tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post2015432727622155036..comments2024-03-26T05:01:57.793-07:00Comments on DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR...: COMA 1978Ken Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-57481058964307495272023-01-25T13:56:47.553-08:002023-01-25T13:56:47.553-08:00Hello Robert - Thank you for reading this. After ...Hello Robert - Thank you for reading this. After all these years COMA still works for me as a thriller and medical drama almost chiefly due to its strong but vulnerable female protagonist and its subtextual elements involving sexism in the workplace (a device that didn’t work quite so well for the screen version of Robin Cook’s SPHINX). <br />Lois Chiles is a favorite. A good reminder that not everyone needs to be a “great” actress…sometimes small roles (and I always think she’s terrific in small doses) require mere competence and a strong screen presence. She registers so strongly in this, it’s easy for me to forget how briefly she’s in the film.<br /><br />I read COMA not long after seeing the movie, but I didn’t recall that the ending was less “triumphant”. I also read THE TERMINAL MAN, but my memory of it is so obliterated by the film (George Segal’s star dominance and Joan Hackett’s underwritten character) that I genuinely forgot that a woman was even at the center of the novel.<br /><br />I’ve never read THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, but like you, I think Kate Reid in the film is the shot in the arm it needed to prevent it from being a forgettable sci-fi programmer. And DISCLOSURE! I remember seeing that at a theater when it came out. What a howler! Michael Douglas was riding the crest of his curious big career as “the wronged white everyman.” <br /><br />Oh, and that COMA TV remake was absolutely brutal in its wrongheadedness. I never know if it's greed, stupidity, or ego that makes hacks try to tackle classics. Maybe all three. <br />Thank you again, Robert, for visiting these older posts and sharing your thoughts here. Cheers!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-68777727121153165102023-01-23T12:28:29.742-08:002023-01-23T12:28:29.742-08:00Great essay, Ken. The decision to slightly alter t...Great essay, Ken. The decision to slightly alter the ending from the novel immediately improves the story/movie. In Cook's book Our Heroine doesn't awake right at the end, as in Eastwood's Gran Turismo the woman whose company we've enjoyed gets sidelined (obviously it's worse in Gran Turismo although her character isn't ostensibly the lead - that was the old ghost chair-kicker), we are left not knowing if she too ended up with brain damage which is "bleeeurgh!" That is to say, awful. Crichton's brief change was adroit, Our Heroine wakes and *wins*. <br /> I recently read The Andromeda Strain again as you mentioned the film version here, Crichton has *no* major female characters in it. The movie has, thanks to Nelson Giddings, the screenwriter, and Robert Wise - one (it's a small cast) who is a central character from the novel, played by Kate Reid, arguably the best thing in it, and possibly *two* with the addition of Paula Kelly's nurse character. Interestingly Crichton's follow-up novel, The Terminal Man (which I read directly after Andromeda), has a female lead and she is, by far, the most level-headed, complex (relatively, it's Crichton), and likeable character in the book. It is a pity Crichton later became a contrarian right-wing nut. (Disclosure : Men are often the victims of sexual harassment and Machiavellian businesswomen, apparently - see the movie, pooooor Michael Douglas [again!] the victim of never hotter Demi Moore and her amazing derrière. Rising Sun: Japanese business is dastardly, Americans are saintly. Airframe: Don't blame corporations! Investigative journalists are the real enemy! State of Fear [Surely *Climate* of Fear would be a better title, Mr Mike/Dr Crichton?!]: Climate change/global warming is a conspiracy theory by eeeeevil villains for some reason or other. Bonkos!) <br /> Lois Chile's may not be a great actress but boy does she look great in this: that *hair*, that face! What happens to her and Selleck is horrible. Bujold is marvellous, Widmark creeeepy. Coma's indictment of corporate culture and institutionalised sexism still has teeth. Look at how whistleblowers are treated. <br /> The scene with Bujold crawling in the rafters is still iconic. Good movie. As with Rosemary's Baby and The Andromeda Strain the TV remakes *just don't get it*. Inspiration and skilled craftsship trump's smugness and mediocrity (Carole Bouquet excepted).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-5091759324738229472021-01-06T23:46:24.119-08:002021-01-06T23:46:24.119-08:00Hello Aaron
And thank you for your (two!) comments...Hello Aaron<br />And thank you for your (two!) comments! COMA really is very entertaining, isn't it? An to revisit after having not seen it in a long while must have been a treat. Sometimes the passage of time helps a lot when revisiting a thriller, because (if you have a memory like mine) so many plot points are forgotten, it's like seeing it for the first time! And Bujold really makes the film work. I'm glad you liked her performance too. <br />I appreciate your reading this post and for sharing your enthusiastic comments on one of my favorite films. Grazie!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-71361447330307600172019-02-12T04:29:09.921-08:002019-02-12T04:29:09.921-08:00Hi Cynthia
