''Hospital'' is an 84-minute 1970 American documentary film directed by

Frederick Wiseman Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...

, which explores the daily activities of the people at

Metropolitan Hospital Center Metropolitan Hospital Center (MHC, also referred to as Metropolitan Hospital) is a hospital in East Harlem, New York City. It has been affiliated with New York Medical College since it was founded in 1875, representing the oldest partnership bet ...

, a large-city hospital in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, with emphasis on its emergency ward and outpatient clinics. The film won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming - Individuals and Outstanding Achievement in News Documentary Programming - Programs. In 1994, it was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

as being deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was selected for screening as part of the Cannes Classics section at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival.

Synopsis

The film follows hospital staff and a variety patients in an episodic manner. The film is highly

observational Observation is the active acquisition of information from a primary source. In living beings, observation employs the senses. In science, observation can also involve the perception and recording of data (information), data via the use of scienti ...

, using no

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non- diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentation ...

narration or interviews. Names are not formally given, and the hospital is only mentioned once as "Metropolitan" by a doctor on a phone call. The patients come from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and social classes, but most are poor and marginalized. Doctors, nurses, police officers, and social workers attempt to aid patients with medical care and

social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...

. The staff's actions are often compassionate but limited by an overwhelmed public system. Among the patients are a man who fears he has cancer, a neglected toddler who fell out a window, an art student who ingested an unknown drug and is suffering a bad trip, a queer teenager trying to obtain welfare, and an elderly women who has a

pulmonary embolism Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blockage of an artery in the lungs by a substance that has moved from elsewhere in the body through the bloodstream ( embolism). Symptoms of a PE may include shortness of breath, chest pain particularly upon breathin ...

and is in

critical condition Medical state is a term used to describe a hospital patient's health status, or condition. The term is most commonly used in information given to the news media, and is rarely used as a clinical description by physicians. Two aspects of the patien ...

. A group of patients attending

Catholic mass The Mass is the central liturgical service of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church, in which bread and wine are consecrated and become the body and blood of Christ. As defined by the Church at the Council of Trent, in the Mass, "the same Christ ...

serves as the closing sequence.

References

External links

*''Hospital'' essay by Barry Keith Grant on the National Film Registry websit

*''Hospital'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 , pages 660-66

* 1970 documentary films 1970 films American documentary films Black-and-white documentary films Documentary films about health care Documentary films about New York City Films directed by Frederick Wiseman United States National Film Registry films American black-and-white films Films set in hospitals Healthcare in New York City 1970s American films {{documentary-tv-film-stub

Synopsis

See also

References

External links