Rent The National Health (1973)
3.3 of 5 from 56 ratings
1h 38min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
- Jack Gold's film about life and death in a shabby London hospital interweaves the story of the real hospital with a fantasy one which exists in the soap-opera world of 'Nurse Norton's Affair', where everything is fully funded and patients are miraculously cured. A darkly funny satire on the state of the nation and also a deeply prescient comment on TV's ability to turn tragedy into entertainment, 'The National Health' sits somewhere between the bawdy antics of the 'Carry On' films and the angry satire of Lindsay Anderson's 'Britannia Hospital', but emerges as a starkly prophetic film, more relevant now than ever.
- Actors:
- Lynn Redgrave, Colin Blakely, Eleanor Bron, Donald Sinden, Jim Dale, Bob Hoskins, David Hutcheson, Mervyn Johns, Bert Palmer, Clive Swift, Gillian Barge, George 'Calypso' Browne, Patience Collier, Jumoke Debayo, Robert Gillespie, John Hamill, Maureen Pryor, Sheila Scott-Wilkenson, Neville Aurelius, Don Hawkins
- Directors:
- Jack Gold
- Producers:
- Terry Glinwood, Ned Sherrin
- Writers:
- Peter Nichols
- Others:
- Ralph Sheldon
- Studio:
- Powerhouse Films
- Genres:
- Classics, Comedy
- Collections:
- inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 28/08/2017
- Run Time:
- 98 minutes
- Languages:
- English Dolby Digital 1.0
- Subtitles:
- English Hard of Hearing
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.75:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- (0) All
- Bonus:
- Audio commentary with actor Jim Dale and journalist Nick Pinkerton
- Back to Health (2017, 24 mins): a new interview with author and playwright Peter Nichols
- Original Theatrical Trailer
- World premiere on Blu-ray
More like The National Health
Found in these customers lists
283 films by maj
Reviews (1) of The National Health
A superb social satire - The National Health review by AG
This isnt the comedy I thought it was going it be, but in fact it is better than that. A star lead cash subtaly point out the failings in society with a blunt honesty which can at times be emotional. It uses cut away scenes of the same staff in a mock hospital soap TV drama to make a point on the reality and fantasy of hospital lif. Though it does have a BBFC PG please be warned that the film is probably aimed at 15 and above, to appreciate what is being shown and also one use of the F word toward the end. Highly recomended, its a shame this one slipped away from modern view when it comes to looking at great British cinema.
3 out of 3 members found this review helpful.