THE HOSPITAL (1971)

Directed by Arthur Hiller.  Written by Paddy Chayefsky

Starring George C. Scott, Diana Rigg, Barnard Hughes, Richard Dysart, Katherine Helmond, Frances Sternhagen,
1971, 103 minutes, Color, Rated R, 1.85:1

Spoiler Alert!

George C. Scott is great in this, and any movie that features a young(ish) Diana Rigg is good with me.  This movie is about bureaucracy and the cheapening of human life inherent when hospitals become more concerned about profits than saving lives.  Although now more than 40 years old it hasn't lost any of its punch.  Actually, it may be more relevant than ever, which is a testament to the writing and our dysfunctional United States health care system.   It is a DARK movie, with dark grungy visuals and an even darker sense of humor.

The film is rated PG, but ideally should have been an 'R' as it is too constrained by having to hold back at various points. There's an obvious re-looping of the word 'fuck' at one point by a VERY young Stockard Channing, for instance, and some optical zooming to avoid nudity in another.  Do either of these things cause irreparable harm to the story?  Not at all, but the optical zooming occurs on Diana Rigg so the logical conclusion is that if the movie was rated 'R' we would have seen her or parts of her naked.  Case closed.

The movie ends with Scott's character not running away with Rigg, choosing to stay to try and fix the system. That ending wouldn't happen today.  Today, it simply wouldn't be believable that some would believe in the system that much so as to deny themselves the pleasure of being with a young Diana Rigg.  For that matter, the film's casting wouldn't happen today--just look at ARTICLE 99 (1992) which aspires to be similar in tone and concept but is populated by actors in their early 30's instead of their 50's.  THE HOSPITAL is staffed realistically and this ultimately dates it more than anything else in the movie.