Terrific observations. All of which I c...Hi Cynthia<br />Terrific observations. All of which I concur with, especially in regard to Bujold's performance (nice comment about her being both natural and super-human) and the fact that COMA still stands up after all these years. <br />If funny (or sad) to think that after all these years, the issue of women being taken seriously in the workplace is STILL on the table, and in spite of films like this that reference the casual sexaulization, people persist in acting like it's not a thing that's been virtually codified into our culture.<br />Your very entertaining impressions of the film and how it connects with a very specific place and time resonates with me. Time always has the last word as to whether a film speaks to future generations. I can't vouch for what young people would make of it, but those f us around in 1978 recognize it was both of and ahead of its time. Thank you for reading the post and commenting so thoughtfully!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-70282181608748168412019-02-10T14:11:57.426-08:002019-02-10T14:11:57.426-08:00I am just now watching Coma again, and all I can s...I am just now watching Coma again, and all I can say is: this instantly transported me right back to my senior year of high school, 1978, sitting in a darkened movie theater and being completely, wonderfully ABSORBED. Six years prior, The Poseidon Adventure had yielded similar results, but in the case of Coma, I had read Robin Cook's popular novel prior to seeing the film, so in some ways I had a clear notion of what to expect. That said, Bujold's performance amazed me, and these several decades hence I'm still impressed. She was both natural and yet super-human in the same subtle space, convincing as the rare woman holding her feisty own in a male-dominated venue, while still managing to be petite and lovely and credible as she sojourned along her unwavering task. I too, don't feel she ever had the career arc she naturally should have enjoyed, but Hollywood's loss sure doesn't shadow her break out role here. And wow: how this travel back in time to the late seventies reminded me of how incredible the average person still looked back then: trim and sexy even in unconscious and suspended from high wires. Seriously, this movie still holds up, despite some obvious seismic cultural shifts that have occurred since 1978: people are more PC so less likely to 'come on sexually' with every other attractive co-worker for example, and generally most of us don't look quite like Lois Chiles or Tom Selleck as we're awaiting even minor surgery, but other than that: this is still a great flick. It's somewhat representative of its time while terrifyingly prescient in how callous the world (and not just the world of medicine) has become, where everything is strictly about the money, and even your life is for sale to the highest bidder. A+cyndeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09277416870234246810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-7308357245308404432017-05-15T22:02:01.253-07:002017-05-15T22:02:01.253-07:00Anyone have the location for the Jefferson Institu...Anyone have the location for the Jefferson Institute? I know it's very different looking now. And was once the Xerox hq in Lexington Mass. I think it may now be Shire Pharma, but if someone could confirm or give an address I'd love to drive by and check it out sometime Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11039510281688825918noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-49845678617281642442015-09-07T10:17:42.510-07:002015-09-07T10:17:42.510-07:00Thank you! I
This film is a big fave, but there wa...Thank you! I<br />This film is a big fave, but there was still a chance for a remake to do something different. I tried watching the remake of "Coma" as well, and couldn't get past the first half hour. How did that get green lit? Awful is indeed the word. BOY!<br /><br />And Amanda Plummer had just left the production when Carrie Fisher came in. I understand Plummer was amazing. <br />Thanks for continuing to stop by!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-35052844200674229392015-09-06T22:40:04.736-07:002015-09-06T22:40:04.736-07:00Another great analysis. I love the phrase, "S...Another great analysis. I love the phrase, "Skeletor-like countenance of Charlton Heston". I made the mistake of watching (at least partially) the remake. In a word AWFUL. <br /><br />I too saw "Agnes of God" in 1982 but with Amanda Plummer. Terrific but chilling. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-67737265065689035722015-04-12T18:52:34.465-07:002015-04-12T18:52:34.465-07:00Hello John
