Whose Life Is It Anyway? (1981)

Redundant and unnecessary.

Expected more

If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Sane people can have the desire to die, it's an indisputable fact. In arguing why, "Whose Life Is It Anyway?" tries to balance a dispute so personal, that it seems bound to fail. And yet, it does not! The story features a sculptor who is left paralyzed after a wrecking car accident and ends up in a most undesirable situation. His status renders him incapable of being the person he once was and found in the impossibility to reconcile his former self with his current condition, Ken Harrison decides to die.His quest is, most obviously, a difficult one. The doctors do not support him in his decision and in this debate - doctor::patient - it is where the film conjures the most solid arguments in its plea. Going beyond the usual ethical components of this choice, the film manages to assert a very personal position to the main protagonist, which therefore makes the whole experience one of anguish on a very personal level. And this is where it makes its point: there is no universal justification for death and the world has no right to interfere in the sphere of anyone's consciousness. Perhaps it is at times overly dramatic and it treats the subject with tantalizing care, but in the end, I felt the film balanced all the facts concerned in a convincing and compelling way, vividly portraying the painful demise of a strong mind in face of the cruelty of destiny. It might seem to take a stance on every man's right to choose his fate, but in the matter at hand (whether death by will is right or wrong) it emits no absolute messages.Beyond everything, Richard Dreyfuss sustains an authentic feeling of intellectual pain, in his convincing performance. And it is only in pain and suffering that we can look into ourselves to understand how much we are willing to bear in this world and what makes us be. Suicide I do not believe a solution, but then again, I am on the other side of the river, where things seem filthy green, rather than nothing at all. We are so alone in death and pain, that nobody can truly claim to understand us.

This movie moved me from horror to laughter to tears. I can't believe Richard Dreyfus doesn't remember doing this film. His performance was magnificent. He was so believable in playing this role of a quadriplegic. This movie pulled me in to it and wouldn't let me go until the end. If they ever try to do a remake, I believe it may be hard to fill in this role with just any other actor. I compared it to the movie "million dollar baby". Each was special in it's own way, in one, you spend more time getting to know the person before her accident while the other with Richard Dreyfus, you didn't get to know him very well until after his accident which happens right near the beginning. By the way, that special effects car accident was spectacular.

This thought provoking and philosophically painful. Most people have an opinion on euthanasia and how they would react should they end up helplessly crippled and so does Ken Harrison in this movie. But do we really mean what we say? What is really special about this movie is that it does not take a stand at the end. It lets us wonder. Does he actually change his mind as the good doctor suggests he might?I for one, dread a decision like this one.

This film is simply as close to perfect as I'd ever want a movie to be. The entire cast is impeccable. Even Khaki Hunter (the Porky's movies) gives a wonderful performance.Richard Dreyfuss is amazing. He gives his most complete performance while only able to use his head. Bob Balaban, as a stuttering attorney is amusing. Christine Lahti and Janet Eilber make you want to cry. The only thing wrong with this movie is that it had an ending. It didn't need one. We could have been left to ponder the enormous question, right along with the judge, as the credits rolled.