Editing Awakenings

{{Short description|1990 American drama film}}
{{About|the 1990 film|the 1973 non-fiction book|Awakenings (book)|techno music event|Awakenings (festival)|other uses|Awakening (disambiguation){{!}}Awakening}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Awakenings
| image          = Awakenings.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Penny Marshall]]
| producer       = {{plainlist|
* [[Walter F. Parkes]]
* [[Lawrence Lasker]]
}}
| screenplay     = [[Steven Zaillian]]
| based_on       = {{Based on|''[[Awakenings (book)|Awakenings]]''|[[Oliver Sacks]]}}
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* [[Robert De Niro]]
* [[Robin Williams]]
* [[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]]
* [[Julie Kavner]]
* [[Penelope Ann Miller]]
* [[Max von Sydow]]
}}
| music          = [[Randy Newman]]
| cinematography = [[Miroslav Ondříček|Miroslav Ondricek]]
| editing        = {{plainlist|
* Battle Davis
* [[Gerald B. Greenberg|Jerry Greenberg]]
}}
| studio         = Lasker/Parkes Productions
| distributor    = [[Columbia Pictures]]
| released       = {{film date|1990|12|22}}
| runtime        = 121 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = English
| budget         = $29 million<ref>[https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/MovieDetails/58400 ''Awakenings'']. [[American Film Institute|AFI]].</ref>
| gross          = $108.7 million
}}

'''''Awakenings''''' is a 1990 American [[Biographical film|biographical]] [[Drama (film and television)|drama]] film written by [[Steven Zaillian]], directed by [[Penny Marshall]], and starring [[Robert De Niro]], [[Robin Williams]], [[Julie Kavner]], [[Ruth Nelson (actress)|Ruth Nelson]], [[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]], [[Penelope Ann Miller]], [[Peter Stormare]] and [[Max von Sydow]]. It is based on [[Oliver Sacks]]'s [[Awakenings (book)|1973 nonfiction memoir ''Awakenings'']]. The film tells the story of the fictional neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Williams), whose character is based on Sacks. 

In 1969, Sayer discovers the beneficial effects of the drug [[L-DOPA|<small>L</small>-DOPA]] and administers the drug to catatonic patients who survived the [[1919–1930 encephalitis lethargica epidemic|1919–1930 epidemic]] of [[encephalitis lethargica]]. The patients—among them the focal character Leonard Lowe (De Niro)—are awakened after decades and must therefore try to acclimate to life in a new and unfamiliar time.

The film is produced by [[Walter Parkes]] and [[Lawrence Lasker]], who first encountered Sacks's book as undergraduates at [[Yale University]]. Released on December 12, 1990, ''Awakenings'' was a critical and commercial success, earning $108.7 million on a $29 million budget. It was nominated for three [[Academy Awards]]: [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] (De Niro), and [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]].

==Plot==
In 1969, Dr. Malcolm Sayer is a dedicated and caring physician at a local hospital in the [[New York City]] borough of [[The Bronx|the Bronx]]. After working extensively with the [[catatonia|catatonic]] patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of [[encephalitis lethargica]], Sayer discovers a stimuli that will "awaken" the patients from their respective catatonic states. Actions such as catching a ball, hearing familiar music, being called by their name, and enjoying human touch each have unique effects on particular patients and offer a glimpse into their worlds. Patient Leonard Lowe seems to remain unmoved, but Dr. Sayer learns that Leonard is able to communicate with him by using a [[Ouija]] board.

After attending a lecture at a conference on the drug [[L-DOPA|<small>L</small>-DOPA]] and its success for patients with [[Parkinson's disease]], Sayer believes that the drug may offer a breakthrough for his own group of patients. A trial run with Leonard yields astounding results; Leonard completely "awakens" from his catatonic state. This success inspires Sayer to ask for funding from donors, so that all the catatonic patients can receive the <small>L</small>-DOPA medication and gain "awakenings" to reality and the present.

