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The Human Condition I: No Greater Love
Film
FilmPG-131990
Awakenings
Directed by Penny Marshall
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor. From TMDB
170 reactions from 4 sources (Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy, TMDB reviews) · newest Nov 4, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
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Sentiment labels for these sources are still being hand-checked; no score yet.
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluesky * | 48 | 2 | 106 |
| Mastodon * | 1 | 0 | 7 |
| Lemmy * | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| TMDB reviews * | 1 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
What people are saying
A written summary appears once the title has a score.
At a glance
Awakenings is a 1990 drama film, directed by Penny Marshall, starring Robert De Niro, Robin Williams and John Heard.
- 149 people have posted about this film on Bluesky, Mastodon, Lemmy, TMDB reviews
- posts span Jan 1, 2020 to Nov 4, 2026
Assembled from TMDB, Wikidata and Steam fields and our own counts, nothing written by a model. Method
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
170 public posts have mentioned Awakenings so far, but it needs 10 opinionated reactions from checked sources before it gets a score. Seen it? Post your take.
The Experts
78%
avg of 3 sources
The People
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audience score
Reactions
60 of 170 · most liked firstRewatched the movie Awakenings today and found it even more emotionally impactful now in light of how kindness, so abundant in that film, is in such short supply today; how we’re headed into times with the most heartless people in charge of our government. With MAGA, cruelty is the point. Sad.
positive · AI labelView post →The front cover of the VHS for Awakenings makes it look like it's a buddy movie where perennial bachelor Robert De Niro takes his recently-cucked best friend Robin Williams on a big night out in Vegas.
neutral · AI labelView post →In a new TV series, Zachary Quinto will play Dr. Wolf, a character inspired by my late friend, neurologist Oliver Sacks. In the film version of "Awakenings," Sacks, played by Robin Williams, was turned into a straight man. I wonder if Quinto will play Sacks as he was, gay. parade.com/tv/dr-wolf-s...
neutral · AI labelView post →#JulyMovieChallenge #Filmsky 7/21: Favorite Robin Williams movie(s) It's a draw! I'll be taking no questions.😜 "Dead Poets Society (1989) and "Awakenings" (1990)
positive · AI labelView post →Hey @bradleywhitford.bsky.social - Historians At The Movies is doing a watch party of Awakenings tonight. Any thoughts or memories of making the movie? Thanks! #HATM
neutral · AI labelView post →WAIT BEBE NEUWIRTH IS BACK FOR THIS ONE TOO AUNT NORA WAS ONE OF MY GAY AWAKENINGS SO THIS IS ALREADY GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME.
neutral · AI labelView post →Lovely mark-making on the backgrounds too. Such gorgeous work. The 'Awakenings' short film is... good. Well-made, lotsa love. Felt like eating a dessert that didn't match the main course? Undid the YEEEEAHHH feeling of the film you've gone to see? That's a programming crit, not its content.
neutral · AI labelView post →Yes I went and saw the movie in theaters. Wasn't impressed with Optimus Prime Awakenings. It didn't give me goosebumps for whatever direction it moves the franchise. Peter was of course amazing. He's always the professional and gives his all. All the way up to the end. Robot Dad has standards.
negative · AI labelView post →Friend of mine is reading “Awakenings” by Oliver Sacks and we were talking about some of the actual cases, so of course, we re-watched the film tonight. At one point my husband turned to me and said, “that nurse is the voice actress for Marge Simpson”.
neutral · AI labelView post →Do you remember the movie Awakenings? The miracle drug that treated those locked-in patients was L-Dopa, developed with NIH funding, & the gold standard for treating Parkinson’s disease. publicusaresearchbenefits.com/examples/202... Ask Congress to save science. #FundingScienceSavesLives
neutral · AI labelView post →And here goes Awakenings, a movie I haven’t watched since high school health class, with Historians at the Movies! #HATM
neutral · AI labelView post →I loved Awakenings, that was such a beautiful movie.
positive · AI labelView post →Fantastic interview of Oliver Sacks talking about Encephalitis Lethargica, the ‘Sleepy Sickness’ experienced by many after the 1918 influenza pandemic. Oliver Sacks’ experiences of working with E.L. patients is the basis of the book and film, Awakenings.🧪 youtu.be/QNum0dTYalk
neutral · AI labelView post →Name your fav Robin Williams film “Awakenings”
neutral · AI labelView post →Name a movie you saw once that hit so hard you don’t think you can watch it again. For me, it’s the movie “Awakenings”. Great movie, but heart wrenching.
