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  Directed by
  Starring
  Specs
  • Widescreen 1.78:1
  • Full Frame
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital Mono
  • French: Dolby Digital Mono
  Subtitles
    English, French
  Extras
  • Theatrical trailer

Coma

Warner Bros./Warner Home Video . R4 . COLOR . 113 mins . M15+ . NTSC

  Feature
Contract

Author Robin Cook is best known for his medical thrillers, several of which have been made into tele-films, but it was the breakthrough novel Coma that made him a household name in literary circles when it was released as a film with the same name in 1978.

Coma is set in the Boston Memorial Hospital, and stars Genevieve Bujold as Dr Susan Wheeler. Her co-star is a young Michael Douglas as Dr Mark Bellows, with whom she is having a stormy relationship.

When her best friend goes into a coma during a straightforward operation, she finally cracks under the stress and pressure that has been building in both her personal and professional life. When that friend dies shortly after, she begins a personal investigation to find out why. She discovers that Boston Memorial has what appears, to her at least, to be an abnormally high number of healthy young patients who have lapsed into comas during simple procedures in the last year, none of them to recover.

When another patient goes into a coma the following day, Susan still seems unable to convince any of the hospital administrators, or even her own doctor boyfriend, that this is anything more than bad luck and coincidence. Not convinced, she continues to investigate, despite threats from strangers, and disciplinary action from the hospital. The more she uncovers, the more threatened she becomes, until she suddenly finds herself the recipient of some 'straight-forward' surgery when she unwittingly confides in the wrong person.

Robin Cook's medical background no doubt lends his thrillers an air of reality, without being too jingoistic as to lose an audience. The situations, and circumstances, are quite believable. He is no stranger to this genre, and most, if not all, of his novels have a medical setting. He likes to keep at the forefront of medical practice in his novels, and has dealt with such issues as organ donation, genetic engineering, IVF, and lately bioterrorism.

Coma is successful as a film mainly due to the cast, the direction from Michael Crichton (also responsible for the screenplay), and the pacing. Like all good thrillers, they have taken notes from Hitchcock, and the best tension is created by suggestion rather than using graphic images to shock. There is some fine use of shadow, silhouette, and a dramatic score, that combine to keep an air of tension, even in the quieter scenes. There are a few name actors to look for in small roles, such as Ed Harris (with hair), Tom Selleck (with facial hair - that mo'), and Joanna Kerns (with, thankfully, no facial hair).

Having a medical background is of no advantage here, and this is a suspense thriller first, a medical thriller second. There is enough menace to keep you intrigued until the end, and a satisfactory and believable climax. There are enough creepy images to send a shiver down the spine, and more than enough credibility to make you wonder just what does happen in some of our big hospitals. If you are due for surgery anytime soon, then watch Coma after you get home. Trust me, I'm a doctor.

  Video
Contract

Films from this era can be a nightmare in their own right, regardless of the genre. Thankfully, Coma generally scrubs up well. Sadly, presentation loses brownie points for two main reasons. The first because it is in NTSC format and will require you to have NTSC compatible hardware, and the second because it is a double-sided disc with a full frame version on one side, and a 'matted' widescreen version on the other (it has had some of the picture chopped off the top and bottom in other words). This does allow you to watch it on a widescreen television, but you will not get to see the film in its original aspect ratio no matter which option you choose.

The 'matting' has been set at 1.78:1 (the cover incorrectly states 1.85:1) and is 16x9 enhanced. While the film is a little soft, as is typical of flicks from the '70s, it still looks rather good. There is enough definition and sharpness to lift it way above VHS standards, and the colours have held up well and are bold and strong. There is no evidence of chroma noise, but just the slightest evidence of colour bleeding if you care to take that much notice.

There are also some very infrequent white specks that again, will only annoy if you care enough to sit there and watch for them. Other than these, the film is generally free from marks. There is no evidence of shimmer or low-level noise, and black levels are solid and deep. Shadow detail is fine without being brilliant, and the overall contrast is good, although backlighting can be a little glary, but this is not a very frequent problem.

Naturally there is no layer change, and subtitles are provided in English and French.

  Audio
Contract

There are two audio options, being French or English Dolby Digital 1.0 mono. What can you say about a mono audio track? It is in synch and it has been mastered at a fairly low volume, but all dialogue is clear and easy to understand. There is no separation or panning, no sounds from the rear channels or subwoofer, and the whole thing is adequate, though somewhat flat and dull in the way that most mono transfers invariably are. That's all, folks!

  Extras
Contract

The usual I'm afraid; a theatrical trailer. There is one on each side of the disc and each matches the relative feature as far as specifications go.

  Overall  
Contract

Coma is a better than average thriller flick. The cast is solid, the direction is great, and there is excellent use of suggestion rather than a series of graphic images to scare. The whole idea is completely believable, though sinister. What evil lurks in the hearts of men? Indeed. The audio and video quality is a joke, and bordering on insulting. Joey Six-Pack may accept full frame and matted widescreen NTSC versions, but not film buffs. A solid movie let down by a format that can bring out the best, or, as is the case here, the worst.


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      And I quote...
    "Trust me, I'm a doctor..."
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
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    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
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    • Centre Speaker:
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    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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