Thank you very much. I never thought ab...Hello John<br />Thank you very much. I never thought about it before, but your description of Elizabeth Ashley is on the nose: a woman acting like man in a way. An odd, robotic man. Like Hannibal Lecter. <br />When the film came out, her appearance always got the audience giggling nervously. no one knew what she was about, and she made the entire Institute sequence all the more tense for it.<br />I think "Coma" is a difficult film not to like, but that doesn't stop me from being glad that someone else appreciated the work of both Bujold and Ashley in it. <br />I appreciate your visiting the site and thank you for talking the time to comment!<br />Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-82419417944887852012015-04-11T22:00:49.921-07:002015-04-11T22:00:49.921-07:00I hope I can get around to writing a reply for ano...I hope I can get around to writing a reply for another excellent review!!! But I just read this and laughed out loud when you mentioned Elizabeth Ashley. Yeah....have to say.....she is so damn good....it becomes hilarious. and ironic that the scariest one in the movie is actually a woman who "acts" like a man, in a way. I think Ashley is so damn great and memorable is the same reason Anthony Hopkins was so great in Silence.....practically no motion at all, calm, no change in inflection, tone. and speech that has no bad grammar ....lol. hopefully I can reply soon. but a very true and funny review and happy that you acknowledged the true feminism and talent of Bujold. <br /> John Brinkmannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-18460377148429138202013-11-12T04:16:41.536-08:002013-11-12T04:16:41.536-08:00Ha! Your memories of "Earthquake" are sp...Ha! Your memories of "Earthquake" are spot on. It is a painful movie to watch in so many ways, but that every scene with Victoria Principal is enough to send one running up the aisles . And I agree about Bujold in film. Highly uneven output, the source of which is difficult to put a finger on. Her good films were excellent (like "Anne of the Thousand Days") but some choices are baffling.<br />I enjoyed your take on the film and its performances. Especially the hat you tip to Richard Widmark. <br />I especially loved the anecdote about expecting to see Elizabeth Montgomery and getting Elizabeth Ashley! As good as Ashley is, I would have been crestfallen had I been in your place (as you say, the chance to see Samantha Stevens as a villainess would have been something to look forward to).<br />Thanks, Joel, for yet another terrific comment! Always a pleasure to read.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-73295880725238640852013-11-11T22:30:58.884-08:002013-11-11T22:30:58.884-08:00Hi Ken,
While I won't say this film is a favo...Hi Ken,<br /><br />While I won't say this film is a favorite of mine in the sense that I watch it frequently it is one that I enjoyed the times I have seen it. Most of that is due to the quality of the cast plus Crichton's direction which is paced well. I had to smile when you referred to the tendency of the women in jep films of having the female protagonist be a total professional until they are threatened at which point they acted like idiots and it is so refreshing that the lead character doesn't do that here.<br /><br />I was more fortunate than you in having my first exposure to Geneviève Bujold be in Anne of the Thousand Days where she is magnificent. Bujold is an intriguing actress who wasn't properly cast. I don't know if was poor judgement on her part, a dearth of suitable material offered or a disinclination to work constantly, in her peak years she averaged only one film a year and some of them were dillies. For example Earthquake which my clearest memory of other than it being a piece of crap is the appalling afro on Victoria Principal's head. But in this film her intelligence shines through and she provides a sharp focus as the viewer's advocate. <br /><br />As for the rest of the cast, Michael Douglas' part is nothing much, it seems diminishing to say but it's a hair part. He doesn't have anything important to do but be a trifle dim and look attractive, he does both but the role certainly didn't stretch his acting ability.<br /><br />The real duel is between Genevieve and the phenomenal Richard Widmark, an actor who was always respected but never really got his due. From everything I ever read a total sweetheart in real life, fiercely liberal and fair minded he was one of the best villains ever, able to inject venality into a character with ease with a smile that menaced anyone it was turned on to chilling effect. The funny thing was when he was young and played the hero that same smile with some interior adjustment that he made was dazzlingly charming, open and sexy. He's a great favorite of mine. He's a perfect antagonist for Genevieve's Dr. Wheeler, seemingly benign and wise but with that unsettling edge which cloaks the wickedness underneath.