Medicine Man

"He turned his back on civilization. Only to discover he had the power to save it."

1992 1h 46m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

17%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 432🥫17%Rotten Tomatoes●43Metacritic★6IMDB · 26,055

AdventureDramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An eccentric scientist in the Amazon jungle rejects his research assistant for being a woman, but as bulldozers threaten their work on a potential cancer cure, they learn to collaborate and begin to fall in love.

“He turned his back on civilization. Only to discover he had the power to save it.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Sean Connery
Dr. Robert Campbell
Lorraine Bracco
Dr. Rae Crane
José Wilker
Dr. Miguel Ornega
Rodolfo De Alexandre
Tanaki
Francisco Tsiren Tsere Rereme
Jahausa
Elias Monteiro Da Silva
Palala
Edinei Maria Serrio Dos Santos
Kalana
Bec-Kana-Re Dos Santos Kaiapo
Imana

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John McTiernan
Writers: Sally Robinson, Tom Schulman, Tom Schulman
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

34 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Michael R. Miller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco and José Wilker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "He turned his back on civilization. Only to discover he had the power to save it.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0104839 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John McTiernan directs. Donald McAlpine behind the camera. Jerry Goldsmith scores. Michael R. Miller cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

134 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Directed by John McTiernan, shot by Donald McAlpine. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Jerry Goldsmith. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Michael R. Miller shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco and José Wilker carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "He turned his back on civilization. Only to discover he had the power to save it.".
7IMDB entry: tt0104839 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 14 themes, including "research", "ant", "medicine", "pharmaceutical industry".

The technical file

Cinematography: Donald McAlpine
Original score: Jerry Goldsmith
Editing: Michael R. Miller
Production design: John Krenz Reinhart Jr.
Costume design: Marilyn Vance
Stunt coordinator: Rafael Valdez
Runtime: 106 min · 1h 46m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $40,000,000
Box office: $45,500,797
Return: 114% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Medicine Man (1992)
Rotten Tomatoes: 17% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 43/100
IMDB rating: 6/10 · 26,055 votes
MPAA: PG-13

Awards

1 nomination total

Also by

John McTiernan

Stills · wallpapers

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Wuchak2023-06-11
★ 6/10
(Mis)adventures in the remote Brazilian jungle with Sean Connery and Lorraine Bracco A biochemist from a pharmaceutical company in New York (Bracco) goes deep into the rain forest of the Amazon to locate researcher Robert Campbell (Connery) and determine if his work is still worth funding. “Medicine Man” (1992) is a jungle drama in the mold of "The Emerald Forest" (1985). There’s a little bit of adventure and, unsurprisingly, romance. Right off the bat the relationship between the two is characterized by amusing bickering, which isn’t exactly realistic. If you can roll with that, there’s a lot to appreciate along with some eye-rolling bits. As far as the latter goes, if the missing ingredient for the cancer cure is as glaring to the viewer, then I’m pretty sure it would be obvious to Nobel-winning scientists working in the field. Also, the Amazon rain forest is the size of a huge country and lightly populated, is it very likely that the road being built would go directly into where the much-needed ingredient exists, not to mention the tribe? Still, there are entertaining elements and, sometimes, a palpable sense of wonder. Bracco has her feminine appeal and is amusing as Rae Crane, albeit annoying to some tastes (like Connery’s character isn’t?). The movie runs 1 hour, 46 minutes, and was shot in Southern Mexico, the area of Catemaco, Veracruz, Mexico (producers learned from money pits such as "The Emerald Forest" that shoots in the actual Amazon Basin just cost too much). GRADE: B-

Production companies