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Medicine Man (film)
Encyclopedia
Medicine Man is a 1992 American film directed by John McTiernan
. The film stars Sean Connery
and Lorraine Bracco
. It also features a noteworthy score by composer Jerry Goldsmith
.
sends biochemist Dr. Rae Crane into the Amazonian Rainforest
to check on Dr. Robert Campbell after he cuts off outside contact, his wife and research partner having left him.
Crane is bringing supplies (everything from golf balls to a gas chromatograph), but Campbell is upset that he was not given the research partner he had requested. He tries to send her home but Crane dismisses Campbell's attempts to spurn her, as her job is to evaluate whether the company should continue funding his research.
Campbell reveals to her shock that he has found a cure for cancer, but that subsequent attempts to recreate the formula have failed.They wondered why peak 37 is not seen in the chromatograph. With the initial successful serum running dangerously low, Campbell has isolated a mysterious chemical compound connected to a species of flower and with Crane's help is determined to find its source.
Time is of the essence, as a nearby logging
company is building a road that is headed straight for the village. Campbell refuses to ask the pharmaceutical company for help, fearing that they would send in more researchers from the outside world, unintentionally wiping out the native population with exposure to foreign diseases.
Campbell reveals that a similar event previously had happened when he was conducting field research for a new pain reliever. He feels guilt at causing the death of an entire village, revealing that his wife left because he would not let her forgive him.
A small boy shows symptoms of malignant
neoplasms that will kill him if not treated. The boy's father takes him to find the village's previous medicine man, from whom Campbell had originally learned about the existence of the flowers. Campbell's presence caused the medicine man to feel overshadowed and leave. He is reluctant to face the medicine man again, but Crane convinces him they must.
Campbell first rescues Crane from a fall, then locates the medicine man. Campbell is forced to fight him in an attempt to soothe the medicine man's hurt pride and gain information. Unhappily, the medicine man reveals that the flowers have no "juju." As a consolation, the father and ill son do agree to return.
Back at the village, Crane refuses to let Campbell use the last of the serum on the boy until they have managed to synthesize more of it. Faced with the prospect of letting a child die, Crane's conscience overcomes her hesitation. She saves the boy with the last of the working serum.
The next morning, the boy is better but the village is in tumult. The logging road has nearly reached it. Campbell appeals to the company's workers to halt construction until he can conclude his research, but they refuse to stop the bulldozers without more conclusive proof.
In desperation after their new samples fail to reveal the missing compound, Crane runs the chromatograph one more time. She accidentally discovers that the source of the cure is not the flower but a species of rare, indigenous
ant.
Campbell rushes to stop the construction. A fight results in a bulldozer catching fire, burning down the village and the research post along with many acres of rain forest.
The next day, Crane promises to send Campbell new equipment and his originally requested research assistant. She is about to return home when she meets the old medicine man. He symbolically passes on his mantle to Campbell, and she accepts an invitation to continue working with Campbell in exchange for co-credit for the discovery.
. The score, a blend of orchestra, synthetic elements, and guitar solos, was praised by critics and is generally seen as one of the film's stronger elements. The soundtrack was released 4 February 1994 through Varèse Sarabande
and features 14 tracks of score at a running time just over fifty minutes.
. Lorraine Bracco's performance in the film earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.
. It eventually grossed $45.5 million domestically, bringing its budget back.
John McTiernan
John Campbell McTiernan, Jr. is an American film director and producer, best known for his action films and most identifiable with the three films he directed back-to-back: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October, along with later movies such as Last Action Hero, Die Hard with a...
. The film stars Sean Connery
Sean Connery
Sir Thomas Sean Connery , better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards and three Golden Globes Sir Thomas Sean Connery (born 25 August 1930), better known as Sean Connery, is a Scottish actor and producer who has won an Academy...
and Lorraine Bracco
Lorraine Bracco
Lorraine Bracco is an American actress. She is best known for her TV roles as Dr. Jennifer Melfi on HBO series, The Sopranos, and Angela Rizzoli on the TNT series, Rizzoli & Isles...
. It also features a noteworthy score by composer Jerry Goldsmith
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
.
Plot
A pharmaceutical companyPharmaceutical company
The pharmaceutical industry develops, produces, and markets drugs licensed for use as medications. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to deal in generic and/or brand medications and medical devices...
sends biochemist Dr. Rae Crane into the Amazonian Rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
to check on Dr. Robert Campbell after he cuts off outside contact, his wife and research partner having left him.
