Medicine Man (1992)

In the beautiful and dangerous Amazon rainforest, dissimilar people must make their choices between business, science, and love.

Director:

John McTiernan

Writers:

Tom Schulman (story), Tom Schulman (screenplay)

Stars:

Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, José Wilker

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sean Connery	...	Dr. Robert Campbell
Lorraine Bracco	...	Dr. Rae Crane
José Wilker	...	Dr. Miguel Ornega
Rodolfo De Alexandre	...	Tanaki (as Rodolfo de Alexandre)
Francisco Tsiren Tsere Rereme	...	Jahausa
Elias Monteiro Da Silva	...	Palala
Edinei Maria Serrio Dos Santos	...	Kalana
Bec-Kana-Re Dos Santos Kaiapo	...	Imana
Angelo Barra Moreira	...	Medicine Man
José Lavat	...	Government Man

Storyline

An eccentric scientist working for a large drug company is working on a research project in the Amazon jungle. He sends for a research assistant and a gas chromatograph because he's close to a cure for cancer. When the assistant turns out to be a "mere woman", he rejects her help. Meanwhile, the bulldozers get closer to the area in which they are conducting research, and they eventually learn to work together, and begin to fall in love.

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Plot Keywords:

stethoscope exam | gas chromatograph | jungle | cancer | nature | 

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Taglines:

On the trail of an amazing discovery he finds an explosive adventure!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 February 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Stand

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

$40,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$45,500,797

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Cinergi Pictures Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sir Sean Connery's hairstyle in this movie was based upon Composer Jerry Goldsmith's well-known ponytail. Meeting him at a cocktail party, Connery started the conversation by saying, "I want your hair." Goldsmith replied, "You can't have it, it's mine." Connery, and even the producers, felt Goldsmith's "pulled back ponytail" fit the character of Robert Campbell very well.

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Goofs

When Dr. Crane is rubbing trying to get the blue stripe tattoo off, her skin wrinkles up with the stripe, clearly showing the 'tattoo' is fake.

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Quotes

Dr. Robert Campbell: It's only one fly in the serum. I can't reproduce it.
Dr. Rae Crane: What do you mean?
Dr. Robert Campbell: None of the new samples work and I have very little of the original serum left. That's what I mean when I say I can't reproduce it.
Dr. Rae Crane: Wait a minute. I don't understand.
Dr. Robert Campbell: What don't you understand? I found the cure for the fucking plague of the twentieth century and now I've lost it. Haven't you ever lost anything doctor Bronx? Your purse? Your car keys? Well, it's rather like that: Now you have it and now you don't.

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Alternate Versions

All film and video releases are cut in the UK to get a "PG" rating.

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Connections

Referenced in Serial Mom (1994)

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Soundtracks

That Old Black Magic
Written by Johnny Mercer (as John H. Mercer) and Harold Arlen
Famous Music Corp. (ASCAP)

User Reviews

Solid rainforest drama

When this movie came out in 1992, many critics seemed to feel that it was mediocre, or average at best. Even as a hardcore Connery fan I avoided the film simply based on a handful of reviews I had read in the media at the time.

Fast forward nearly ten years and the mixed reviews here on imdb reinforced my apathy towards the film. It wasn't until I borrowed a copy through a local library that I finally watched the movie just now, and I fail to see why it's supposedly not up to par. I thought it was a fine film in most respects: the storytelling was good, the dialogue was snappy, the cinematography was wonderful, and it had a positive message. It's not an action movie, but I never felt bored at all...if anything, it was a refreshing change of pace and scenery, and Sean Connery continues to astound me with his versatility. His acting was superb, which is not really a big suprise, but he seemed more into this role than some others I've seen him in. Even the wig and ponytail looked real!

Like a lot of other people, I found Lorraine Bracco's character quite annoying, almost insufferable at certain points, but that's the whole point: her character is supposed to be like that, and the truth is that if she didn't come across as so irritating then that would have been failed acting skills on her part. I think she did a great job at being annoying, which is what she was supposed to do. I imagine that if you took some ivy league lab rat scholar and dumped them right in the middle of a situation and place that's totally foreign to them, you'd probably get a reaction like the one she portrayed. I found the two leads had a good chemistry, and the constant tension and conflict between them was very convincing and helped to propel the story along.

All in all an enjoyable film, but some of the other aspects could have and should have been expanded. I felt that they spent too much time searching the trees for the plant they needed, and the whole conflict with the developers was thrown in at too late a juncture. These aren't major failings however, so I'd recommend the film to anyone looking for something a bit different, and it's a must for any Connery fan. Don't wait ten years to see it simply because some critics didn't think it was a masterpiece. Screw the critics!