Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)

Ken Harrison is an artist that makes sculptures. One day he is involved in a car accident, and is paralyzed from his neck. All he can do is talk, and he wants to die. In hospital he make ... See full summary »

Director:

John Badham

Writers:

Brian Clark (play), Brian Clark (screenplay),

Stars:

Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, Christine Lahti

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Ken Harrison
John Cassavetes	...	Dr. Michael Emerson
Christine Lahti	...	Dr. Clare Scott
Bob Balaban	...	Carter Hill
Kenneth McMillan	...	Judge Wyler
Kaki Hunter	...	Mary Jo Sadler
Thomas Carter	...	Orderly John
Alba Oms	...	Nurse Rodriguez
Janet Eilber	...	Pat
Kathryn Grody	...	Mrs. Boyle
George Wyner	...	Dr. Jacobs
Mel Stewart	...	Dr. Barr
Ward Costello	...	Mr. Eden
Alston Ahern	...	Day Nurse
Betty Cole	...	ICU Nurse

Storyline

Ken Harrison is an artist that makes sculptures. One day he is involved in a car accident, and is paralyzed from his neck. All he can do is talk, and he wants to die. In hospital he make friends with some of the staff, and they support him when he goes to trial to be allowed to die.

---

Plot Keywords:

car accident | hospital | quadriplegic | sculptor | courtroom drama | 

---

Taglines:

You'll have a lot of laughs.....before you cry.

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 March 1982 (Australia)

Also Known As:

C'est ma vie, après tout!

Filming Locations:

Columbus Park, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$13,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), SLM Production Group

Technical Specs

Runtime:

119 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Richard Dreyfuss claims to have no memory of making this film. This was a side effect to his heavy drug use during the early 1980s.

---

Quotes

Ken Harrison: Hello, I was just practicing lying here.

---

Connections

Referenced in Mystery Science Theater 3000: Danger! Death Ray (1995)

---

Soundtracks

"Hospital Ladies"
Words and Music by Arthur B. Rubinstein
Performed by "The Rebel Rockers"

User Reviews

A stunning and emotional masterpiece.

Years before Dr. Kevorkian brought the right to die into the national spotlight and made it a subject of public debate, Richard Dreyfuss's magnificent performance and Brian Clark's wonderful screenplay made the most cogent and realistic fictional argument I've seen on the issue. Dreyfuss is, without a doubt, a stellar performer -- in everything from "The Goodbye Girl" to "Mr. Holland's Opus," he consistently excels, but watching this movie again, I was flabbergasted by his ability. Using nothing but his head, he managed to evoke a stunning range of emotions. In my opinion, this is one of the better movies made in the last twenty years of the twentieth century.