Rating: 
Summary: Fun medical thriller
Review: "Coma" is based on the novel by Robin Cook, and a thoroughly fun read has become a thoroughly fun movie. Set in Boston Memorial Hospital, it tells the tale of a female doctor who begins to suspect the unthinkable when two patients in two days become comatose during minor procedures. Genevieve Bujold plays the doctor and Michael Douglas, also portraying a doctor, is her lover who initially doubts her. Naturally the males in the film believe Bujold is having an emotional reaction, since one of the coma patients was Bujold's best friend. But the film proceeds at a brisk clip with many hair-raising and cliff-hanging turns, all of them delicious and exciting, as Bujold stubbornly follows up on her suspicions. What can be better than Bujold escaping the sinister Jefferson Institute, where the coma patients mysteriously are transferred, clinging to the siren on top of an ambulance? The suspense is well handled, but there are other delights that have to do with the 70's. FOr instance, all the instances of characters having "real" conversations -- something that was so popular in the 70's -- nurses hanging around the locker rooms or over surgery, discussing their home lives -- in a way that sounds completely and amusingly staged and artificial. And Bujold, with the feminist movement new, is so aggressive in her attempt to prove herself in a man's world to the point of coming off cold and hostile, yet ultimately she becomes a classic female hysteric whose boyfriend comes to the rescue. Still, it doesn't detract from the fun, because Bujold is also bold and the heroine who dares to blow the whistle and risk her life to uncover the mystery. As Leonard Maltin said, this film combines the best of medical films with mystery and suspense, so it's a double delight.
Rating:
Summary: Fun medical thriller
Review: "Coma" is based on the novel by Robin Cook, and a thoroughly fun read has become a thoroughly fun movie. Set in Boston Memorial Hospital, it tells the tale of a female doctor who begins to suspect the unthinkable when two patients in two days become comatose during minor procedures. Genevieve Bujold plays the doctor and Michael Douglas, also portraying a doctor, is her lover who initially doubts her. Naturally the males in the film believe Bujold is having an emotional reaction, since one of the coma patients was Bujold's best friend. But the film proceeds at a brisk clip with many hair-raising and cliff-hanging turns, all of them delicious and exciting, as Bujold stubbornly follows up on her suspicions. What can be better than Bujold escaping the sinister Jefferson Institute, where the coma patients mysteriously are transferred, clinging to the siren on top of an ambulance? The suspense is well handled, but there are other delights that have to do with the 70's. FOr instance, all the instances of characters having "real" conversations -- something that was so popular in the 70's -- nurses hanging around the locker rooms or over surgery, discussing their home lives -- in a way that sounds completely and amusingly staged and artificial. And Bujold, with the feminist movement new, is so aggressive in her attempt to prove herself in a man's world to the point of coming off cold and hostile, yet ultimately she becomes a classic female hysteric whose boyfriend comes to the rescue. Still, it doesn't detract from the fun, because Bujold is also bold and the heroine who dares to blow the whistle and risk her life to uncover the mystery. As Leonard Maltin said, this film combines the best of medical films with mystery and suspense, so it's a double delight.
Rating:
Summary: It's Burke and Hare all over again!