Meanwhile, Leonard is adjusting to his new life and becomes romantically interested in Paula, the daughter of another hospital patient. Leonard begins to chafe at the restrictions placed on him as a patient of the hospital, desiring the freedom to come and go as he pleases. He stirs a revolt by arguing his case to Sayer and the hospital administration. As Leonard becomes more agitated, Sayer notices that a number of [[Levodopa-induced dyskinesia|facial and body tics begin to manifest]], which Leonard has difficulty controlling.

Although Dr. Sayer and the hospital staff are initially overjoyed by the success of L-DOPA in reviving a group of catatonic patients, they soon realize that the effects are only temporary. Leonard, the first to "awaken", is also the first to show signs of decline. His tics gradually worsen, his walk becomes a shuffle, and he begins to experience full-body spasms that severely limit his movement. Despite the pain, Leonard remains resolute. He asks Dr. Sayer to film him, hoping that his experience may one day contribute to research that helps others.

Aware of his deteriorating condition, Leonard shares a final lunch with Paula. He tells her that he can no longer see her, but before parting ways, she invites him to dance. While they dance, Leonard's spasms cease for a brief, calming moment.

Although Leonard and Sayer reconcile, Leonard soon returns to a catatonic state. One by one, the other patients follow, despite increasing doses of L-DOPA.

Dr. Sayer speaks to a group of hospital donors, explaining that while the physical awakenings were fleeting, a deeper awakening had occurred, with most a renewed sense of appreciation for life. Sayer also grows from the experience, finally overcoming his intense shyness to ask Nurse Eleanor Costello for coffee.

The staff now treats the patients with greater empathy and dignity, and Paula continues to visit Leonard. Although Leonard is again unresponsive, he and Sayer maintain their connection through the Ouija board, a quiet testament to the enduring human spirit.

==Cast==
{{Div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Robert De Niro]] as Leonard Lowe
* [[Robin Williams]] as Dr. Malcolm Sayer
* [[Julie Kavner]] as Eleanor Costello
* [[John Heard (actor)|John Heard]] as Dr. Kaufman
* [[Penelope Ann Miller]] as Paula
* [[Max von Sydow]] as Dr. Peter Ingham
* [[Vincent Pastore]] as Ward #5 Patient #6
* [[Ruth Nelson (actress)|Ruth Nelson]] as Mrs. Lowe
* [[Alice Drummond]] as Lucy
* [[Judith Malina]] as Rose
* [[George Martin (American actor)|George Martin]] as Frank
* [[Anne Meara]] as Miriam
* [[Mary Alice]] as Nurse Margaret
* [[Richard Libertini]] as Sidney
* [[Keith Diamond (actor)|Keith Diamond]] as Anthony
* [[Peter Stormare]] as neurochemist
* [[Bradley Whitford]] as Dr. Tyler
* [[Dexter Gordon]] as Rolando
{{div col end}}

==Production==
===Casting===
On September 15, 1989, [[Liz Smith (journalist)|Liz Smith]] reported that those being considered for the role of Leonard Lowe's mother were [[Kaye Ballard]], [[Shelley Winters]] and [[Anne Jackson]].<ref>Smith, Liz (September 15, 1989). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97001379/daily-news/ "Guess What She's Doing for Love"]. ''Daily News'' (New York). p.&nbsp;8. Retrieved March 6, 2022.</ref> Three weeks later, ''[[Newsday]]'' named [[Nancy Marchand]] as the leading contender.<ref>Fleming, Michael; Freifeld, Karen; Stasi, Linda (October 4, 1989). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97275220/newsday/ "Inside New York: Big Wigs at Lunch"]. ''Newsday'' (New York). p.&nbsp;12. Retrieved March 9, 2022.</ref>

