13 best films about doctors and medicine

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Horror, drama and inspirational stories based on true events.

13. Comatose people

• USA, 1990.
• Mystical thriller, horror.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

Medical student Nelson Wright convinces his friends to help him conduct a dangerous scientific experiment to find out if there is life after death. The results exceed all expectations, but the researchers are faced with an unexpected problem: they begin to torment them with terrible visions.

Joel Schumacher, best known as the director of the most controversial Batman films, skillfully combined teenage comedy with a horror film. The roles were played by famous actors, including Kiefer Sutherland and Julia Roberts. At the time of its release, the picture received rather contradictory reviews, but over time it found recognition among the audience.

12. Epidemic

• USA, 1995.
• A disaster film, thriller.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 6.

A team of epidemiologists is trying to stop the most dangerous virus that the military has developed. The latter know how to make a vaccine. You just need to find the first carrier. It turns out to be an ordinary monkey, but it disappeared without a trace.

Remarkable actors (primarily Rene Russo) managed to create the image of heroes who work tirelessly for a noble goal - so that as few people as possible suffer from the virus.

11. The demon inside

• UK, USA, 2016.
• Mystical thriller, horror.
• Duration: 85 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

The body of a young girl, found under very strange circumstances, arrives at a small private morgue. An elderly pathologist Tommy Tilden, together with his son Austin, is trying to find out how the victim died, but the further, the more strange and dangerous the autopsy process becomes.

Norwegian director André Ovredal made his film inspired by James Wan's The Conjuring. The film has earned praise from the king of horror Stephen King and critics, and its well-considered plot will delight connoisseurs of unexpected endings.

10. Healer Adams

• USA, 1998.
• Biography, tragicomedy.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 8.

Middle-aged man Hunter Adams, nicknamed Patch, ends up in a psychiatric clinic due to suicide attempts. There, the hero is convinced that laughter helps from any illness. This prompts him to create his own, unlike anything else, a method of treating patients.

The film is based in part on the biography of a real person - the doctor and hospital clown Hunter Patch Adams. The doctor himself did not like the tape very much, but after the success at the box office, "Healer Adams" fueled interest in volunteering around the world.

9. Doctor

• USA, 1991.
• Biography, drama.
• Duration: 123 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Successful surgeon Jack McKee has always remained cold-blooded and even indifferent to the suffering of others. But one day a malignant tumor of the throat is found in him, and then the man has the opportunity to see the world of the hospital through the eyes of a patient.

The collaborative work of director Randa Haynes and actor William Hurt reveals the problems of doctors from the inside and tells how even a cynical professional, vaguely reminiscent of Gregory House, can find the strength to change and embark on the path of humanism.

8. Defender

• UK, Australia, USA, 2015.
• Sports drama, biography.
• Duration: 123 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

A young pathologist discovers that American football causes irreversible brain damage in players. However, not everyone is ready to hear the cruel truth, and the National Football League organizes the persecution of the medic.

The film, directed by Peter Landesman, tells the story of the life of Bennett Omalu, a real neuropathologist, who was very convincingly played by everyone's favorite Will Smith. The film touches upon important social problems of corruption, racism, discrimination and perfectly reveals the theme of a person's struggle against injustice.

7. Hospital

• USA, 1971.
• Tragicomedy, detective.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

Dr. Herbert Bock is suffering from a midlife crisis and is contemplating suicide. Meanwhile, within the walls of the hospital under his supervision, patients and doctors die one after another under mysterious circumstances. Now the man has no time to think about how to take his own life, because he must understand the reasons for what is happening.

This is not only an unusually sophisticated detective comedy, but also a first-class satire. Director Arthur Hillier ruthlessly ridicules the incompetence of doctors, paramedics and nurses and encourages people to think not only about the shortcomings of the health care system, but also about common human troubles such as stupidity and slovenliness.

6. Interrupted life

• USA, 1999.
• Biography, drama.
• Duration: 127 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 3.

After a failed suicide attempt, 18-year-old Suzanne is sent to a psychiatric clinic, where she meets a troubled and rebellious sociopathic girl Lisa. To get out of the hospital, the heroine needs to be cured, only it turns out that a new friend is pulling her to the bottom.

The film is based on the book of the same name by the American writer Suzanne Keysen, in which she describes two years spent in a psychiatric hospital. The picture received mixed reviews, but all critics unanimously called the role of Fox, performed by Angelina Jolie, an absolute triumph.

5. Military Field Hospital M. E. Sh

• USA, 1969.
• Black comedy.
• Duration: 116 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

The action takes place in an American field hospital located next to the front line of the Korean War, where young surgeons arrive. They are trying hard to have fun, flirt with the nurses and come up with pranks to distract from the hardships of military life.

The legendary film gave rise to an entire franchise. After the success of the full-length film, the fate of the main characters continued to be told in the series. True, in the television version, all the performers of the main roles changed, but the essence remained the same: funny, touching and even scary stories about military doctors.

4. Golden hands

• USA, 2009.
• Biographical drama.
• Duration: 90 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Boy Ben, who grew up in a poor African American family, finds it difficult to study. However, the hero successfully overcomes all obstacles and becomes the world's best pediatric neurosurgeon. And now he needs to carry out the most complex operation, which no one has ever done before.

The television drama tells the story of the formation of the famous American neurosurgeon Ben Carson, who was the first in history to separate the occipital Siamese twins. The film is in a hurry to convey to the audience an obvious, but very important thing: the secret of success lies not only in natural talent and hard work, but also in the support of a loving family.

3. Awakening

• USA, 1990.
• Biographical drama.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Shy, middle-aged medical researcher Malcolm Sayer starts working in a regular hospital. There he introduces experimental drugs to patients who have been in a coma for several decades. The doctor manages to bring back to life Leonardo, who fell into a coma in his youth, and he wakes up at the age of 50.

Despite the incredible fantasy of the plot, everything described really happened in 1969-1970 with the talented neuropathologist Oliver Sachs. The doctor later wrote about this case in his memoirs. The film won well-deserved Oscars for Best Screenplay and Film of the Year, and critics praised the performance of Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. The latter played one of his best dramatic roles in the film.

2. Spacesuit and butterfly

• France, USA, 2007.
• Biographical drama.
• Duration: 107 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 0.

After a stroke, a talented editor finds that his entire body is completely paralyzed. Doctors develop a special apparatus for him, and then the hero dictates a whole book to his assistant, only blinking his left eye.

The poignant story of the torment of a writer trapped in his own body is based on real events. Former editor of ELLE France magazine Jean-Dominique Boby did indeed write the book "The Spacesuit and the Butterfly", which was used for the film. The autobiography has sold millions of copies around the world, and the film adaptation has taken many prestigious film awards.

1. Creation of the Lord

• USA, 2004.
• Biographical drama.
• Duration: 110 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

In the 40s of the XX century, the gifted doctor Alfred Blaylock, known for his difficult character, notices the talented black laboratory assistant Vivien Thomas. Soon he becomes his companion, an irreplaceable assistant and best friend. However, public opinion endangers not only their relationship, but also joint research.

The founder of modern cardiac surgery, Dr. Blaylock, was played by the outstanding British actor Alan Rickman, and the role of his partner went to the musician Dante Terrell Smith, known under the stage name Mos Def.