Awakenings
Updated: 12/20/2025, 1:26:57 PM Wikipedia source
Awakenings is a 1990 American biographical drama film written by Steven Zaillian, directed by Penny Marshall, and starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner, Ruth Nelson, John Heard, Penelope Ann Miller, Peter Stormare and Max von Sydow. It is based on Oliver Sacks's 1973 nonfiction memoir Awakenings. The film tells the story of the fictional neurologist Dr. Malcolm Sayer (Williams), whose character is based on Sacks. In 1969, Sayer discovers the beneficial effects of the drug L-DOPA and administers the drug to catatonic patients who survived the 1919–1930 epidemic of encephalitis lethargica. The patients—among them the focal character Leonard Lowe (De Niro)—are awakened after decades and must therefore try to acclimate to life in a new and unfamiliar time. The film is produced by Walter Parkes and Lawrence Lasker, who first encountered Sacks's book as undergraduates at Yale University. Released on December 21, 1990, Awakenings was a critical and commercial success, earning $108.7 million on a $29 million budget. It was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (De Niro), and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Infobox
Directed by
Penny Marshall
Screenplay by
Steven Zaillian
Based on
Awakeningsby Oliver Sacks
Produced by
mw- Walter F. Parkes Lawrence Lasker
Starring
Robert De Niro Robin Williams John Heard Julie Kavner Penelope Ann Miller Max von Sydow
Cinematography
Miroslav Ondricek
Edited by
Battle Davis Jerry Greenberg
Music by
Randy Newman
Productioncompany
Lasker/Parkes Productions
Distributed by
Columbia Pictures
Release dates
December 10, 1990 (1990-12-10) (Mann's Westwood Fourplex) December 21, 1990 (1990-12-21) (United States)
Running time
121 minutes
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$29 million
Box office
$108.7 million
Tables
List of awards and nominations · Reception › Accolades
Academy Awards
Academy Awards
Award
Academy Awards
Date of ceremony
March 25, 1991
Category
Best Picture
Recipients
Walter F. Parkes,Lawrence Lasker
Result
Nominated
Best Actor
Best Actor
Award
Best Actor
Date of ceremony
Robert De Niro
Category
Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay
Best Adapted Screenplay
Award
Best Adapted Screenplay
Date of ceremony
Steven Zaillian
Category
Nominated
Awards of the Japanese Academy
Awards of the Japanese Academy
Award
Awards of the Japanese Academy
Date of ceremony
March 20, 1992
Category
Best Foreign Film
Recipients
Awakenings
Result
Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Award
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards
Date of ceremony
1991
Category
Best Actor
Recipients
Robert De Niro
Result
Nominated
Golden Globe Awards
Golden Globe Awards
Award
Golden Globe Awards
Date of ceremony
January 19, 1991
Category
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Recipients
Robin Williams
Result
Nominated
Grammy Awards
Grammy Awards
Award
Grammy Awards
Date of ceremony
February 25, 1992
Category
Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television
Recipients
Randy Newman
Result
Nominated
National Board of Review Awards
National Board of Review Awards
Award
National Board of Review Awards
Date of ceremony
March 4, 1991
Category
Best Actor
Recipients
Robert De Niro,Robin Williams (Tie)
Result
Won
Top Ten Films
Top Ten Films
Award
Top Ten Films
Date of ceremony
Awakenings
Category
Won
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Award
New York Film Critics Circle Awards
Date of ceremony
January 13, 1991
Category
Best Actor
Recipients
Robert De Niro
Result
Won
Writers Guild of America Award
Writers Guild of America Award
Award
Writers Guild of America Award
Date of ceremony
March 20, 1991
Category
Best Adapted Screenplay
Recipients
Steven Zaillian
Result
Nominated
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipients | Result |
| Academy Awards | March 25, 1991 | Best Picture | Walter F. Parkes,Lawrence Lasker | Nominated |
| Best Actor | Robert De Niro | Nominated | ||
| Best Adapted Screenplay | Steven Zaillian | Nominated | ||
| Awards of the Japanese Academy | March 20, 1992 | Best Foreign Film | Awakenings | Nominated |
| Chicago Film Critics Association Awards | 1991 | Best Actor | Robert De Niro | Nominated |
| Golden Globe Awards | January 19, 1991 | Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama | Robin Williams | Nominated |
| Grammy Awards | February 25, 1992 | Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television | Randy Newman | Nominated |
| National Board of Review Awards | March 4, 1991 | Best Actor | Robert De Niro,Robin Williams (Tie) | Won |
| Top Ten Films | Awakenings | Won | ||
| New York Film Critics Circle Awards | January 13, 1991 | Best Actor | Robert De Niro | Won |
| Writers Guild of America Award | March 20, 1991 | Best Adapted Screenplay | Steven Zaillian | Nominated |
References
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- At this point, a red flag regarding this story's accuracy should have been raised by any truly well-versed Winters fan,
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- Filming & Production; Filming Dates. IMDb.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099077/locations?ref_=ttfc_ql_5#filming_dates
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- Ebert, Roger (May 12, 1995). "'Sharks' Takes Sardonic Swipe at Hollywood". Chicago Sun-Times. p. 37. Retrieved—via Rogerhttps://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/swimming-with-sharks-1995
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- Baxter, John (2003). De Niro: An Autobiography. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 289. ISBN 0-00-653230-6.https://archive.org/details/denirobiography0000baxt_r5v0/page/288/mode/2up?q=%22penny+marshall%22+awakenings+%22niro+also+got+a+say%22+%22shelley+winters%22
- Haun, Harry (2000). The Cinematic Century: An Intimate Diary of America's Affair with the Movies. New York: Applause. IShttps://archive.org/details/cinematiccentury00harr/page/n273/mode/2up?q=%22robert+de+niro+and+ruth+nelson+in+awakenings%22
- Spoto, Donald (2016). A Girl's Got to Breathe: The Life of Teresa Wright. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBNhttps://books.google.com/books?id=5ACkCwAAQBAJ&pg=PT272
- The San Francisco Chroniclehttps://www.proquest.com/docview/302504282
- The Wall Street Journalhttps://www.proquest.com/docview/135423138
- Marshall, Penny (2012). My Mother Was Nuts: A Memoir. Boston: New Harvest/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. pp. 239–240. ISBN 9https://archive.org/details/mymotherwasnutsm0000mars_f9a2/page/238/mode/2up?q=%22ruth+was+a+great+lady%22+%22i+couldn%27t+get+her+insured%22
- Robin Williams Interview on the Tonight Show, 1991https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqdSagycCWc
- Sony Pictures Televisionhttps://web.archive.org/web/20140429161211/http://www.sonymoviechannel.com/movies/awakenings/details
- Box Office Mojohttp://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=awakenings.htm
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- Daily Variety
- Rotten Tomatoeshttp://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1032970-awakenings/
- Metacritichttps://www.metacritic.com/movie/awakenings
- "Cinemascore"https://web.archive.org/web/20181220122629/https://www.cinemascore.com/publicsearch/index/title/
- Chicago Sun-Timeshttps://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/awakenings-1990
- Entertainment Weeklyhttps://ew.com/article/1990/12/21/awakenings/
- Salonhttp://www.salon.com/1996/12/23/sacks961223/
- The Washington Posthttps://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/movies/videos/awakeningspg13howe_a0b2d4.htm
- The New York Timeshttps://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C0CE4D6113CF933A15751C1A966958260