In January 1990—more than three quarters of the way through the film's four-month shooting schedule<ref>{{Cite news|title=New Film Starts|author=|date=October 18, 1989|work=Variety|pages=24|quote=Awakenings (Col) 10/11/89.|id={{ProQuest|1286179696}}}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Film Production (Films Currently in Production)|author=|date=December 5, 1989|work=The Hollywood Reporter|pages=23|quote=Shooting in New York (Start October 16).|id={{ProQuest|2610466570}}}}</ref><ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099077/locations?ref_=ttfc_ql_5#filming_dates Filming & Production; Filming Dates]. [[IMDb]].</ref>— the matter was seemingly resolved when the February 1990 issue of ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'' magazine published a widely cited story belatedly informing fans that not only had Winters gotten the role, she had been targeted at De Niro's request and had been cast by displaying her [[Academy Awards|Oscar]] awards (for the benefit of veteran casting director, [[Bonnie Timmermann]]).{{efn|Neither as printed in the following 1990 ''Premiere'' excerpt nor as recounted by Winters herself six years later does this anecdote identify by name the casting director in question. As regards gender, however (and notwithstanding subsequent versions to the contrary), Winters's own account clearly cites a "casting ''lady''",<ref name="SW@TS">[https://youtube.com/clip/UgkxEFMvviAnzBHFHy9aM1gE1_B-z_nmWP57 "SHELLEY WINTERS ~ Interview Tom Snyder Show (1996) pt 1"]. [[YouTube]].</ref> and Bonnie Timmerman is indeed the credited casting director on the finished film.<ref>{{Cite news|title='''Awakenings.''' USA, 1990|author=|date=March 1, 1991|work=Monthly Film Bulletin|pages=72|quote=Cert—12. ''dist''—Columbia TriStar. ''p.c.''—Columbia. ''exec. p''—Penny Marshall, Anne Schmidt, Elliot Abbott. ''p''—Walter F. Parkes, Lawrence Lasker. ''assoc. p''—Amy Lemisch. ''p. office co-ordinator''—Harriette Kanew. ''unit p. manager''—Timothy M. Bourne. ''location manager''—Richard Baratta. ''casting''—Bonnie Timmermann. (addit.) Todd M. Thaler, Judie Fixler.|id={{ProQuest|1305840679}}}}</ref>}}

