Medicine Man (1992)

"Spectacularly thrilling!  Washington Post
"A completely fascinating adventure!  NBC-TV, Los Angeles

Editor's Note Removing himself from modern society, Dr Robert Campbell (Sean Connery), has become a Medicine Man to the people of the Amazonian village which he inhabits. By a freak mishap, Campbell has deduced that the cure for cancer can be derived from a chemical found in a Brazilian flower. Fellow scientist/beauty Dr. Rae Crane tracks down the elusive Campbell in an effort to monitor his progress. The two doctors, although physical attracted to one another butt heads when a villager becomes sick, and Campbell wishes to use only remaining bit of cancer curing serum to save the native's life. In addition to battling each other, the doctors must contend with a group of loggers who pose a danger to the village. Shot in Mexico and Brazil, Director John McTiernan returns to the jungles he burned in his 1987 blockbuster, PREDATOR, and delivers a scenic psychic thriller. Gone is the gore from McTiernan's previous films. Instead he has choses a more humanistic topic, conservation, plus, the sparks between actors Connery and Bracco are more incendiary than any machine gun.

	Jose Wilker
	Lorraine Bracco
	Francisco Tsiren
	Rodolfo De Alexandre
	Sean Connery
	Tsere Rereme
	Marilyn Vance-Straker - Costume Designer
	John McTiernan - Director
	Mary Jo Markey - Editor
	Andrew G. Vajna - Producer
	Donna Dubrow - Producer
	Sally Robinson - Screenplay
	Tom Schulman - Screenplay

Entertainment Weekly
"...The movie has a pleasing daftness....Myers, like Martin Short, works in his own lyrical stratosphere. There's a joyousness to him that's almost childlike..." 02/21/1992 p.32-4

Los Angeles Times
"...[Connery] remains a genuinely magnetic presence..." 02/07/1992 p.F10

Washington Post 0 of 10
Medicine Man, which was written by Tom Schulman (Dead Poets Society) and Sally Robinson, is a unique confluence of elements: a screwball comedy, a love story, and a medical detective yarn, all in one. And from this heady opening salvo, we get a sense of just what a rare movie we're being drawn into. Few pictures work on this many levels, or present us with characters as strong and richly conceived as these. And yet, miraculously, the film doesn't come across as merely an expedient hybrid of movie conventions. It's a surprise from start to finish, a fresh, compelling, moving tale with real people and real conflicts. It's a wonder... It's impossible to see how the actors could be any better. As Crane, Bracco displays the kind of tenacious, emotional ferocity that Debra Winger showed in some of her earlier roles, and yet which is completely her own. She's an all-or-nothing actor with the kind of depth and power that plugs directly into your solar plexis. And if that weren't enough, there are scenes in Medicine Man -- such as the one in which she gets a buzz off an Indian concoction -- that show an equal talent for comedy. As for Connery, well, there's just nobody even close to being in his league. Campbell is a tortured man, but Connery underplays his agony so subtly that we feel it all the more strongly. It's a great character for this magnificent actor, one that allows him to express the full range of his talent -- his humor, his charm, his full-bodied emotional resonance. And if he didn't make it all seem so effortless, he might finally be recognized for what he is -- simply the greatest actor alive. The pleasure we take from Medicine Man comes not only from the actors or the engrossing progress of the narrative, but from every aspect, including Donald McAlpine's ravishing cinematography and Jerry Goldsmith's luscious score. Even the ecological message -- which focuses on the building of a road that threatens not only the Indians who have made their home in the forest but also the trees that contain the miracle flowers -- is woven so skillfully and naturally into the fabric of the story that it hardly seems like a message at all. McTiernan's focus as a director is always on the human elements; though his work may have been more flamboyant in Die Hard and The Hunt for Red October, it is even more distinguished here for its integrity and insight. He's grown from an accomplished pyrotechnician into a true artist. - Hal Hinson