The Hospital

This is the 2nd of the three great movies Paddy Chayefsky wrote in the 60's and 70's, starting with The Americanization of Emily and ending with Network, that examined, among other things, personal responsibility and the dilemma of the individual within the demands and lunacy of institutions. They are all very funny films, and very complex, and deal with much more, of course.Here Chayefsky takes on the bureaucratization and depersonalization of American medical care (pre the HMO era) and as always his insights and anger are pungent and on-target. Like Network, the satire and exaggeration was uncomfortably closer to the truth than any of us knew. Unfortunately, much of what Chayefsky saw and raved against, in both cases, has come to pass.The film deals with much more: activism, the nature of love, commitment (to a profession and work as much as to an individual), urbanization and the desire to escape it all...just to name a few.Centering the film is a simply brilliant performance by George C. Scott as a burned-out Chief of Medicine in an urban hospital: depressed, suicidal, facing the ruins of a marriage, estrangement from his family, and the loss of faith in his professional calling. He's an exhausted, defeated, angry man when we first meet him, who's life will be changed by unlikely events and people.Scott is riveting and unforgettable. He nails this man, and knows his guilt and rage that has risen from the ruins of what must have once been love and idealism and dedication. As other reviewers have noted, his suicidal rant to Diana Rigg in the middle of the picture is not to be missed, and that alone is worth the price of the video.The movie is savagely funny and Chayefsky's language, as always, is complex and beautiful. His respect for the competence and courage of professionals battling every sort of odds is evident. No one mined this territory like Chayefski, and this is a terrific script. The production and direction are competent. The supporting cast is fine. But it is Chayefsky's writing and Scott's performance that make it a must see.Hope for a DVD edition soon.

The Hospital is easily one of the most confused scripts I've ever seen captured on film. It's a harsh drama about the struggles of doctors and nurses in the medical field, but then it's also a satire about the sorry state of health care at the time, but then it's also a wacky Scooby-Doo style of murder mystery, but then it's also a whirlwind romance. 103 minutes isn't enough time to make 4 different movies, so Paddy Chayefsky probably should have just chosen one (or at most 2.) It is loaded with rambling speeches that try to justify the philosophy they are espousing. It's dark and dreary, which could work when they are aiming so directly at making a point, but the story undermines the strength of the message. It would work so much better if there was no killer who orchestrated the deaths. If it continued to be all about the negligence and sloppy practices of the hospital staff, then that would bolster the theme of the film. Instead we get a psychotic, rambling lunatic who is arranging for the hospital to finish his victims off. That whole ending completely ruins any good will the film had earned up to that point.George C. Scott is certainly engaging as the lead in The Hospital. The problem is that he is a bit too brazen and over-the-top to be sympathetic. I never really got on his side in this movie, so I wasn't invested in what happened to him. Diana Rigg, on the other hand, could be reading out of a phone book and I would be entranced. She has such a charm to her, that every line seems to have depth and meaning. I find myself wanting to slap Dr. Bock for even contemplating the option of not going with her. There are several other good character actors in this film, but most of them get small parts that only pop up for a few scenes. There are moments where I started to think The Hospital was going to be a great film. Some of the speeches were quite interesting and filled with undeniable truth. If they had made a movie to back up the words it would have been impacting and maybe forced me to contemplate the flaws in medical practices. Of course, the other problem is that, within the last 40 years a lot of things have changed in the way that medical facilities deal with these issues. That's not to say that there aren't still problems, but they are different from the problems that we see in The Hospital. So that also makes the satire a bit dated. As a result there was very little I enjoyed about this film. It certainly tried hard to win me over, but I would not recommend others seek it out.

The Hospital has an amazingly profound and sharply acerbic screenplay by Paddy Chayefsky (his next screenplay was Network). It also has a searing performance from the Academy Award winning George C. Scott and he is remarkably supported by a young Diana Rigg. This absurdly awful day in the life of a prominent doctor at a major hospital is rendered with alarming chaos and countered with---wait for it---a surprising love story. And it all works so well. Do ride this unpredictable roller-coaster of a fim!

Muy entretenida imagen aceptable sonido también

Excellent service. Item as advised.A lost gem of the 70s. Brilliant acting, fabulous film striking the perfect balance between absurd comedy and personal drama

ジョージ・C・スコットが、素晴らしい演技。この映画は、47年前の作品ですが、現在でも通じる作品です。彼が、最後にヒロインに言うセリフが今たがら身に滲みます。また、ジョージが、色気が凄い❗格好いい❤️

very good