{{Blockquote|Ms. Winters arrived, sat down across from the casting director and did, well, nothing. After a moment of silence, she reached into her satchel and pulled out an Oscar, which she placed on the desk. After another moment, she reached in and pulled out another, placing it on the desk beside the first.{{efn|At this point, a red flag regarding this story's accuracy should have been raised by any truly well-versed Winters fan, given the fact that roughly fifteen years earlier (as was widely reported, both at the time and subsequently), she had famously donated the first of her two Oscars to the [[Anne Frank Museum]] in [[Amsterdam]].<ref>{{Cite news|title=Winters' Oscar Going to Anne Frank Museum|author=Reuter|date=January 11, 1975|work=The Globe and Mail|page=34|quote=Miss Winters is in London to make a comedy, Heaven Save Us From Our Friends, opposite Lee J. Cobb. She surprised the cast of the picture by turning up with the little statuette in her luggage. [...] This weekend the unit moves to Bruges, in Belgium, for more shooting and Miss Winters plans to go to Amsterdam to hand over the coveted trophy. A spokesman for Miss Winters said: 'She plans to do this very quietly. She doesn't want people to think she is cashing in on such a tragic story for publicity for herself.|id={{ProQuest|1239438574}}}}</ref><ref>United Press International (January 16, 1975). [https://cdnc.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/cdnc?a=d&d=SBS19750116.1.3&e=-------en--20--1--txt-txIN-%22actress+gives+oscar+to+museum%22------- "Actress Gives Oscar to Museum"]. ''San Bernardino Sun''. p.&nbsp;A-3. Retrieved January 13, 2022.</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title='Oscarisms' Through the Years|author=Biederman, Danny|date=May 1979|work=American Cinematographer|page=493|quote=Shelley Winters, Best Supporting Actress winner for THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK in 1960[sic], would 16 years later donate her Oscar to the Anne Frank Museum in Amsrerdam—the actual house where the thirteen-year-old Anne, in 1942, wrote her journal. At first, the Museum turned down the trophy because they couldn't decide what to do with it. Eventually they changed their mind and accepted the statuette during a ceremony that was attended by Anne Frank's father, Otto.|id={{ProQuest|2296239796}}}}</ref><ref>McCombs, Don; Worth, Fred L. (1983). ''[https://archive.org/details/worldwariisuperf00mcc_rh6/page/572/mode/2up?q=%22Shelley+Winters%22+%22anne+frank+Museum%22 World War II Super Facts]''. New York: Warner Books. pp.&nbsp;572–573.</ref><ref>Levy, Emanuel (1987). ''[https://archive.org/details/andwinnerishisto0000levy/page/238/mode/2up?q=%22Shelley+Winters%22 And the Winner Is... : The History and Politics of the Oscar Awards]''. New York: Ungar Publishing Company. p.&nbsp;238. {{ISBN|0804425108}}.</ref> Indeed, Winters' own version of events, as recounted to [[Tom Snyder]] in 1996, while failing to inform viewers that she did not in fact land the role in question, is accurate as regards both number of Oscars involved and gender—i.e. female—of both the film's unnamed "casting lady" and director Penny Marshall, towards whom, at least in retrospect, Winters displays a markedly greater degree of deference: "If Penny Marshall, who was the director, was going to ask me to read, that was okay with me."<ref name="SW@TS"/>}} Finally she said: "Some people think I can act. Do you still want me to read for this part?" "No, Miss Winters," came the reply. She got the part.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96999818/the-baltimore-sun/ "Shelley Winters Flaunts Talent"]. ''The Baltimore Sun''. January 25, 1990. p.&nbsp;2F. Retrieved March 6, 2022. See also:<br>
* {{Cite news|title=Personalities|author=Conconi, Chuck|date=January 25, 1990|newspaper=The Washington Post|page=B3|quote=The actress arrived and sat down across from the casting director. After a moment of silence, she reached into her satchel and pulled out an Oscar, which she placed on the desk. Then she reached in and pulled out another, placing it next to the first. Finally she said, 'Some people think I can act. Do you still want me to read for this part?' 'No, Miss Winters,' came the reply. She got the part.|id={{ProQuest|140131176}}}}
* Record News Services (January 25, 1990). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/496185879/?clipping_id=118074407 "Thursday's People: Her Friend, Oscar"]. ''[[The Record (North Jersey)|The Record]]''. p.&nbsp;2
* Camilli, Doug (January 26, 1990). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/420652000/?clipping_id=118070800 "Hanks Harvests Plum Role as Real McCoy in Bonfire of the Vanities"]. ''The Montreal Gazette''. p.&nbsp;18.
* {{Cite news|title=People: Eastwood Recalls Joy of Filming Series|author=Staff and Wire Reports|date=January 26, 1990|work=The St. Petersburg Times|page=3A|quote=The actress arrived and sat down across from the casting director. After a moment of silence, she reached into her satchel and pulled out an Oscar, which she placed on the desk. Then she reached in and pulled out another, placing it next to the first. Finally she said, 'Some people think I can act. Do you still want me to read for this part?' 'No, Miss Winters,' came the reply. She got the part.|id={{ProQuest|262710756}}}}
* Powell, Lew (January 29, 1990). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/625591553/?clipping_id=118070820 "Statues Speak Louder Than Words"]. ''The Charlotte Observer''. p.&nbsp;6B.
* Berger, Joe; O'Neil, Cindy; eds. (March 13, 1990). [https://books.google.com/books?id=RPQDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA13 "World's Hottest Gossip: Kathleen Turner Goes Nuts for Sexy Leading Men ... and hubby pitches fits!; Prince Dines on Canned Frosting"]. ''Weekly World News''. p.&nbsp;13. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
* [https://www.newspapers.com/image/735812331/?clipping_id=118079080 "Star Gazing: Silence Is Golden"]. ''The Winnipeg Sun''. August 5, 1992. p.&nbsp;16.</ref>}}
Despite Liz Smith's, ''Newsday''<nowiki/>'s and ''Premiere'''s seemingly definitive reports (which, minus any mention of the specific film being discussed, would be periodically reiterated and ultimately embellished in subsequent years),<ref>Ebert, Roger (May 12, 1995). [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/swimming-with-sharks-1995 "'Sharks' Takes Sardonic Swipe at Hollywood"]. ''Chicago Sun-Times''. p.&nbsp;37. Retrieved—via RogerEbert.com. "When we first meet [Guy], he's having lunch with a table full of other ambitious young would-be executives, at Musso and Frank's. He's telling an anecdote about how Shelley Winters was asked to audition for a producer once, and simply pulled her Oscars out of her handbag and lined them up on his desk. It would be a great story, if the others had heard of Shelley Winters (one of them finally remembers her from 'The Poseidon Adventure'). Retrieved March 6, 2022. See also:<br>
