Awakenings
Film Poster
Directed by	Penny Marshall
Produced by	Lawrence Lasker Walter F. Parkes
Written by	Oliver Sacks (novel) Steven Zaillian (screenplay)
Starring	Robert De Niro Robin Williams John Heard Julie Kavner Penelope Ann Miller and Max Von Sydow
Music by	Randy Newman
Cinematography	Miroslav Ondrícek
Editing by	Battle Davis, Gerald B. Greenberg
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures
Release date(s)	December 20, 1990
Running time	121 min.
Country	USA
Language	English
IMDb profile

For the book by Oliver Sacks see Awakenings (book)

Awakenings is a 1990 drama film based on Oliver Sacks' memoir, Awakenings. It tells the true story of a doctor (Oliver Sacks, fictionalized as Malcolm Sayer) who, in 1969, discovers beneficial effects of the then-new drug L-Dopa. He applied it on catatonic patients who survived the 1917-1928 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. Leonard Lowe (played by Robert De Niro) and the rest of the patients were awakened after decades of catatonic state and have to deal with a new life in a new time. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 448 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (564 × 755 pixel, file size: 126 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) This image is of a poster, and the copyright for it is most likely owned by either the publisher or the creator of the work depicted. ... Penny Marshall at the 1988 Emmy Awards Penny Marshall (born October 15, 1942) is an American actress, producer and director. ... Writer and producer who entered American film in 1983. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Oliver Sacks in 2005. ... Steven Zaillian (born on 30 January 1953 in Fresno, California, USA) is an American screenwriter, film director, editor and producer, of Armenian descent. ... Robert Mario De Niro Jr. ... Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21, 1952)[1] is an Academy Award-winning American actor and comedian who has done television, stage, and film work. ... John Heard John Heard (born March 7, 1945 in Washington, DC, USA) is an American actor. ... Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, best known for her role as Brenda Morgenstern on Rhoda in the 1970s, as an actress in several Woody Allen-directed films, and for providing the voice of Marge Simpson on the animated television show The... Penelope Ann Miller (January 13, 1964) is an American actress. ...  , (born April 10, 1929) is an Academy-Award nominated Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Miroslav Ondříček is a Czech cinematographer with a body of work spanning over 40 films, including Amadeus and Ragtime. ... Gerald B. Greenberg (sometimes credited as Jerry Greenberg or Gerry Greenberg) is an Academy Award-winning film editor. ... The Columbia Pictures logo from 1993 to the present Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. ... is the 354th day of the year (355th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Look up awakening in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Awakenings (1973, rev. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ... Oliver Sacks in 2005. ... Awakenings (1973, rev. ... Oliver Sacks in 2005. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... // Therapeutic use L-DOPA is used to replace dopamine lost in Parkinsons disease because dopamine itself cannot cross the blood-brain barrierwhere its precursor can. ... This is a page about catatonic state. ... In epidemiology, an epidemic (from [[Latin language] epi- upon + demos people) is a disease that appears as new cases in a given human population, during a given period, at a rate that substantially exceeds what is expected, based on recent experience (the number of new cases in the population during... Encephalitis lethargica is an atypical form of encephalitis. ... Robert Mario De Niro Jr. ...

Directed by Penny Marshall, the film stars Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, John Heard, Julie Kavner, Penelope Ann Miller and Max Von Sydow. The film also has cameos from Jazz legend Dexter Gordon who appears as a patient and then-unknown Vin Diesel who plays a hospital orderly. Penny Marshall at the 1988 Emmy Awards Penny Marshall (born October 15, 1942) is an American actress, producer and director. ... Robin McLaurim Williams (born July 21, 1952)[1] is an Academy Award-winning American actor and comedian who has done television, stage, and film work. ... John Heard John Heard (born March 7, 1945 in Washington, DC, USA) is an American actor. ... Julie Deborah Kavner (born September 7, 1950) is an Emmy Award-winning American actress, best known for her role as Brenda Morgenstern on Rhoda in the 1970s, as an actress in several Woody Allen-directed films, and for providing the voice of Marge Simpson on the animated television show The... Penelope Ann Miller (January 13, 1964) is an American actress. ...  , (born April 10, 1929) is an Academy-Award nominated Swedish actor, known in particular for his collaboration with filmmaker Ingmar Bergman. ... Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923–April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, and an Academy Award-nominated actor. ... Vin Diesel is an American actor, writer, director, and producer, known for his muscular physique and deep voice. ...

Sayer revives all of the patients from their immovable state, but as he finds out later in the movie, he cannot stop them from returning once again to that state, no matter how much he increases the L-Dopa doseage. Leonard Lowe, who was the first to "awake", begins to withdraw first, and all of the patients are forced to witness what will eventually happen to them. Leonard begins to have full body spasms and can hardly move, saying that he feels more like a series of tics than an actual human. Leonard, however, puts up well with the pain, and asks Sayer to film him, in hopes that he would some day contribute to research that may eventually help others. He also takes a romantic interest to a woman named Paula, whose father is in the hospital.

Leonard and Sayer clash with the hospital administration, who refuse to let any of the patients outside on their own. Sayer reluctantly agrees with the decision, putting him at odds with Leonard, who has come to fully appreciate every aspect of life after being asleep for so many years. The two eventually reconcile, but Leonard returns to his catatonic state soon after, which is painful for the nurses, Sayer, and especially Leonard's mother. Sayer tells a group of grant donors to the hospital that although the "awakening" did not last, another kind - one of learning to appreciate and live life - took place. Nevertheless, Sayer still finds himself depressed for failing to keep Leonard "awake", but Eleanor tells him that he is a good person and Leonard considered him his best friend. Sayer, remembering Leonard's advice on living every minute of life, asks Eleanor to join him for a cup of coffee.

The movie was adapted by Steven Fredrick Zaillian from the book of the same name. The book was also used by Harold Pinter as the basis of his one-act play A Kind of Alaska, performed in 1982. Steven Zaillian (born on 30 January 1953 in Fresno, California, USA) is an American screenwriter, film director, editor and producer, of Armenian descent. ... Harold Pinter, CH, CBE (born 10 October 1930) is an English playwright, screenwriter, poet, actor, director, author, and political activist. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ...

The film was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Robert De Niro), Best Picture and Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium. Academy Award The Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are the most prominent and most watched film awards ceremony in the world. ... The Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role is one of the awards given to actors working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; nominations are made by Academy members who are actors and actresses. ... // The Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards, awards given to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which are voted on by others within the industry. ... The Academy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay is one of the Academy Awards, the most prominent film awards in the United States. ...

The film's plot was also the basis for one section of the Dream Theater song Octavarium. Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band comprised of James LaBrie, John Petrucci, Jordan Rudess, John Myung, and Mike Portnoy. ... Octavarium is a song by progressive metal band Dream Theater, from the album of the same name. ...

External links

• Awakenings at the Internet Movie Database