Table 1.
Selected titles, including year of release, cast and production information, for feature films that meet the criteria for use in the neuro-cinema exercise. Also included are brief descriptions of the content relevant to neuroscience instruction (Specific Content), story genre and MPAA rating (Genre/Rating). These films are also suitable for use in a neuroscience film series, and contain material appropriate for use as short “clips” within classroom sessions.
| Title | Year | Released By | Running Time | Directed By | Featuring | Specific Content | Genre/Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Beautiful Mind | 2001 | Universal Studios and Dreamworks LLC | 2 hrs., 16 mins. | Ron Howard | Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly | Schizophrenia, attention | Drama PG-13 |
| A.I.: Artificial Intelligence | 2001 | Dreamworks LLC and Warner Brothers | 2 hrs., 25 mins. | Steven Spielberg | Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law | Artificial intelligence, ethics | Drama/Action PG-13 |
| Afraid of Dark | 1991 | New Line Productions | 1 hr., 31 mins. | Mark Peploe | James Fox | Vision, perception, neurodegenerative disease | Drama/Thriller R Violence |
| As Good As It Gets | 1997 | Tristar Pictures | 2 hrs., 19 mins. | James L. Brooks | Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding, Jr. | Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, phobias | Drama PG-13 |
| At First Sight | 1996 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer | 2 hrs., 8 mins. | Irwin Winkler | Val Kilmer, Mira Sorvino | Visual perception, surgery, methods | Drama PG-13 |
| Awakenings | 1990 | Columbia Pictures | 2 hrs., 1 min. | Penny Marshall | Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams, Julie Kavner | Encephalitis, Parkinsonism, L-Dopa, dyskinesia, treatment of the mentally ill, ethics | Drama PG-13 |
| Blind Date (AKA Deadly Seduction) | 1984 | New Line Cinema | 1 hr., 35 mins. | Nico Mastorakis | Joseph Bottoms, Kirstie Alley | Vision, nervous system/technology interface | Suspense/Horror R Violence Gore Sexual Content |
| Clean Slate | 1994 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer | 1 hr., 47 mins. | Mick Jackson | Dana Carvey, James Earl Jones, Valeria Golino, Vyto Ruginis | Korsakoff’s Syndrome, memory, brain injury | Comedy PG-13 |
| Dark Victory | 1939 | First National Pictures Inc./Warner Brothers | 1 hr., 44 mins. | Edmund Goulding | Bette Davis, George Brent, Humphrey Bogart, Ronald Reagan | Brain Tumor, terminal illness, vision | Drama NR |
| Darkman | 1990 | Universal Studios | 1 hr., 36 mins. | Sam Raimi | Liam Neeson, Frances McDormand | Brain/spinal surgery, pain, methods | Action/Horror R Violence, Gore, Language |
| Deep Blue Sea | 1999 | Warner Brothers | 1 hr., 45 mins. | Renny Harlin | Samuel L. Jackson, LL Cool J, Saffrom Burrows, Michael Rapaport | Methods, Alzheimer’s Disease, genetic manipulation, neuropharmacology | Suspense/Thriller R Violence, Gore, Language |
| Fight Club | 1999 | Twentieth Century Fox | 2 hrs., 19 mins. | David Fincher | Brad Pitt, Edward Norton Meat Loaf | Dissociation, pain, delusional thought | Drama/Action R Violence, Language, Sexual Content |
| I Come in Peace | 1990 | Anchor Bay Entertainment | 1 hr., 31 mins. | Craig R. Baxley | Dolph Lundgren, Brian Benben | Abuse potential of Endogenous opioids, psychopharmacology | Action/Thriller R Violence, Gore, Language |
| Jacob’s Ladder (AKA Dante’s Inferno) | 1990 | Carolco Pictures | 1 hr., 55 mins. | Adrian Lyne | Tim Robbins, Danny Aiello, Ving Rhames, Jason Alexander | Death and the nervous system, environment and learning, psychopharmacology | Suspense/Horror R Violence, Language, Sexual Content |
| Lorenzo’s Oil | 1992 | Universal Studios | 2 hrs., 9 mins. | George Miller | Nick Nolte, Susan Sarandon | Nervous system disease, adrenoleukodystrophy, science and society, ethics | Drama PG-13 |
| Man’s Best Friend | 1994 | New Line Productions | 1 hr., 27 mins. | John Lafia | Ally Sheedy | Genetically-enhanced nervous system, neuropharmacology, ethics | Thriller/Horror R Violence, Gore, Language |
| The Matrix | 1999 | Warner Brothers | 2 hrs., 16 mins. | Larry and Andy Wachowski | Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne | virtual reality, nervous system/technology interface, sensation and perception | Action/Thriller R Violence, Language |
| Metropolis | 1926 | Universum Film A.G., Paramount Pictures | 1 hr., 55 mins. (DVD Release) | Fritz Lang | Brigitte Helm | science and society, artificial intelligence, robotics, cybernetics, memory | Drama SILENT NR |
| One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | 1975 | The Saul Zaentz Co. | 2 hrs., 14 mins. | Milos Forman | Jack Nicholson | Psychopathology, electroconvulsive treatment of mental illness, ethics | Drama R Violence Sexual Content Language |
| Quills | 2000 | Twentieth Century Fox | 2 hrs., 4 mins. | Philip Kaufman | Geoffrey Rush, Kate Winslet, Michael Caine, Joaquin Phoenix | Treatment of mental illness-historic (18th century); defining insanity, sadism | Drama R Strong sexual content; violence |
| Regarding Henry | 1991 | Paramount Pictures | 1 hr., 48 mins. | Mike Nichols | Harrison Ford, Annette Bening | Brain Injury, Recovery of Function | Drama PG-13 |
| The Secret of NIMH | 1982 | Metro Goldwyn Mayer and United Artists | 1 hr., 22 mins. | Don Bluth | Various Voices | Science and society, animal rights, neuroscience methods | Drama ANIMATE D G |
| The Serpent and the Rainbow | 1988 | Universal Pictures | 1 hr., 38 mins. | Wes Craven | Bill Pullman, Paul Winfield | neuropharmacology, cultural beliefs, learning | Horror R Sexual Content |
| Star Trek VII: Generations | 1994 | Paramount Pictures | 1 hr., 58 mins. | David Carson | William Shatner, Patrick Stewart | Artificial Intelligence, Emotion | Drama/Action PG |
| The Terminal Man | 1974 | Warner Brothers | 1 hr., 47 mins. | Mike Hodges | George Segal | Brain surgery, implantation, neural stimulation, seizures | Drama/Thriller PG |
| The Wild Child (L’Enfant Sauvage) | 1969 | Les Films du Carrosse and United Artists | 1 hr., 26 mins. | François Truffaut | François Truffaut, Jean-Pierre Cargol | Nature versus nurture debate, language, learning, concept of self/soul | Drama French; dubbed english (DVD) G |