirtation with Hillary, but this is never developed, explained, or resolved. A shame, as it could have added more drama to a section of the film that was sorely lacking in any sort of dramatic effect.

The ending of the movie isn't bad, but it never quite recovers the momentum of the earlier section. However, I find that no matter how much I dislike the middle part of the film, I keep thinking about the film as a whole, and really really liking it. If you're prone to it, this film will probably make you cry. If you're not interested in tears, it's still worth watching because at the very least it will make you appreciate how lucky you are to not be going through what Vincent goes through--not having to make the decisions or sacrifices he makes each day.

I recommend watching it at least once and forming your own opinion.