Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Platicsco Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

gavin6942 An over-burdened doctor (George C. Scott) struggles to find meaning in his life while a murderer stalks the halls of his hospital.Although the film was not quite as funny as I think it could have been, it still has its moments and successfully makes a scathing attack on the medical system. Today (2017) the attack is no less potent, so the film has really stood the test of time. The writing is superb, and there is no surprise that it took home so many awards on the script.George C. Scott is excellent, as always, and Diana Rigg makes her American debut. Her character is unusually flaky and may not be to everyone's liking. The mystery aspect is quite fun, though it does not seem that enough clues are given for the audience to make any sort of informed guess.

AaronCapenBanner George C. Scott delivers a searing performance as Dr. Herbert Brock, Chief of Medicine at an unnamed urban hospital who is beset by a series of mysterious deaths(both doctors and patients) that he at first attributes to incompetence(there is some) but later finds that they are a deliberate act committed by a man...In the meantime, he must deal with his own problems as he struggles with a divorce, grown children who wont speak to him, and his impotence. His life changes when he meets a beautiful woman(Diana Rigg) who wants his permission to release her comatose father into her care. Brock pours his heart out and vents his rage with her, causing them to fall in love(!) though her father isn't as comatose as they think...Brilliant comedy is one of the finest ever made, being uproariously funny on the one hand, yet profoundly bleak on the other. Superbly written(Paddy Chayefsky) and directed(Arthur Hiller) film has many profound things to say about medicine and humanity, and will stay with you long after the film is over. A classic.

Rockwell_Cronenberg An okay film that is mostly served as a podium for a phenomenal performance to be delivered to the masses. Paddy Chayefsky's script is loaded with hilarity and some strong monologues for the actors to devour (which they gladly do), but there's a lot going on and director Arthur Hiller doesn't quite know what to do with the tone, but George C. Scott's performance is one for the ages. He plays a suicidal doctor in the world's worst hospital, which is surrounded by lawsuits, protesters and utter incompetence. There's tons of stuff happening and it doesn't all come together fluidly, but it mixes in plenty of hilarious moments without ever straining too far into broad comedy territory.Scott is definitely the primary thing going for it though, a towering force of expert comedy and drama that does what I wish the entire film had done. He's a great straight man for all of the madcap disasters happening throughout the hospital, and his suicidal rampages walk that fine line of being comedic and darkly intimidating at the same time. There's a scene between him and Diana Rigg where she tries to seduce him and he ends up going into a very dark reservoir of his mind that is haunting and terrifying. He devours everything around him, a wrecking ball of frustration with the world and he shines strong when delivering the impressive Chayefsky dialogue. The film itself doesn't quite hit the mark it's going for, but it's certainly still a worthwhile experience, elevated by the superb performance from Scott and Chayefsky's writing.

Bolesroor "The Hospital" is a 1971 satire written by Paddy Chayefsky, and while it contains a slew of original ideas and creative plot lines, it never gels or forms one cohesive story or film.It's easy to see the similarities between this movie and Chayefsky's "Network:" he clearly did extensive research on his subjects, creating bold characters that embodied the best and worst of their respective industry, and while his satirical plot lines were mostly reality-based, he had no problem exaggerating or taking a fantastic turn in order to drive his points home or resolve his characters' stories. In "Network," this formula succeeds brilliantly, as Peter Finch's man-prophet is just the sort of phenomenon that might be embraced by the viewing public and the TV industry. (There's even a "Network" reference as George C. Scott opens the window and shouts out to the world outside.)In "Hospital" the plot lines are just too bizarre. An Indian doing a healing dance over a comatose man's bed... a serial killer who murders doctors because it's "God's will"... an impotent hospital who is "cured" by raping a hippie chick... ethnic victims who protest and storm the hospital... it's too much. Had Chayefsky streamlined his story and condensed his list of targets the movie might have been more organic, more believable. As it is we're given so many unrealistic scenes in a row that there's no foothold, no chance to catch your breath and ground the proceedings.George C. Scott is great as the tormented, impotent doctor, but his dialogue becomes so heavy and deliberate he loses all credibility. Once the sultry Diana Rigg appears, (who owed us at least one topless shot) the movie forgets it's a satire of the medical industry and becomes a cockeyed, unconvincing love story with no clear motivations for any of the characters. Rigg's father is this film's man-prophet, but he loses all credibility when we learn he's killed multiple people- murderers lose the right to make a point, even in the movies.This is a script that needed a rewrite from a neutral party, and a reminder of why the director- and not the screenwriter- should be the ultimate author of a film. Chayefsky is so busy forcing dialogue and back-story into Scott & Rigg's mouth that he never allows the characters to Breathe, or to demonstrate who they are not by what they Say but by what they Do, which is a key to good screen writing and filmmaking. To see Paddy Chayefsky at his most brilliant, watch "Network." To see him wielding too much power and missing his own point, watch "The Hospital." It might have been brilliant.GRADE: C+