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Awakenings
Sign in to saveAwakenings is a 1990 American biographical drama film written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max von Sydow. It is based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 nonfiction memoir Awakenings. The film tells the story of the fictional neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Williams), whose character is based on Sacks.
OverviewAI-generated
*Awakenings* is a 1990 American drama film directed by Penny Marshall. The screenplay was written by Steven Zaillian and Oliver Sacks, based on Oliver Sacks' work of the same name. The cast includes Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, and John Heard. Randy Newman composed the music, while Miroslav Ondříček served as director of photography and Anton Furst as production designer. Walter F. Parkes and Lawrence Lasker produced the film, which was distributed by Columbia Pictures and Netflix.
The narrative is set in New York City and The Bronx, with filming taking place in New York City. The film’s main subject is von Economo's disease. It has a runtime of 116 minutes according to one source, 120 minutes according to another, and 121 minutes according to a third. The production budget was $31,000,000, and it generated $52,096,475 in revenue.
*Awakenings* received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay. It holds a rating of 7.8 on IMDb based on 177,275 votes and a vote average of 7.773 on TMDb from 2,856 votes. The film is categorized as a Biography and Drama.
Synthesized by Vinony from 40 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, TMDb, IMDb, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film · TMDB
7.8Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.
Cast
- Robert De Niro as Leonard Lowe
- Robin Williams as Malcolm Sayer
- John Heard as Dr. Kaufman
- Julie Kavner as Eleanor Costello
- Penelope Ann Miller as Paula
- Ruth Nelson as Mrs. Lowe
Themes
- coma
- experiment
- based on novel or book
- hope
- miracle
- based on true story
- hospital
- illness
- woman director
- comatose
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
Key facts
- Film.name
- Awakenings
- Film.image
- Awakenings.jpg
- Film.caption
- Theatrical release poster
- Film.director
- Penny Marshall
- Film.screenplay
- Steven Zaillian
- Film.music
- Randy Newman
- Film.cinematography
- Miroslav Ondricek
- Film.studio
- Lasker/Parkes Productions
- Film.distributor
- Columbia Pictures
- Film.runtime
- 121 minutes
- Film.country
- United States
- Film.language
- English
- Film.budget
- $29 million
- Film.gross
- $108.7 million
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- film
- Genre
- drama film
- Country of origin
- United States
- Original language
- English language
- Based on
- Awakenings
- Main subject
- von Economo's disease
- Cast member
- Barton Heyman
- Composer
- Randy Newman
- Producer
- Lawrence Lasker
- Production company
- Columbia Pictures
- Cinematographer
- Miroslav Ondříček
- Narrative location
- The Bronx
- Filming location
- New York City
- Duration
- 116
- FilmAffinity ID
- 353757
- Distribution format
- video on demand
Show 13 more facts
- publication date
- 1991-02-14
- nominated for
- Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay
- title
- Awakenings
- distributed by
- Netflix
- production designer
- Anton Furst
- after a work by
- Oliver Sacks
- box office
- 52096475
- capital cost
- 31000000
- aspect ratio (W:H)
- 16:9
- set in environment
- psychiatric hospital
- review score
- 74/100
- described at URL
- baike.sogou.com/v154946534.htm
- set in period
- 1969
Sources (13)
via Wikidata · CC0
~11 min read
Encyclopedic overview
11 sectionsContents
- Plot
- Cast
- Production
- Casting
- Filming
- Reception
- Critical response
- Accolades
- Explanatory notes
- References
- External links
Awakenings is a 1990 American biographical drama film written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max von Sydow. It is based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 nonfiction memoir Awakenings. The film tells the story of the fictional neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Williams), whose character is based on Sacks.
In 1969, Sayer discovers the beneficial effects of the drug L-DOPA and administers the drug to catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. The patients—among them the focal character Leonard Lowe (De Niro)—are awakened after decades and must therefore try to acclimate to life in a new and unfamiliar time.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Awakenings” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.