Extreme Measures (1996)

Thriller about Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor working at a hospital in New York who starts making unwanted enquiries when the body of a man who died in his emergency room ... See full summary »

Director:

Michael Apted

Writers:

Michael Palmer (book), Tony Gilroy (screenplay)

Stars:

Hugh Grant, Gene Hackman, Sarah Jessica Parker

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

Storyline

Thriller about Guy Luthan (Hugh Grant), a British doctor working at a hospital in New York who starts making unwanted enquiries when the body of a man who died in his emergency room disappears. The trail leads Luthan to the door of the eminent surgeon Dr Lawrence Myrick (Gene Hackman), but Luthan soon finds himself under in danger from people who want the hospital's secret to remain undiscovered.

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Plot Keywords:

hospital | emergency room | doctor | paraplegic | male rear nudity | 

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Taglines:

Not all surgery is intended to cure. Don't move a muscle.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language, some nudity and graphic ER activity

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 September 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

Extrem... mit allen Mitteln

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

ITL 1,408,410,000 (Italy) (27 December 1996)

Gross:

ITL 2,583,776,000 (Italy) (3 January 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Castle Rock Entertainment, Simian Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

118 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

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.

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Goofs

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). However with regards to injuries to C6, or any level for that matter, what is more important is level of nerve damage to determine amount/location of paralysis.

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Quotes

Dr. Guy Luthan: [the Half-Mole stops at the top of a staircase, deep underground] Is it down there? Well I'm not paying you until I get there.
Half-Mole: [after a long pause and speaking for the first time] I don't go down there
Dr. Guy Luthan: How do I know you're telling the truth?
Half-Mole: You're still alive
Dr. Guy Luthan: [Guy hands him the money]
Half-Mole: To the bottom and through

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Connections

Features The Huckleberry Hound Show (1958)

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Soundtracks

"ON MY MIND"
Courtesy of MasterSource

User Reviews

Moral thriller in the medical world

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!