The Doctor

1991
PG-13
2h 2m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

When a self-centered doctor is diagnosed with cancer, he becomes better able to empathize with his patients and appreciate a life outside his career.When a self-centered doctor is diagnosed with cancer, he becomes better able to empathize with his patients and appreciate a life outside his career.When a self-centered doctor is diagnosed with cancer, he becomes better able to empathize with his patients and appreciate a life outside his career.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.9/10

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 nominations

Trivia
This movie is based on the real-life story of Ed Rosenbaum, M.D. Dr. Rosenbaum wrote an autobiography entitled "A Taste of My Own Medicine: When the Doctor Becomes the Patient." This book formed the basis for the movie and is presently out of print.

Goofs
In a scene supposedly set on the roof of a San Francisco office building, between William Hurt and Elizabeth Perkins, well=known Los Angeles high-rises can be seen in the background.

Quotes
June Ellis: There was a farmer who had a lot of fields, and he kept all of the birds and creatures away from his crops with traps and fences. He was very successful... but he was very lonely. So, one day, he stood in the middle of his fields to welcome the animals. He stayed there from dawn to dusk, with his arms outstretched, calling to them. But, not a single animal came. Not a single creature appeared. They were terrified, you see, of the farmer's new Scarecrow... just let down your arms, and we'll all come to you.

Connections
Featured in Siskel & Ebert: The Doctor/Dutch/Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey/My Father's Glory/My Mother's Castle (1991)

Soundtracks
Big Girls Don't Cry
Written by Bob Gaudio and Bob Crewe
Performed by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons
Courtesy of Bob Gaudio and Frankie Valli
dba The Four Seasons Partnership

User reviews34

Review

Featured review

A new look at an old issue.

The Doctor is a film that really touches you without being too weepy. It's the way doctors along the world think until... something happens and they find themselves on the other side. William Hurt is great as The Doctor. The desperation on his face when he finds out that from now on he'll be a cancer patient is unique and authenticque. But the film is not only for this doctor. It's about the community of doctors. It's about a closed profession that will hardly accept anyone else. Doctors have their own way of seeing things and that's obvious in the film. They are those who know what comes next and that's even more frightening for them. Dr. Blumfield is someone who's been banished from that special community for "daring" to see the side of a patient. The transformation of Dr. Jack McKee is a miracle that rises through his own sickness and his "patient-mate" is an angel in disguise to help him through. The whole story verifies what people say:"doctors are the worst patients ever" and that's because they experience the ultimate fear, considering that they have the knowledge. The film illustrates all of the concerns of The Doctor so beautifully and with such realism that's hard not to like it. I don't know about the general audience, but I do strongly believe that every Medical Doctor should see it.