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrR3CVpTCJo&t=30s "SHELLEY WINTERS ~ Interview Tom Snyder Show (1996) pt 1"]. [[YouTube]].
* Bernard, Jami (September 17, 2000). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97034569/daily-news/ "And the Return Envelope, Please... "]. ''New York Daily News''.
* [https://www.newspapers.com/image/745016573/?clipping_id=118092435 "Movies: When Shelley Winters was asked to audition..."]. ''The Sun Herald Marquee''. March 27, 2003. p.4.
* Danziger, Maya (February 2005). [https://books.google.com/books?id=UV8EAAAAMBAJ&dq=shelley+winters&pg=PA75 "The Twilight Zone: The Shelley Winters Moment"]. ''Los Angeles Magazine''. p.&nbsp;75.
* O'Malley, Sheila (January 16, 2006). [https://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=4196 "R.I.P., Shelley Winters"]. The Sheila Variations.
* [https://dameonline.blogspot.com/2007/11/shelley-winters.html "Shelley Winters; Comments &#91;Comment #4&#93;"]. DAMEonline.net. November 12, 2007.
* O'Malley, Sheila (December 1, 2008). [http://www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=8645 "The Books: “Shelley, Also Known As Shirley” (Shelley Winters)"]. The Sheila Variations.
* Brown, David (March 6, 2014). [https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/blogs/mlb-big-league-stew/albert-pujols-channels-joe-pesci-character-after-being-insulted-mike-trout-comparison-220227246.html "Albert Pujols channels Joe Pesci character after being insulted by Mike Trout comparison"]. Yahoo!Entertainment.</ref><ref>Cronin, Brian (July 6, 2022). [https://www.cbr.com/shelley-winters-oscar-story-true-or-not/ "Is the Famous Shelley Winters Oscar Story Really True?"]. ''[[Comic Book Resources|CBR]]''. Retrieved February 6, 2023.</ref> the film was released in December 1990, featuring neither Winters (whose early dismissal evidently resulted from continuing attempts to pull rank on director Penny Marshall)<ref>Agan, Patrick (1993). [https://www.mediafire.com/view/0reg0i7pzy1jhs6/ ''Robert De Niro: The Man, the Myth and the Movies'']. London: Robert Hale. pp.&nbsp;187–188. {{ISBN|9780709052241}}.</ref><ref>Baxter, John (2003). [https://archive.org/details/denirobiography0000baxt_r5v0/page/288/mode/2up?q=%22penny+marshall%22+awakenings+%22niro+also+got+a+say%22+%22shelley+winters%22 ''De Niro: An Autobiography'']. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p.&nbsp;289. {{ISBN|0-00-653230-6}}.</ref> nor any of the other previously publicized candidates (nor at least two others, [[Jo Van Fleet]] and [[Teresa Wright]], identified in subsequent accounts),<ref name="HH">Haun, Harry (2000). ''[https://archive.org/details/cinematiccentury00harr/page/n273/mode/2up?q=%22robert+de+niro+and+ruth+nelson+in+awakenings%22 The Cinematic Century: An Intimate Diary of America's Affair with the Movies]''. New York: Applause. {{ISBN|1557834008}}.</ref><ref name=TWreRN>Spoto, Donald (2016). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5ACkCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT272 A Girl's Got to Breathe: The Life of Teresa Wright]''. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. {{ISBN|9781628460452}}.</ref> but rather the 85-year-old [[Group Theatre (New York)|Group Theater]] alumnus [[Ruth Nelson (actress)|Ruth Nelson]], giving a well-received performance in what would be her final feature film.<ref>{{Cite news|title=De Niro Shines in "Awakenings'|author=Stone, Judy|date=December 20, 1990|work=The San Francisco Chronicle|pages=4|quote=For an all-too-brief time, he's free of the deeply symbiotic relationship with his too-devoted mother (Ruth Nelson, so splendidly shaken by his unexpected 'recovery').|id={{ProQuest|302504282}}}} See also:
* {{Cite news|title=De Niro Shines in "Awakenings'|author=Honeycutt, Kirk|date=December 13, 1990|work=The Hollywood Reporter|pages=9, 18|quote=The film's most tough-minded performance belongs to Ruth Nelson as Leonard's tenacious, white-haired mother. Having tended him for decades, she is overwhelmed by his recovery, yet better prepared to face its consequences than the doctors|id={{ProQuest|2610464859}}}}.
* Carroll, Kathleen (December 20, 1990). [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/97558527/daily-news/ "De Niro Rises and Shines in 'Awakenings'; Robin Williams and Ruth Nelson also touch the heart in this Tale of medical miracles"]. ''New York Daily News''. p.&nbsp;31, 39. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
* {{Cite news|title=Reviews: Awakenings|author=Svitil, Torene|date=December 21, 1990|work=Screen International|pages=14|quote=Williams and Julie Kavner (who plays his nurse) are sympathetic and Ruth Nelson is flawless as his mother|id={{ProQuest|1014656550}}}}.
* Agan. op. cit., p.&nbsp;[https://archive.org/details/robertdeniromanm0000agan/page/188/mode/2up?q=%22nelson%22 188].</ref><ref name="HH"/> "As Leonard's mother," wrote ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' critic, [[Julie Salamon]], "Nelson achieves a wrenching beauty that stands out even among these exceptional actors doing exceptional things."<ref>{{Cite news|title=Real Rip van Winkles in 'Awakenings'|author=Salamon, Julie|date=December 20, 1990|work=The Wall Street Journal|pages=A14|id={{ProQuest|135423138}}}}.</ref> In her 2012 memoir, Penny Marshall recalled:
{{Blockquote|Ruth was a great lady. She was a New York stage actress in the 1930s who transitioned to movies but was blacklisted in the 1950s when her second husband was among those Senator Joseph McCarthy labeled a Communist. She was victimized by association and didn't work for three decades. When I met her, she was eighty-four and had battled a brain tumor and also had arthritis. I stared at her slender arms and gnarled hands. It looked like she had pushed her kid's arms and legs down for years. I liked her. I couldn't get her insured, but I didn't care. Neither did she. She wanted to do it. To me, that’s what the movie was about.<ref>Marshall, Penny (2012). [https://archive.org/details/mymotherwasnutsm0000mars_f9a2/page/238/mode/2up?q=%22ruth+was+a+great+lady%22+%22i+couldn%27t+get+her+insured%22 ''My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir'']. Boston: New Harvest/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp.&nbsp;239–240. {{ISBN|978-0-547-89262-7}}.</ref>}}