<br /><br />As you said the other real standout performance comes from Elizabeth Ashley and she's awesome but I have to admit I was a little disappointed the first time I saw her in the film in a theatre. Because of a typo in the paper the cast list stated that it was Elizabeth Montgomery and not she in the film, of course this was before saturation advertising so that paper was all I had to rely on. I was so looking forward to seeing Samantha Stephens play a villainess that I couldn't fully appreciate Ashley's work on first view. However once I watched it again I realized how great she was in the role. <br /><br />I skipped the remake. Even with the impressive cast list the reviews I read were underwhelming. Remakes are tricky, unless they have a fresh perspective or idea say the musical version of A Star is Born or a truly talented director like John Huston with The Maltese Falcon the material is often best left alone. I'd rather not dilute the experience of the original by watching a pale shadow.joel65913https://www.blogger.com/profile/14526657073681774683noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-31700306030338295052013-06-04T11:52:12.461-07:002013-06-04T11:52:12.461-07:00Glad to hear you like this movie, and indeed you m...Glad to hear you like this movie, and indeed you make a good point about Bujold's casting at the time being far for of a breakthrough than it seems now.<br />It's funny what you say about the Northwestern University buildings...the college i attended in the 70s had a "new" building that looked a lot like the Jefferson institute, too! Scary and spartan architecture...give me the chills. Thanks!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-56748670931796248542013-06-04T10:37:33.317-07:002013-06-04T10:37:33.317-07:00Another one of my all-time favorite films and a tr...Another one of my all-time favorite films and a treasured part of my collection. Bujold was a trailblazer—a woman headlining a sci fi thriller was then unheard of, and paved the way for actresses like Sigourney Weaver to carry on. <br /><br />When I attended Northwestern University in the 1980s, the new buildings they had constructed alongside the existing structures from 1851 ALL looked exactly like the Jefferson Institute. angelman66https://www.blogger.com/profile/16471674180789592940noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-54848341060123851102013-04-27T13:07:15.627-07:002013-04-27T13:07:15.627-07:00Thanks very much, Charles!
It pleases me to know t...Thanks very much, Charles!<br />It pleases me to know that "Coma" still packs a punch for you some 35 years later! It is a terrific, underrated thriller that seems to have fallen through the cracks, but many who saw it in the 70s remember how chilling it was.<br />So happy that you are checking out the blog, and please forgive anything i might have said untoward about fellow countryman Paul Verhoeven. I loved "Spetters", but...well, "Showgirls"....<br />Thanks!Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-38456172695632397582013-04-27T08:32:45.597-07:002013-04-27T08:32:45.597-07:00Great review! You named all the facets that make i...Great review! You named all the facets that make it a good (medical) thriller. Coma is one of my favorite movies. The exterior of The Jefferson Instiute keep me from sleeping, even 35 years later. Bujold is amazing. Maybe I should go buy the DVD. (Sorry for the bad Englisch, I'm from the Netherlands).<br />Okay, I'm now reading The Birds and then on to Showgirls (from our own Dutch director Paul Verhoeven).<br />Thanks for this interesting site!Charlesnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-41063090576390216752013-03-17T08:41:46.707-07:002013-03-17T08:41:46.707-07:00Thanks so much for sharing that anecdote! I rememb...Thanks so much for sharing that anecdote! I remember reading about her dodging a bullet on some Star Trek TV thing, and then after that haven't seen much of her. Alas, Bujold's sanity is definitely Hollywood's loss. She was amazing in "Dead Ringers" <br />By the way, a signed copy of "Coma"! Seriously jealous, here.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-24749671806961612922013-03-16T21:37:22.366-07:002013-03-16T21:37:22.366-07:00In 2001 I worked in a dvd store and one day Michae...In 2001 I worked in a dvd store and one day Michael Chrichton came in. I had him sign my dvd of Coma and asked about Genevieve Bujold as she is my favorite actress. He told me that she didn't want to make any big Hollywood films anymore and instead concentrate on smaller films. Which she does to this day. I believe her last Hollywood film was either Tightrope with Clint Eastwood or Dead Ringers with Jeremy Irons. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-52936421022893466172012-09-17T15:22:59.244-07:002012-09-17T15:22:59.244-07:00Hi Joe
Here I go name-dropping again, but in the 9...Hi Joe<br />Here I go name-dropping again, but in the 90s Debra Winger used to take my class. She would never complain about wanting to work more, she would only speak of how she thought perhaps she was too much of a "grown-up" to be able to stand working in Hollywood. I often wonder if some of the more intelligent actresses disappear merely because they have no stomach for the industry games.<br /><br />It's our loss, of course, because Adams, Kidder (I'm glad you brought her up) and Bujold (if you don't count "Monsignor") really brought a lot to the table.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-58159453836033181652012-09-17T14:35:20.471-07:002012-09-17T14:35:20.471-07:00Thanks for the link, Ken.
