Awakenings
Awakenings is a 1990 American drama film based on the 1973 non-fiction book of the same name. Directed by Penny Marshall, it was written for the screen by Steven Zaillian, who based his screenplay on Oliver Sacks's 1973 memoir of the same name. It tells the story of neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams), based on Sacks, who discovers the beneficial effects of the drug -DOPA in 1969. He administers it to catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. Leonard Lowe (Robert De Niro) and the rest of the patients are awakened after decades, and have to deal with a new life in a new time. Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max von Sydow also star in the cast. Awakenings was produced by Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, who first encountered Sacks's book as undergraduates at Yale, and optioned it a few years later. The film was a critical and commercial success, earning $108.7 million on a $29 million budget, and was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Plot
In 1969, Dr. Malcolm Sayer is a dedicated and caring physician at a local hospital in the Bronx borough of New York City. After working extensively with the catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica, Sayer discovers that certain stimuli will reach beyond the patients' respective catatonic states; actions, such as catching a ball, hearing familiar music, being called by their name, and enjoying human touch, all have unique effects on particular patients and offer a glimpse into their worlds. Patient Leonard Lowe seems to remain unmoved, but Sayer learns that Leonard is able to communicate with him by using a Ouija board.
Awards
Cast
More details
| author | Alain Cuniot Oliver Sacks Steven Zaillian |
|---|---|
| award | National Board of Review: Top Ten Films |
| contentLocation | New York City |
| director | Alain Cuniot Penny Marshall |
| editor | Battle Davis Jerry Greenberg |
| events | von Economo's disease |
| genre | drama |
| keywords | awaken bronx catatonia catatonic catatonic state dedicate encephalitis lethargica facial and body tics begin to manifest force happen hear hospital staff l-dopa learn levodopa-induced dyskinesia new life ouija ouija board parkinson\'s disease <small>l</small>-dopa |
| musicBy | Randy Newman |
| nomination | Academy Award for Best Actor Academy Award for Best Picture Academy Award for Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay |
| producer | Lawrence Lasker Walter F. Parkes |
| productionCompany | Lasker/Parkes Productions |
| publisher | Columbia Pictures |
| recordedAt | New York City |