===Filming===
[[Principal photography]] for ''Awakenings'' began on October 16, 1989, at the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center in [[Brooklyn, New York|Brooklyn]], New York, which was operating, and lasted until February 16, 1990. According to Williams, actual patients were used in the filming of the movie.<ref>{{cite AV media|title=Robin Williams Interview on the Tonight Show, 1991|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqdSagycCWc| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/iqdSagycCWc| archive-date=2021-12-11 | url-status=live|work=[[Tonight Show]]|publisher=[[NBC]]|access-date=February 17, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In addition to Kingsboro, sequences were filmed at the [[New York Botanical Garden]], [[Julia Richman High School]], the Casa Galicia, and [[Park Slope, Brooklyn|Park Slope]], Brooklyn.<ref>{{cite web|title=Awakenings Details |url=http://www.sonymoviechannel.com/movies/awakenings/details |work=[[Sony Pictures Television]] |publisher=[[Sony Movie Channel (United States)|Sony Movie Channel]] |access-date=February 17, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140429161211/http://www.sonymoviechannel.com/movies/awakenings/details |archive-date=April 29, 2014}}</ref>

==Reception==
''Awakenings'' was released theatrically on December 12, 1990, with an opening weekend gross of $417,076,<ref name="BOM">{{cite web |title= Awakenings (1990) |url= http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=awakenings.htm |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date= February 16, 2013 }}</ref> opening in second place behind ''[[Home Alone]]''<nowiki/>'s ninth weekend, with $8,306,532.<ref>{{cite news|title= Home Alone in 9th Week as No. 1 Film : Movies: 'Godfather Part III' takes dramatic slide from second to sixth place in its third week out. 'Awakenings' is in second. |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=January 14, 1991|url= https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-01-14-ca-310-story.html|access-date=2011-01-01|first=Pat H.|last=Broeske}}</ref> It went on to gross $52.1 million in the United States and Canada,<ref name="BOM" /> and $56.6 million internationally,<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Daily Variety]]|date=June 26, 1992|last=Evan Frook|first=John|title=Col TriStar tide rising overseas|page=1}}</ref> for a worldwide total of $108.7 million.