Review: After his success with the 1973 sci-fi thriller "Westworld" director Michael Crichton followed up with 1978's "Coma". In the earlier film he dazzled us with a fantastic futuristic vacation resort that turns against it's patrons. Here Crichton depicts the medical care system as a treacherous terrain where some patients may fall victim to odious conspiracy's. Most people quite naturally experience an overwhelming fear of being defenseless and vulnerable while at the mercy of a hospital staff when they are admitted for surgery. Crichton explores this tendency of ours to suffer anxiety and apprehension at this prospect without being exploitative. He carefully crafts a believable scenario and we soon become caught in the same tangled web as the lead character Dr. Susan Wheeler, played marvelously by Genevieve Bujold. Wheeler is a bright, strong willed, liberated woman who supports herself and can withstand a challenge from her current boyfriend Dr. Mark Bellows, well played by Michael Douglas. Crichton received both critical praise and public criticism for the movie's portrayal of such an emancipated heroine, a role which has fortunately become more standard in the years that have followed. When Wheeler's friend Mary is admitted to the hospital for an abortion Mary expresses her fears to Wheeler who assures her it is a routine operation and that she shouldn't feel a need to worry. Something does go wrong with the operation however and Mary falls into a coma, shortly afterward she dies. This event doesn't seem possible to Wheeler and out of curiousity she reviews Mary's medical records and notices inconsistencies and inquires about them. This sequence begins what will become a complicated and formidable investigation that she proves completely capable of following through on. Her defiance is so threatening that soon a predator is stalking her intending on silencing her permanently and she handles this situation resolutely, fighting against her fears and facing the enemy. Crichton presents coherent, edifying scenes of doctors, interns and nurses going about their daily duties that adds authenticity to the film. The anesthesia explanation is well written and necessary for our understanding of the plot. The Jefferson Institute complex is the film's great set piece. It stands isolated in a lush green valley looking sterile and impersonal, matching the cold treatment that Wheeler has been receiving from her male superiors who she has been reporting her findings to. The building also adds a striking Gothic horror feel to the movie; the sight of bodies suspended by wires from the ceiling is eerie, chilling and unforgettable. "Coma" also features splendid supporting peformances by many recognizable faces. Tom Selleck has a brief bit as a patient who is victimized; Ed Harris appears as a Pathology resident - with a headful of hair!; Rip Torn plays Dr. George, the hospital's Chief of Anesthesiology, who Wheeler suspects; Elizabeth Ashley is the autocratic and apparently soulless head of Jefferson Institute. But it's Richard Widmark who makes the strongest impression as the hospital's administrator, Dr. Harris. His final self-righteous discourse to Bujold, as she slowly succumbs to poisoning, is memorable - he brazenly explains away ethics as if they were a mere contrivance. It's at this point you realize that throughout the film he has been dispensing his diabolical medical elitism with all the ease and grace of a seasoned diplomat. Mysteriously, Crichton chooses to film a climax that has Wheeler falling into an all too familiar 'damsel in distress' situation where she needs to be rescued by a man. But the sight of her lying helpless on the operating table makes your heart pump with fear and anxiety, creating another of the film's most effective moments. Not one of us wants to be this completely helpless and vulnerable! "Coma" remains a top-notch medical thriller today despite it's lack of special effects that today's sophisticated audiences demand from this genre. Still, it remains largely unknown, enjoying a bit of cult movie status among the moviegoers who came of age in the 70's. One final note: People often mistakenly credit Crichton for writing the book upon which the film "Coma" is based. Actually Robin Cook is the book's author although I can see why people would easily make this incorrect distinction due to some similarities between them. They each have a medical degree and earlier in his career Crichton penned a handful of novels that had a medical setting and wrote the non-fiction book "Five Patients" as well.
Rating:
Summary: It's Burke and Hare all over again!
