Frederick Wiseman - Near Death (1989)

Like all wiseman direct-cinema documentaries, Near Death has no narration, it just lets the subject speak for itself.
Near death is part of a series of documentaries by Wiseman depicting what Michel Foucault and Erving Goffman would call sometime afterwards "total institutions". Institutions such as schools ("High School"), prisons, mental institutions ("Titcut Follies") and of course, hospitals, especially the intensive care units.
Whereas the previous works by Wiseman showed these instituons and the problems that made them impossible to function properly, in "Near Death" it shows an instituon that no matter what is impossible to funcion properly due to the very nature of its work. In one part a staff member asks "are we trying to save these people or are we just managing their deaths?"

AllMovie.com user comment:

A six-hour chronicle of the Medical Intensive Care Unit at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital, it focuses on families, patients, doctors, nurses, religious advisors, and hospital staffers confronting personal, ethical, medical, psychological, religious and legal issues about death and the decisions that must be made about continuing the life-sustaining treatment of dying patients. Janet Maslin (New York Times) wrote that "the film has time to carry its audience from an initially raw emotional response to a calmer consideration of the difficult issues raised here, and finally on to some sort of resolution."

This is a 2CD VHS rip; the sound is quite good and the video quality is acceptable. Have in mind that this documentary, like any other Wiseman film, is impossible to find as it has not been edited in any way. I would also prefer a DVD rip, but that is not possible. This is a very interesting film (and not just because of its content but because of its realization) and a highly recommendable download. Have a good time watching it!

Rip Specs (CD1):

Name.........: Near.death..(1989).CD1.[Wiseman].avi

Filesize.....: 1,524 MB (or 1,561,360 KB or 1,598,832,640 bytes)

Runtime......: 01:54:53 (172,326 fr)

Video Codec..: XviD

Video Bitrate: 1115 kb/s

Audio Codec..: 0x0055(MP3) ID'd as MPEG-1 Layer 3

Audio Bitrate: 128 kb/s (64/ch, stereo) CBR

Frame Size...: 576x432 (1.33:1) [=4:3]


Rip Specs (CD2):

Name.........: Near.death.(1989).CD2.[Wiseman].avi

Filesize.....: 1,490 MB (or 1,526,699 KB or 1,563,340,722 bytes)

Runtime......: 01:54:52 (172,305 fr)

Video Codec..: XviD

Video Bitrate: 1115 kb/s

Audio Codec..: 0x0055(MP3) ID'd as MPEG-1 Layer 3

Audio Bitrate: 128 kb/s (64/ch, stereo) CBR

Frame Size...: 576x432 (1.33:1) [=4:3]


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