===Critical response===
''Awakenings'' received positive reviews from critics. [[Review aggregator]] [[Rotten Tomatoes]] reports that 81% of 37 film critics have given the film a positive review, with an average rating of 6.6/10. Its consensus states: "Elevated by some of Robin Williams'[s] finest non-comedic work and a strong performance from Robert De Niro, ''Awakenings'' skirts the edges of melodrama, then soars above it."<ref>{{cite web |title=Awakenings |url=http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1032970-awakenings/ |access-date=April 26, 2025 |work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> [[Metacritic]], which assigns a weighted average score from reviews of mainstream critics, gives the film a score of 74 out of 100, based on 18 reviews.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.metacritic.com/movie/awakenings|title=Awakenings |work=[[Metacritic]] |access-date= February 16, 2013}}</ref> Audiences surveyed by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a grade of A on a scale of A+ to F.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |title= Cinemascore |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/ |archive-date= 2018-12-20 |access-date= 2019-08-25 }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film a rating of four stars out of four, writing:
{{blockquote|After seeing ''Awakenings'', I read [the book], to know more about what happened in that Bronx hospital. What both the movie and the book convey is the immense courage of the patients and the profound experience of their doctors, as in a small way they reexperienced what it means to be born, to open your eyes and discover to your astonishment that "you" are alive.<ref>{{cite news |date= December 20, 1990 |last= Ebert |first= Roger |author-link= Roger Ebert |title= Awakenings |url= https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/awakenings-1990 |newspaper= [[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date= August 24, 2019 }}</ref>}}

[[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' praised the film's performances, citing,
{{blockquote|There's a raw, subversive element in De Niro's performance: He doesn't shrink from letting Leonard seem grotesque. Yet ''Awakenings'', unlike the infinitely superior ''[[Rain Man]]'', isn't really built around the quirkiness of its lead character. The movie views Leonard piously; it turns him into an icon of ''feeling.'' And so even if you're held (as I was) by the acting, you may find yourself fighting the film's design.<ref>{{cite magazine |date=December 21, 1990 |last= Gleiberman |first= Owen |author-link= Owen Gleiberman |title= Awakenings Review |url= https://ew.com/article/1990/12/21/awakenings/ |magazine= [[Entertainment Weekly]] |access-date= August 24, 2019 }}</ref>}}

[[Oliver Sacks]], the author of the memoir on which the film is based, "was pleased with a great deal of [the film]", explaining,
{{blockquote|I think in an uncanny way, De Niro did somehow feel his way into being Parkinsonian. So much so that sometimes when we were having dinner afterwards I would see his foot curl or he would be leaning to one side, as if he couldn't seem to get out of it. I think it was uncanny the way things were incorporated. At other levels I think things were sort of sentimentalized and simplified somewhat.<ref>{{cite news|last=Garner|first=Dwight|title=The last curious man|url=http://www.salon.com/1996/12/23/sacks961223/|work=[[Salon (website)|Salon]]|access-date=February 16, 2013|date=December 23, 1996}}</ref>}}