Crane is bringing supplies (everything from golf balls to a gas chromatograph), but Campbell is upset that he was not given the research partner he had requested. He tries to send her home but Crane dismisses Campbell's attempts to spurn her, as her job is to evaluate whether the company should continue funding his research.
Campbell reveals to her shock that he has found a cure for cancer, but that subsequent attempts to recreate the formula have failed.They wondered why peak 37 is not seen in the chromatograph. With the initial successful serum running dangerously low, Campbell has isolated a mysterious chemical compound connected to a species of flower and with Crane's help is determined to find its source.
Time is of the essence, as a nearby logging
Logging
Logging is the cutting, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks.In forestry, the term logging is sometimes used in a narrow sense concerning the logistics of moving wood from the stump to somewhere outside the forest, usually a sawmill or a lumber yard...
company is building a road that is headed straight for the village. Campbell refuses to ask the pharmaceutical company for help, fearing that they would send in more researchers from the outside world, unintentionally wiping out the native population with exposure to foreign diseases.
Campbell reveals that a similar event previously had happened when he was conducting field research for a new pain reliever. He feels guilt at causing the death of an entire village, revealing that his wife left because he would not let her forgive him.
A small boy shows symptoms of malignant
Malignant
Malignancy is the tendency of a medical condition, especially tumors, to become progressively worse and to potentially result in death. Malignancy in cancers is characterized by anaplasia, invasiveness, and metastasis...
neoplasms that will kill him if not treated. The boy's father takes him to find the village's previous medicine man, from whom Campbell had originally learned about the existence of the flowers. Campbell's presence caused the medicine man to feel overshadowed and leave. He is reluctant to face the medicine man again, but Crane convinces him they must.
Campbell first rescues Crane from a fall, then locates the medicine man. Campbell is forced to fight him in an attempt to soothe the medicine man's hurt pride and gain information. Unhappily, the medicine man reveals that the flowers have no "juju." As a consolation, the father and ill son do agree to return.
Back at the village, Crane refuses to let Campbell use the last of the serum on the boy until they have managed to synthesize more of it. Faced with the prospect of letting a child die, Crane's conscience overcomes her hesitation. She saves the boy with the last of the working serum.
The next morning, the boy is better but the village is in tumult. The logging road has nearly reached it. Campbell appeals to the company's workers to halt construction until he can conclude his research, but they refuse to stop the bulldozers without more conclusive proof.
In desperation after their new samples fail to reveal the missing compound, Crane runs the chromatograph one more time. She accidentally discovers that the source of the cure is not the flower but a species of rare, indigenous
Indigenous (ecology)
In biogeography, a species is defined as native to a given region or ecosystem if its presence in that region is the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention. Every natural organism has its own natural range of distribution in which it is regarded as native...
ant.
Campbell rushes to stop the construction. A fight results in a bulldozer catching fire, burning down the village and the research post along with many acres of rain forest.
The next day, Crane promises to send Campbell new equipment and his originally requested research assistant. She is about to return home when she meets the old medicine man. He symbolically passes on his mantle to Campbell, and she accepts an invitation to continue working with Campbell in exchange for co-credit for the discovery.
Soundtrack
The music for Medicine Man was composed and conducted by veteran composer Jerry GoldsmithJerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith was an American composer and conductor most known for his work in film and television scoring....
. The score, a blend of orchestra, synthetic elements, and guitar solos, was praised by critics and is generally seen as one of the film's stronger elements. The soundtrack was released 4 February 1994 through Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande
Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums as well as newer releases by artists no longer under a contract...
and features 14 tracks of score at a running time just over fifty minutes.
- "Rae's Arrival" (5:06)
- "First Morning" (3:46)
- "Campbell and the Children" (1:57)
- "The Trees" (6:01)
- "The Harvest" (3:11)
- "Mocara" (3:36)
- "Mountain High" (2:41)
- "Without a Net" (4:19)
- "Finger Painting" (2:30)
- "What's Wrong" (1:52)
- "The Injection" (2:09)
- "The Sugar" (2:08)
- "The Fire" (2:10)
- "A Meal and a Bath" (8:03)
Reception
The movie had a negative reception from critics. Medicine Man maintains a 21% rating on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Lorraine Bracco's performance in the film earned her a Razzie Award nomination for Worst Actress.
Box Office
The movie debuted at No. 1. The following week it was knocked off the top spot by Wayne's WorldWayne's World
Wayne's World was originally a recurring sketch from the NBC television series Saturday Night Live. It evolved from a segment titled "Wayne's Power Minute" on the CBC Television series It's Only Rock & Roll, as the main character first appeared in that show...
. It eventually grossed $45.5 million domestically, bringing its budget back.