Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, John Cassavetes, (more)
- Director(s):
- John Badham
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R
My RatingTheatrical Release Information | See Details About All Versions
Stepping into the role made famous on Broadway by Tom Conti, Richard Dreyfuss stars as a profoundly handicapped sculptor in Whose Life is it Anyway? Left a quadraplegic after an auto accident, the embittered Dreyfuss feels utterly useless, as both an artist and a human being. He doesn't want his family's love, or his doctor's care, or his nurse's ministrations. Dreyfuss simply wants to die-but this is impossible, given the legal state of things in the 1970s. Whose Life is It Anyway? may be the only film in which a person's right to self-destruction is regarded as a happy ending. Not as depressing as it sounds, Whose Life Is It Anyway is perversely hilarious at times, with Dreyfuss at his acerbic best. The film was scripted by Reginald Rose and Brian Clark from Clark's stage play. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Theatrical Feature Running Time:
- 118 mins
Complete Cast:
- Richard Dreyfuss - Ken Harrison
- Christine Lahti - Dr. Clare Scott
- Kenneth McMillan - Judge Wyler
- Thomas Carter - Orderly John
- Janet Eilber - Pat
- Betty Cole - ICU Nurse
- Alston Ahern - Day Nurse
- Lyman Ward - Emergency-Room Doctor
- Alan Stock - 3rd-Year Student
- Wabei Slyolwe - Court Clerk
- John Garber - Physiotherapist
- Lissa Layng
- Dorothy Meyer
- Kathryn Grody - Mrs. Boyle
- John Cassavetes - Dr. Michael Emerson
- Bob Balaban - Catter Hill
- Kaki Hunter - Mary Jo
- Alba Oms - Nurse Rodriguez
- Ward Costello - Mr. Eden
- Julie Andelman - Stella
- George Wyner - Dr. Jacobs
- Robert S. Telford
- Mel Stewart - Dr. Barr
- Jeffrey Combs - 1st-Year Intern
- Michael Steve Jones - Intern
- Tony Simotes - Orthodpedic Surgeon
- J.J. Johnston - Guard
- Director(s):
- John Badham
- Writer(s):
- Reginald Rose, Brian Clark, Robert E. Collins
- Producer(s):
- Ray Cooney, Lawrence P. Bachmann, Martin C. Schute
- Theatrical MPAA Rating:
- R(Nudity, Adult Language, Not For Children, Adult Situations)
- Closed Captioning:
- Check All Versions
- Subtitles:
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