positive · AI labelView post →Remember the ‘90s movie called Awakenings? Time for a 2026 remake. #WhenYouKnowBetterDoBetter
neutral · AI labelView post →#JulyMovieChallenge #Moviesky 7/21. Favorite Robin Williams Movie. Awakenings (1990)
neutral · AI labelView post →Who is your fave #Dracula?... Addressing Four Deadly Movie Awakenings from Dracula weegiemidget.wordpress.com/on-films-and...
neutral · AI labelView post →My ★★★ review of Awakenings boxd.it/a5b4vf Incredible, heart-rending true story presented in simplistic & inauthentic manner. Tonal misfire saps film of strength & power with mildly comedic beat. Oscar nom DeNiro gets mad near end, something finally feels real instead of manipulative. #filmsky 📽
negative · AI labelView post →#NowWatching AWAKENINGS (1990). Director: Penny Marshall. Robert DeNiro, Robin Williams. Based on true story. Using new drug trial, doctor is able to rouse an incurable patient from perpetual catatonic state. Oscar noms: Best Picture & DeNiro. #filmsky 📽
neutral · AI labelView post →📽️ #MovieChallenge - Week 48 #Filmsky Film 3: Awakenings, first watch. I’m thankful that there are still compassionate people in the world that can make a difference. I’m also thankful Robin Williams existed but we lost him far, far too early. 9/10
positive · AI labelView post →Second film of the day and 52nd of the year, from my list of most popular unwatched films, #NowWatching Awakenings, 1990, Penny Marshall, USA #filmsky 📽️
neutral · AI labelView post →Upon some research it appears the series is based upon Dr. Oliver Sacks. Famously the basis of the movie Awakenings with Robin Williams. Dr. Sacks also experienced face blindness.
neutral · AI labelView post →First Robin Williams Movie: Good morning Vietnam Favorite: Awakenings
neutral · AI labelView post →Happy 62nd Birthday to the criminally underappreciated Penelope Ann Miller, award-winning film, television, and theater actress, amazing in ADVENTURES IN BABYSITTING, THE FRESHMAN, AWAKENINGS, KINDERGARDEN COP, CARLITO'S WAY, THE RELIC, THE ARTIST, FAMILY TIES, and MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE, and more.
neutral · AI labelView post →VERY EXCITED FOR THE NEW PREDATOR ANTHOLOGY MOVIE TO BRING A NEW GENERATION OF SEXUAL AWAKENINGS ONTO THE INTERNET. PEOPLE NEED TO REMEMBER THE APPEAL OF A GIANT MUSCLED ALIEN MAN THAT CAN CRUSH YOUR SKULL AND YOUR PROSTATE
neutral · AI labelView post →www.interviewmagazine.com/film/walton-... Walton Goggins and Danny McBride on Nervous Breakdowns and Spiritual Awakenings
neutral · AI labelView post →Good thing that dealing with the long-term implications of pandemics is a thing of the past, and we can enjoy a lovely little movie with absolutely no present day historic connections. Wake up to a thoughtful little film on medical science and letting life live! #Awakenings #HATM
positive · AI labelView post →Totally charming with Robin Williams in ‘Awakenings’…great movie, great cast!
positive · AI labelView post →#awakenings was a great movie #filmmaking #behindthecamera #behindthescenes🎬
positive · AI labelView post →Final Thoughts: Awakenings is a superbly directed, written, cast, and acted movie about one doctor's attempts to treat long-term mental patients. Robin William's experiments with a drug appears to turn Robert De Niro back to normal. Yet it failed in the end. Have tissues nearby. #hatm
positive · AI labelView post →This is an interesting discussion for a film like this - the portrayal can lend empathy and raise awareness, but there is a question of exploitation that comes from this...but then, would it be more exploitative to cast someone with the condition in this role? #Awakenings #HATM
neutral · AI labelView post →One of my first publications was on the phenomenology of disability & I wrote about Sacks’s illness narrative A LEG TO STAND ON. AWAKENINGS is also a phenomenology of disability. The film visualizes that. #HATM
neutral · AI labelView post →The first day #Ottawa gets to room temperature outside is like the movie Awakenings. We will be regressing into our homes again on Monday.
neutral · AI labelView post →@omacolt.bsky.social #MarchMovieChallenge March 14 Scientist in a movie Dr Malcolm Sayer (Robin Williams) Robert de Niro (Leonard Lowe) ‘Awakenings’ 1990
neutral · AI labelView post →Awakenings is one of, if not my favorite Robin Williams movie!