Review: After his success with the 1973 sci-fi thriller "Westworld" director Michael Crichton followed up with 1978's "Coma". In the earlier film he dazzled us with a fantastic futuristic vacation resort that turns against it's patrons. Here Crichton depicts the medical care system as a treacherous terrain where some patients may fall victim to odious conspiracy's. Most people quite naturally experience an overwhelming fear of being defenseless and vulnerable while at the mercy of a hospital staff when they are admitted for surgery. Crichton explores this tendency of ours to suffer anxiety and apprehension at this prospect without being exploitative. He carefully crafts a believable scenario and we soon become caught in the same tangled web as the lead character Dr. Susan Wheeler, played marvelously by Genevieve Bujold. Wheeler is a bright, strong willed, liberated woman who supports herself and can withstand a challenge from her current boyfriend Dr. Mark Bellows, well played by Michael Douglas. Crichton received both critical praise and public criticism for the movie's portrayal of such an emancipated heroine, a role which has fortunately become more standard in the years that have followed. When Wheeler's friend Mary is admitted to the hospital for an abortion Mary expresses her fears to Wheeler who assures her it is a routine operation and that she shouldn't feel a need to worry. Something does go wrong with the operation however and Mary falls into a coma, shortly afterward she dies. This event doesn't seem possible to Wheeler and out of curiousity she reviews Mary's medical records and notices inconsistencies and inquires about them. This sequence begins what will become a complicated and formidable investigation that she proves completely capable of following through on. Her defiance is so threatening that soon a predator is stalking her intending on silencing her permanently and she handles this situation resolutely, fighting against her fears and facing the enemy. Crichton presents coherent, edifying scenes of doctors, interns and nurses going about their daily duties that adds authenticity to the film. The anesthesia explanation is well written and necessary for our understanding of the plot. The Jefferson Institute complex is the film's great set piece. It stands isolated in a lush green valley looking sterile and impersonal, matching the cold treatment that Wheeler has been receiving from her male superiors who she has been reporting her findings to. The building also adds a striking Gothic horror feel to the movie; the sight of bodies suspended by wires from the ceiling is eerie, chilling and unforgettable. "Coma" also features splendid supporting peformances by many recognizable faces. Tom Selleck has a brief bit as a patient who is victimized; Ed Harris appears as a Pathology resident - with a headful of hair!; Rip Torn plays Dr. George, the hospital's Chief of Anesthesiology, who Wheeler suspects; Elizabeth Ashley is the autocratic and apparently soulless head of Jefferson Institute. But it's Richard Widmark who makes the strongest impression as the hospital's administrator, Dr. Harris. His final self-righteous discourse to Bujold, as she slowly succumbs to poisoning, is memorable - he brazenly explains away ethics as if they were a mere contrivance. It's at this point you realize that throughout the film he has been dispensing his diabolical medical elitism with all the ease and grace of a seasoned diplomat. Mysteriously, Crichton chooses to film a climax that has Wheeler falling into an all too familiar 'damsel in distress' situation where she needs to be rescued by a man. But the sight of her lying helpless on the operating table makes your heart pump with fear and anxiety, creating another of the film's most effective moments. Not one of us wants to be this completely helpless and vulnerable! "Coma" remains a top-notch medical thriller today despite it's lack of special effects that today's sophisticated audiences demand from this genre. Still, it remains largely unknown, enjoying a bit of cult movie status among the moviegoers who came of age in the 70's. One final note: People often mistakenly credit Crichton for writing the book upon which the film "Coma" is based. Actually Robin Cook is the book's author although I can see why people would easily make this incorrect distinction due to some similarities between them. They each have a medical degree and earlier in his career Crichton penned a handful of novels that had a medical setting and wrote the non-fiction book "Five Patients" as well.
Rating: 
Summary: Coma
Review: COMA
1978/104m
Based on Robin Cooks noval . Anybody who likes thrillers is in for a treat. What also makes this a great film is that the main character is played by a woman (Geneieve Bujold) it's got non of that macho stuff involved in it's storyline but that's not to saying she doesn't fight back she kick some butt and isn't afraid to speak out. If I gave any of the plot away it would greatly hurt the films impact.The hospital is very creepy and the main character goes through a lot of stuff on her jounrney to finding out who's putting healthy people under ereversible coma's. Victor J. Kemper did the Cinematography and Gerald Hirschfeld did the sequence were the coma victims are kept. production design is by Albert Brenner and it was edited by David Bretherton
directed by Michael Crichton.
Rating:
Summary: Spine Tingling !
Review: Coma is a first rate suspense thriller, Genevieve Bujold is a doctor who discovers that a number of patients have falen into Coma for no reason, or is there ? Great score by Jerry Goldsmith, and the plot twists are there two keep you guessing ! Geat Movie !
Rating:
Summary: A different type movie from Michael Crichton
Review: Erie and supeceful thriller from Michael Crichton, who directed this movie based on a medical thriller by Robin Cook, staring Michael Douglas and a cast of fairly well known actors who invetsigate bizzare deaths and disaperances at a hospital where doctors are clearly not observing the Hippocratic oath.