[[Desson Howe]] of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' said that the film's tragic aspects did not live up to the strength in its humor, saying,

{{blockquote|When nurse Julie Kavner (another former TV being) delivers the main Message (life, she tells Williams, is "given and taken away from all of us"), it doesn't sound like the climactic point of a great movie. It sounds more like a line from one of the more sensitive episodes of ''[[Laverne & Shirley|Laverne and Shirley]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Howe|first=Desson|title='Awakenings'|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/awakeningspg13howe_a0b2d4.htm|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=February 16, 2013|date=January 11, 1991}}</ref>}}

Similarly, [[Janet Maslin]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' concluded her review by stating,
{{blockquote|''Awakenings'' works harder at achieving such misplaced liveliness than at winning its audience over in other ways.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maslin|first=Janet|title=Movie Review – Awakenings|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE4D6113CF933A15751C1A966958260|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=February 16, 2013|date=December 20, 1990}}</ref>}}

===Accolades===
The film was nominated for three [[63rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]], including: the [[Academy Award for Best Picture]], the [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay]], and the [[Academy Award for Best Actor]] (Robert De Niro). Robin Williams was also nominated at the [[48th Golden Globe Awards]] for [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor in a Motion Picture Drama]].

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ List of awards and nominations
|-
! scope="col" | Award
! scope="col" | Date of ceremony
! scope="col" | Category
! scope="col" | Recipients
! scope="col" | Result
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="3" | [[63rd Academy Awards|Academy Awards]]
| rowspan="3" | March 25, 1991
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| Walter F. Parkes,<br />Lawrence Lasker
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Robert De Niro
| {{Nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| Steven Zaillian
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Japan Academy Prize (film)|Awards of the Japanese Academy]]
| March 20, 1992
| Best Foreign Film
| ''Awakenings''
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 1990|Chicago Film Critics Association Awards]]
| 1991
| Best Actor
| Robert De Niro
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[48th Golden Globe Awards|Golden Globe Awards]]
| January 19, 1991
| [[Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama|Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama]]
| Robin Williams
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[1992 Grammy Awards|Grammy Awards]]
| February 25, 1992
| [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television]]
| Randy Newman
| {{Nom}}
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2" | [[National Board of Review Awards 1990|National Board of Review Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | March 4, 1991
| Best Actor
| Robert De Niro,<br />Robin Williams (Tie)
| {{Won}}
|-
| Top Ten Films
| ''Awakenings''
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[1990 New York Film Critics Circle Awards|New York Film Critics Circle Awards]]
| January 13, 1991
| [[New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| Robert De Niro
| {{Won}}
|-
! scope="row" | [[Writers Guild of America Award]]
| March 20, 1991
| [[Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]]
| Steven Zaillian
| {{Nom}}
|-
|}

== Explanatory notes ==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0099077|Awakenings}}
* {{TCMDb title|67829|Awakenings}}
* {{Mojo title|awakenings|Awakenings}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1032970-awakenings|Awakenings}}

{{Penny Marshall}}
{{Oliver Sacks}}
{{Steven Zaillian}}

[[Category:1990 films]]
[[Category:1990 drama films]]
[[Category:American drama films]]
[[Category:Columbia Pictures films]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Randy Newman]]
[[Category:Drama films based on actual events]]
[[Category:Films based on non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Films based on memoirs]]
[[Category:Films directed by Penny Marshall]]
[[Category:Films set in 1969]]
[[Category:Films set in psychiatric hospitals]]
[[Category:Films shot in New York City]]
[[Category:Films set in the Bronx]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Steven Zaillian]]
[[Category:Medical-themed films]]
[[Category:Films based on works by Oliver Sacks]]
[[Category:Films produced by Walter F. Parkes]]
[[Category:1990s American films]]