IMDb > Extreme Measures (1996)
Extreme Measures
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Extreme Measures (1996) More at IMDbPro »

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Extreme Measures (1996) -- US Theatrical Trailer from Castle Hill
Extreme Measures (1996) -- Sinematurk - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   7,448 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 10% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Michael Palmer (book)
Tony Gilroy (screenplay)
Contact:
View company contact information for Extreme Measures on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
27 September 1996 (USA) more
Tagline:
Not all surgery is intended to cure. Don't move a muscle.
Plot:
Thriller about Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor working at a hospital in New York who starts... more | add synopsis
NewsDesk:
(6 articles)
User Comments:
Moral thriller in the medical world more (65 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Hugh Grant ... Dr. Guy Luthan

Gene Hackman ... Dr. Lawrence Myrick

Sarah Jessica Parker ... Jodie Trammel

David Morse ... FBI Agent Frank Hare

Bill Nunn ... Det. Bob Burke

John Toles-Bey ... Bobby
Paul Guilfoyle ... Dr. Jeffrey Manko
Debra Monk ... Dr. Judith Gruszynski
Shaun Austin-Olsen ... Claude Minkins
André De Shields ... Teddy Dolson

J.K. Simmons ... Dr. Mingus

Peter Appel ... Det. Stone
Diana Zimmer ... Helen
Nancy Beatty ... Ruth Myrick

Gerry Becker ... Dr. Gene Spitelli
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Additional Details

MPAA:
Rated R for violence, language, some nudity and graphic ER activity.
Runtime:
118 min
Country:
Language:
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1 more
Sound Mix:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
In the movie, security for the illegal medical experiments is provided by two supposed police officers named Hare and Burke. In reality, William Hare and William Burke were two men in the business of supplying human cadavers to medical schools in 1820s Edinburgh - until it was learned that the ones they hadn't stolen from graveyards, they had murdered themselves. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: Guy is told he severed his spine at C6 and was paralyzed from the neck down. In reality an injury to the C6 vertebrae would result in paralysis from the chest down - meaning he'd still be able to move his arms (although finger function would be impaired). more
Quotes:
Dr. Guy Luthan: You're a creepy person, aren't you? more
Movie Connections:
Soundtrack:
ON MY MIND more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful.
Moral thriller in the medical world, 8 April 2006
7/10
Author: ksundstrom from France

A thriller in the medical world. Generally, doctors abide by the Hippocratic Oath - roughly summarized as "to do good or to do no harm". Hugh Grant as the English Doctor strives to uphold this. Gene Hackman plays the role of the medical researcher, now head of a powerful medical research foundation that can influence police and politicians, believes that medical research is more important than "to do no harm" if in the long run research does provide valuable improvements to medicine. Hackman is the ominous shadow of the German Nazi doctors, 1935-1945, such as Josef Mengele, who carried out abominable medical experiments in order to promote so-called medical advancement. Thus the conflict between Grant and Hackman: Grant the loner, a promising English doctor - a follower of the Hippocratic Oath, thus the moral man, is working temporarily in America to gain valuable medical experience. Hackman, the countervailing force, the ominous medical power with wide ranging influence in public power circles, controls the lives of his captured patients in underground "catacombs", disregarding their concerns in order to achieve his results for the "benefit of mankind" . Sudden deaths, escapes, mysterious liaisons, threats, moral arguing (but only a little as this in a modern American film - historically there was plenty of moral arguing), shootings, and of course plenty of blood are the powerful ingredients to this cocktail. Grant certainly knows how to play convincingly other roles than those "English" ones which rocketed him to the top. Hackman as always is a master of his role. Well worth seeing!

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