Rating: 
Summary: A good, entertaining medical thriller
Review: For a period in the 1970s, it looked as if Michael Crichton was on his way to becoming a film director instead of the author of popular science-thrillers that he is principally known as today. He had a hit with the robot science-fiction meets the Western flick with "Westworld" in 1973, and he followed it up with this medical thriller in 1978. Based on a book by another M.D.-turned-novelist, Robin Cook, "Coma" is an entertaining suspenser with some good performances and nice pacing, helped immensely by Crichton's expertise on the medical profession and the politics of working in a hospital. Unfortunately, "Coma" is one of those films that's good enough to make you wish it could have been even better. You feel satisfied with the viewing experience, but feel that the movie could have pushed itself even farther and turned from a good film into a very good film. The potential is certainly there, with a fun conspiracy plotline (Why are supposedly healthy people at a Boston hospital falling into irreversible comas? What is the purpose of the freaky, mysterious Jefferson Institute to where the coma patients are being shipped?), its level of paranoia (no one believes heroine Genevieve Bujold's suspicions -- or perhaps everyone around her is in on it), and Crichton's perfectly realistic representation of medical jargon and the workings of a busy hospital (a prelude to his television creation, E.R.). Many of the performances are excellent as well, especially Michael Douglas as Bujold's ambitious doctor boyfriend, Richard Widmark as the chief surgeon, and Elizabeth Ashley as the nearly robotic and incredibly frightening head of the Jefferson Institute. Rip Torn also pops in for a brief but noticeable role as the gruff head of anesthesia. (And hey, look, it's Tom Selleck in a brief appearance an an unfortunate patient!) The score by Jerry Goldsmith is also deliciously suspenseful and takes an unusual approach (no music at all for the first forty-five minutes, then almost non-stop growing fear through pounding pianos and creepy strings). But "Coma" is often too cold, too distant, and Bujold's performance is too one-note and disinterested to make the film work as well as it could. Crichton also handles many of the scenes in a flat, pedestrian manner; he has trouble dealing with the character-driven scenes, and really needs actors like Michael Douglas and Rip Torn to carry these sequences. Except for the scenes at the Jefferson Institute and its ghastly "hanging room" (the film's best set-piece), the whole movie has a bland, flat look that makes it feel as if it were shot for television. And the final twist in the story won't surprise anybody. But I still recommend "Coma" as an entertaining thriller. Even if you can see the surprise revelation coming long before the heroine does, the actual finale is a squirmy, suspenseful bit that plays off everyone's hidden fear of hospitals in general and surgery specifically. And Crichton's attention to realism in his setting puts the film far ahead of most of the overactive, loud and obnoxious thrillers released today. People in the medical profession in particular will enjoy the movie, but even if you can't tell a stethoscope from syringe, you'll find yourself enjoyably drawn into the mystery of "Coma." (Don't expect much in the way of extras on this DVD -- they're really aren't any. Commentary from Crichton would have been extremely interesting, but alas, nothing.)
Rating:
Summary: Suspense flowing through every vein.
Review: Genevieve Bujold gives a carefully restrained performance in this now classic suspenser. You'll be rooting for her "whistle blower" doctor every step of the way (and feeling her frustrations.) I first saw this film at my local public library when I was a kid and have been frightened by it ever since. Today, the hospital's actions can be viewed more as fact than fiction. Way to go team!
Rating:
Summary: WELL EXECUTED THRILLER
Review: I discovered by chance that this 1978 thriller with Michael Douglas was written and directed by Michael Crichton, who was himself a qualified medical doctor, but this film would have one believe that he had no love lost for his original profession (as would "The Andromeda Strain".) Coma despite being an "old" movie by many standards, is surprisingly fascinating on DVD. Crichton gets good performances from the whole cast, with Genevieve Bujold, in particular, reminding us of what a fine actress she can be. As a doctor suspicious of certain goings-on in her hospital but disbelieved by everyone around her, she shows courage and determination (without ever losing her femininity) which is welcome in a female lead. She finds herself forced to question her own sense of perspective, even her sanity, as she struggles to uncover the mystery of comatose patients that surround her. There's one sizeable twist towards the latter half of the movie, but you generally know what's going to happen. The beauty of this movie is in the overall execution -- it's VERY well done. Recommended rental. Especially for the medically inclined.
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