Genevieve Bujold was one...Thanks for the link, Ken.<br />Genevieve Bujold was one of several late 1970s/early 1980s actresses who proved they could handle leading roles but were inexplicably discarded by Hollywood.<br />A personal favorite, Brooke Adams, was terrific in "Body Snatchers" and also had the female lead in "Days of Heaven" that same year, but was barely heard from again.<br />I would put Margot Kidder and Karen Allen in the same sad grouping. <br />You have to wonder if these women backed away from the movie industry because of what they were offered in the 1980s or if other personal matters came up. Joe Meyershttp://blog.ctnews.com/meyersnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-67206620428183638982012-09-16T02:00:28.610-07:002012-09-16T02:00:28.610-07:00I remember that! I think I wrote that I wished I g...I remember that! I think I wrote that I wished I gave out some kind of medal for heroism for such an act, but I was mostly just terribly flattered. As someone who just started this blog to catalog my impressions of some of the influential films in my life, I hope you know how much of what you say is appreciated.Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-56796010405203603992012-09-15T11:39:43.316-07:002012-09-15T11:39:43.316-07:00You're welcome. I'm a DREAMS ARE WHAT LE C...You're welcome. I'm a DREAMS ARE WHAT LE CINEMA IS FOR JUNKIE. I spent one insomnia-fueled night just reading and reading and reading! I may just be your #1 fan! LOL!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-71466844827754597122012-09-14T21:42:59.323-07:002012-09-14T21:42:59.323-07:00Hi CAL
Thanks very much! I have been on a kick of ...Hi CAL<br />Thanks very much! I have been on a kick of watching "Anne of the Thousand Days" lately and it sparked my revisit of "Coma." Bujold is so good in this, and yes, a really interesting and surprising supporting cast.<br />And I had a thing for Lois Chiles too. So gorgeous in "The great Gatsby." Thank you for reading so many of my posts! Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-5690183958911853452012-09-14T17:37:58.678-07:002012-09-14T17:37:58.678-07:00Another winner Ken. I love your assessment of COMA...Another winner Ken. I love your assessment of COMA and the very, very underrated Genevieve Bujold (Anne of the Thousand Days, anyone?)....oh and this film was blesses with one of the best cast of supporting actors ever assembled!<br /><br />Great script + Great cast + Great direction = Great movie. COMA is in this class.<br /><br />Oh FYI: I have a soft spot for Miss Lois Chiles. God she is beautiful!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2627032459273165000.post-7823009555855134902012-09-13T14:10:59.885-07:002012-09-13T14:10:59.885-07:00Hi Mark
Glad my post inspired you to rewatch the f...Hi Mark<br />Glad my post inspired you to rewatch the film! It does make a great paranoia double bill with "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" and indeed Brooke Adams and Bujold share a similar quality I hadn't taken notice of until now.<br /><br />And you bring up a good point about the scene in the hospital vents. There's no telling how the pantyhose/shoe removal scene plays to audiences now. The film's intent was fairly obvious back in the 70s when it was possible for exposure of the female body in film to be non-erotic and matter-of-fact. It was clear that the audience was applauding for the feminist heroism of the Dr. Wheeler character doing something so lacking in feminine vanity. Unlike the blatantly voyeuristic scene in "The Poseidon Adventure" when we are asked to share the male gaze staring up at Stella Stevens' panties as she climbs that ladder, "Coma" literally throws Dr. Wheeler's pantyhose in the face of any viewer who would make of an act of heroic practicality, something erotic. In these post-feminist times, the point may be lost, but in 1978, we "got it."<br /><br />Here are a couple of critical quotes about "Coma" from 1978 on the subject:<br /><br />“Instead, she confronts all the menacing hirelings of a high-level medical conspiracy single-handedly. She climbs steep ladders that would afflict me with vertigo 10 times over, and, in the process, she very symbolically removes her pantyhose to facilitate her progress. As the discarded pantyhose drift downward one senses that a new feminist spirit is rising upward in compensation. No more female frippery for an unencumbered creature who can hold her own in pluck, ingenuity, and ruthlessness with the most vicious villains, even in the icy confines of a morgue.” Andrew Sarris, The village Voice 1978<br /><br />"Bujold must be the first lead in a thriller who has to dispose of pantyhose before moving into action. She may put off insecure men, but vocal women at a preview audience took her to their hears: 'She's like Nancy Drew grown up,' said one.” Michael Sragow, The Boston Phoenix<br />Ken Andersonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04940648971296673233noreply@blogger.com