TrueJoshNight Truly Dreadful Film

Palaest recommended

Ceticultsot Beautiful, moving film.

Lidia Draper Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Mark Turner Long before there was a healthcare crisis that needed addressed by Obamacare there was...a health care crisis that was never fully addressed. Nearly 40 years before the government took action writer Paddy Chayefsky used it for a satirical film called THE HOSPITAL.George C. Scott stars as Dr. Herbert Bock, a suicidal chief doctor at a busy hospital in New York City. His life a mess, his marriage on the rocks and his desire to tackle the problems of the hospital dwindling leave him a shattered man.When the film opens he's faced with one problem on top of another. The most pressing at the moment is the fact that an intern of the hospital has been found dead in an unoccupied bed in one of the rooms. Herein lies the issue with hospitals at the time, an inability to cope with the influx of patients and to keep up with paperwork.The intern in question was having sex with another staff member in a bed vacated when the patient there passed away. Falling asleep in the bed the night staff had no idea the previous patient had left and gave the sleeping intern the IV that patient was supposed to get killing him. But this is not the only case where this happens. Later on another doctor is found dead in the ER unit, dead from being ignored once his medical issue was diagnosed and he was moved.Bock rages against the way things are being done, both at nurses and at hospital higher ups. In addition to the deaths of two doctors and later a nurse, he must contend with a fellow surgeon whose botched efforts have caused him grief in the past. Dr. Welbeck (Richard Dysart) is more interested in how to make money off of his patients than he is in curing or taking care of them. That's led to numerous screwed up surgeries that Bock and his team have had to cover for.In the middle of all of this Bock meets the daughter of an ex-medical man in a coma in the hospital. Drummond (Barnard Hughes) left medicine behind and went off to study Native Americans in a small Mexican town. His daughter Barbara (Diana Rigg) followed, leaving behind her problematic past life. Now she wants to take him back to that small village rather than leave him there for testing.As Barbara and Bock discuss the situation both open up to one another in his office. She tells him her life story and he in return discusses his lack of interest in what's going on around him, his loss of faith in humanity that has left him battered and bruised emotionally. In the end they sleep together and talk of him running away with her comes up.But there is something afoot in the hospital. In addition to the protests going on outside on the sidewalk as the hospital expands and evicts tenants from the properties they live in, the mix ups in the various departments, the inability to get answers to simple questions like do you have Blue Cross and more, it turns out the mysterious deaths of the staff are anything but natural. A serial killer has apparently found his/her way into the system. Is there any hope for this hospital?While this may not sound like a comedy there are comedic moments in the film. Chayefsky was a master of dialogue and this film puts that front and center. It may not be his best example (for that see NETWORK) but it does show that in the right hands a screenwriter is just as important as the director in some cases. His work here makes the chaotic land of the modern big city hospital as a place of danger as well as of healing seem as real as it can be.Director Arthur Hiller also shows a definite skill here. Known for movies like LOVE STORY, THE OUT OF TOWNERS, THE IN LAWS and SILVER STREAK, this film shows a more acid tongued approach to comedy than some of his other films. In most cases it works but when the film is over you're left thinking that the chances of change are limited at best and unexpected at worst.Scott is always a joy to watch in any film but I honestly felt he was not as keen here as in other films. His character seems to rage too often but when he's reflecting on his life he provides a dynamite performance. Rigg here is underused and shows little of the talent she's displayed in other films and on TV. Dysart is truly slimy here and does the job incredibly well. But it is Chayefsky who shines more than the rest with his writing.Twilight Time is releasing this film on blu-ray and once more has done a great job with the presentation picture wise. Extras are limited to an isolated score and effects track and the original theatrical trailer. They are once more limiting this to just 3,000 copies so if interested make sure you get one right away.

gavin6942 An over-burdened doctor (George C. Scott) struggles to find meaning in his life while a murderer stalks the halls of his hospital.Although the film was not quite as funny as I think it could have been, it still has its moments and successfully makes a scathing attack on the medical system. Today (2017) the attack is no less potent, so the film has really stood the test of time. The writing is superb, and there is no surprise that it took home so many awards on the script.George C. Scott is excellent, as always, and Diana Rigg makes her American debut. Her character is unusually flaky and may not be to everyone's liking. The mystery aspect is quite fun, though it does not seem that enough clues are given for the audience to make any sort of informed guess.

Mr-Fusion "The Hospital" is pretty much what you'd expect from a Paddy Chayefsky movie on healthcare. Its Manhattan Hospital Center is a Gothic horror funhouse in which patients are killed either due to neglect, the wrong diagnosis or any other manner of bureaucratic nightmare. All of this is played to the ridiculous extremes and it makes for some hilarious dark comedy.George C. Scott is the film's fiery main attraction (the man is incomparable, really), and his frustrated character is both energizing and exhausting. And his one-on-one dialogues with Diana Rigg help give this movie its emotional core. But the outlandishness of this hospital is what makes this movie memorable for me. Which honestly isn't supposed to subtract in any way from Scott's contribution (seriously, watch this for him), but there's also Barnard Hughes' tirade in the OR, Mrs. Cushing's badgering of despondent patients for their Blue Cross numbers, and the kind of farcical healthcare environment that really hits a little too close to home, these days.This is riveting absurdity.8/10

Siamois The Hospital is somewhat of a cult classic for reasons that are obvious but shows unfortunate signs of age and ends up being a mixed bag. The story centers on Dr. Bock (George C. Scott) as well as the rest of the staff and the patients of a Manhattan hospital marred by bureaucratic nightmares while mysterious deaths occur. STORY:Penned by Paddy Chayefsky, this is a rather dark comedy that tackles a lot of issues which, almost 40 years later, are still very relevant. Throughout the story, the apparent flawless nature of science clashes with the failings of the nature of men. The main character Dr. Bock most brilliantly depicts this conflict. Bock is a man with intense desires and a drive to achieve yet is a broken soul. His vocation is to heal and save lives but he suffers himself from illnesses and contemplates suicide. The main character is amazing but the peripheral characters in The Hospital rarely cut it and most seem like caricatures, lessening the global impact and social commentary of the film. Furthermore, the most interesting parts of the film deal entirely with the bureaucratic aspects and the staff. The mysterious deaths take more and more importance as the story progresses and actually detract from this movie. The last half hour makes the whole almost seem pointless.CAST:On one hand, George C. Scott delivers another performance that demonstrates why he can still be considered one of the greatest actors who ever lived. His character, Dr. Bock, is complex and Scott uses all his range. This is magnificent acting. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast is so-so, due to bad casting choices, weak acting and also uninspiring characters.CINEMATOGRAPHY:Rather bland and unremarkable but still serviceable. We do get a sense of the hospital building but very few shots really grabbed me.Overall, this is a fine script by Paddy Chayefsky and George C. Scott is amazing, but some of the dialog is badly dated and a better director would have crafted a better overall film. Director Arthur Hiller is mostly renowned for getting great performances out of lead actors but a Kubrick he isn't when it comes to crafting a cinematic masterpiece.