Product Details

• Actors: Sean Connery, Lorraine Bracco, José Wilker, Rodolfo De Alexandre, Francisco Tsiren Tsere Rereme
• Directors: John McTiernan
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Walt Disney Video
• DVD Release Date: August 17, 1999
• Run Time: 106 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6305428506
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,056 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Medicine Man" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Director John McTiernan (Die Hard) does an underwhelming job with this potentially interesting story of a research scientist (Sean Connery) who discovers a cure for cancer in the Brazilian rain forest, but then can't retrace his steps in creating the potion. Added pressure on his work is coming from developers burning down the forest, while an American bureaucrat (Lorraine Bracco), who holds the purse strings on the grant, has arrived to give him a bad time. The crucial chemistry between the stars just isn't there (Bracco can be hard to take at times), and, despite the added exotica of local witch doctors and seeing Connery swing through the trees, the elements just don't come together in this well-meaning but disappointing movie. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Academy Award(R)-winning star Sean Connery (Best Supporting Actor, 1987 -- THE UNTOUCHABLES), reunites with action director John McTiernan (THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, DIE HARD) for another powerful collaboration in the heroic box office smash MEDICINE MAN! Screen favorite Connery plays Dr. Robert Campbell, a brilliant but unorthodox scientist racing against time in his bold research for a cure against cancer. Set deep in the forbidding Amazon rain forest, this action-packed hit follows Campbell hot on the trail of an amazing discovery -- but the eccentric recluse soon finds himself caught in the midst of an explosive adventure! Also starring Oscar(R)-nominee Lorraine Bracco (Best Supporting Actress, 1990 -- GOODFELLAS), MEDICINE MAN delivers unmatched entertainment with its spectacular mix of breathtaking scenery, captivating performances, and thrilling, nonstop excitement!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Maligned Minor Masterpiece, March 9, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Medicine Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

The critics really blew it on this one. (Leonard Maltin must have been having a really bad day.) Some of the reviews are absolutely bewildering - as if they saw some other movie.

"Medicine Man" is the rare action/adventure film with something more than car chases and shootouts on its mind, a passionate parable of the rampant destruction of the rainforest and the miracles of nature now threatened by "progress".

Sean Connery gives one of the best, most nuanced performances of his career, almost certainly the definitive "mature" Connery role, and Lorraine Bracco is a perfect foil as the sharp-tongued but endearing "Dr. Bronx" - their conflict thoroughly understandable and its resolution none too easy.

The breathtaking beauty of the rainforest and the haunting images of the native tribes driven from their homes (or decimated by the white man's diseases) are punctuated by thrilling aerial sequences high above in the jungle canopy - "the top shelf in the pharmacological superstore".

Forget the critics. This is an almost perfectly realized film, one that just gets better with each viewing, one that stays with you long after it's over.

For Connery fans, I also recommend one of his early (and nearly forgotten) films, "The Hill".

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Every civilization needs a medicine man, December 30, 2001

By 

jasenao (Dothan, Alabama, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Medicine Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Dr. Campbell (Sean Connery), a biochemist who has been doing extensive medical research for years in the lush rainforests of the Amazon, has found what just might be a MAJOR medical breakthrough. But that's not to say that he wouldn't enjoy just a little bit of help. Dr. Crane (Lorraine Bracco), a fellow biochemist comes to the aid of Dr. Campbell to help him as much as she can.

Will Dr. Campbell and Dr. Crane be able to find this miracle cure that could be just over the horizon? Will they be able to set aside their differences and actually be able to get along one of these days? These are the major questions that watching "Medicine Man" will answer for all the viewers who watch this great movie.

"Medicine Man" is one of those movies that doesn't need a bit of special effects to make it an unforgettable movie. It's a film that is real compelling and interesting to watch from start to finish without ever getting boring. With Sean Connery as the lead character, you know there will be great acting included.

If you're a fan of great movies, I definitely recommend to not miss out on your chance to watch and even own "Medicine Man."

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A very original story well told, December 13, 2001

By 

D. M. Farmbrough "Dave Farmbrough" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Medicine Man [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Medicine man could almost be made as a play as the vast majority of the time is taken up by dialogue between Connery and Bracco. Connery's character has found a cure for cancer, but cannot tell which of the various specimens he has been testing is the right one. There is rather a lot of moralising about the destruction of the rain forest, and whilst admirable sentiments are being expressed, we only need to be told once. The human story is more interesting than the ostensible plot, with Connery being driven by guilt over various events in his life which will become apparent over the cou1se of the film. There is the rather predictable love affair between Connery and his 25 years younger co-star, but thankfully not much time is taken up with this. The jungle settings are well-filmed and shown off to their best advantage, while the native peoples are treated with respect, without being patronising. Despite my reservations, Connery's charisma overcomes all of this to make an interesting, entertaining film.