Coma (1978)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Michael Crichton

Writers:

Michael Crichton (screenplay)
Robin Cook (novel)

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:

Coma | Surgery | Hospital | Doctor | Dead Body

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:

The building used for the exteriors of the evil medical facility is actually the former Xerox Lexington, Massachusetts sales office, located about 10 minutes from downtown Boston near the intersection of routes 2 and 128. It is now the headquarters of Stride Rite footwear. The building has been altered since 1978 but is largely unchanged.

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 "Remington Steele: A Good Night's Steele (#1.13)" (1983)

Realistic and frightening Look at what could go wrong on the operating table!

Coma was a really fun film. I liked it to pieces. It opens with a really intriguing shot of a gorgeous Genevieve Bujold driving to her work as a Dr. Wheeler, and listening to the radio on a beautiful crisp Boston morning. A film like this has the audience attention from that grab. Exposition ensues and so does a bit of crazy character development. Then, something else happens, ,a major death takes place and a real intrigue seeks in. Then, the revelation is that a crisis is concerning certain patients. Not for those who are queasy in hospitals. This film, about patients slipping one by one into a coma for no apparent reason still has enough affect to chill every one of it's audience members to the bone! All the stars are at their best with a script that-while has some of its unoticable flaws- keeps the audience in the roots of fear as they root for the lead female. Great Jerry Goldsmith score as well. Great photography and direction from Crighton. a cool film!