positive · AI labelView post →The doctors think Mitch McConnell's diagnosis is final. Then Dr. Trump walks in... and immediately changes it. 🧠 AFAKENINGS ▶️ youtu.be/c8FgeJx_g6Y #Trump #PoliticalSatire #Awakenings #AIFunnies #Comedy #MovieParody ]
neutral · AI labelView post →Awakenings. Such an underrated movie. I’ve watched it many, many times and it always makes me cry. Stars Robin Williams and Robert Di Nero.
positive · AI labelView post →For #JulyMovieChallenge CATCH UP for @omacolt.bsky.social Day 21... Favourite Robin Williams movie.... Awakenings... makes me sob every time, in this biopic, his role is based on Oliver Sacks... weegiemidget.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/a...
positive · AI labelView post →Choose 20 films that have stayed with you or influenced you. One film per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations no reviews, just gifs or images. Day 1: Awakenings
neutral · AI labelView post →Leonard's becoming the capo of the ward. Suddenly it's a Scorsese film. #Awakenings #HATM
neutral · AI labelView post →#JulyMovieChallenge by @omacolt.bsky.social #Filmsky July 21 – Favourite Robin Williams movie AWAKENINGS boxd.it/1USu
neutral · AI labelView post →Oh boy oh boy they're making a He-Man movie so many Skeletor Gay Awakenings (TM) are coming.
neutral · AI labelView post →Loved this episode. In thinking of other bad medicalish films for you to review: > Five Feet Apart > John Q > Lorenzo’s Oil Some better ones: > Awakenings > The Knick (ok, not a movie) > Concussion > Something The Lord Made
neutral · AI labelView post →I have loved this man since his early standup. The movie Awakenings moved me so much. I like to believe that was the real Robin, the compassion wasn't acting, it was real.
positive · AI labelView post →Jumanji was so good. I think my favorite movie of his would be Awakenings.
positive · AI labelView post →Sacks was such a brilliant guy too. "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat" is a great read, and of course "Awakenings" was the basis of the Robin Williams movie (also RIP). https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Man_Who_Mistook_His_Wife_for_a_Hat https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awakenings_(book) https://youtu.be/7exeVt7CaE4 (Also Julie Kavner - Marge Simpson)
neutral · AI labelView post →Gave my mom a sativa gummy and it’s like the movie “Awakenings” around here.
neutral · AI labelView post →Oh, I remember that one! Affected me, too. The movie Awakenings is similar and just as heartbreaking.
neutral · AI labelView post →Without saying Mirse Doubtfire fav Robin Williams Film. Mine is Awakenings, with Rober De Niro & Anna Meara (Ben Stiller's mum for anyone who doesn't know that.)
neutral · AI labelView post →Since I can't think of performing Shakespeare without thinking of RENAISSANCE MAN, the essential director for the Ides of March is Penny Marshall, one of the first #WomenDirectors to have a film nominated for Best Picture (AWAKENINGS). #WomensHistoryMonth #15 #Filmsky 📽️ 🧵 [16/32]
neutral · AI labelView post →We love this photo of Oliver Sacks with the great Robin Williams. Robin played Oliver in the 1990 film Awakenings and the two of them became close friends. Williams credited his role in “Awakenings” as a gift, as it allowed him to meet Sacks and delve into the workings of the human brain.
neutral · AI labelView post →TIL that Vin Diesel made his film debut in ‘Awakenings’
neutral · AI labelView post →anyone who has seen the movie Awakenings should know that there is long Influenza...
neutral · AI labelView post →For #JulyMovieChallenge by @omacolt.bsky.social catch up... #Filmsky #Moviesky Day 21 July 21... Favourite Robin Williams movie... Awakenings... as a sympathetic, gentle and inspiring doctor. weegiemidget.wordpress.com/2018/01/29/a...
neutral · AI labelView post →Today is Robin Williams’ birthday! QTP with a favorite movie of his. Dead Poet's Society followed closely by Awakenings and The World According to Garp. The man had passion equal to his sense of humor which made him so damn good in every role he played.
neutral · AI labelView post →Name your fav Robin Williams film. Awakenings
neutral · AI labelView post →My favorite film performances from the 1990s. Robin Williams, Dr. Malcolm Sawyer, "Awakenings" (directed by Penny Marshall). #movies #films #favoriteperformances #robinwilliams #awakenings #pennymarshall
neutral · AI labelView post →#EdwardsMovieCharacterChallenge2025 November 11 - movie character who is in a catatonic state Leonard Lowe - Awakenings #filmsky #moviesky
neutral · AI labelView post →There was a correlation with cardiac mortality and a neurological disorder called encephalitis lethargica. It has Parkinson's like features. The movie "Awakenings" was based on this condition. Other psychiatric disorders less so.
neutral · AI labelView post →
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