AllMovie

This 1970 Frederick Wiseman documentary was a 1994 National Film Registry selection by the National Film Preservation Board. In 1970, the 84-minute film won two Emmys-"Best News Documentary" and "Best Director." Wiseman looked at life in a large urban hospital, detailing daily activities with his main focus on the emergency ward and outpatient clinic. Medical expertise, organizational considerations, availability of resources, and the nature of communications among staff and patients are all shown as factors in the delivery of appropriate health care. Pauline Kael (The New Yorker) wrote, "It is as open and revealing as filmed experience has ever been. You look misery in the eye..."