Line #28 Film/Deathwatch1980


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3	''Death Watch'' (in French ''La Mort en direct'') is a 1980 Franco-German science fiction film directed by Bertrand Tavernier, starring Creator/RomySchneider, Creator/HarveyKeitel, Creator/HarryDeanStanton, and Creator/MaxVonSydow. It is based on ''The Unsleeping Eye'' (sometimes called ''The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe''), a novel by David G. Compton.
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5	Roddy (Keitel), a cameraman from NTV, accepts to have cameras and transmitters implanted behind his eyes, so that everything he sees can be recorded. Because of this operation, he would go blind if he closed his eyes or if he stayed in the dark for a long time. So he takes drug to stay awake.
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7	At the same time, Katherine Mortenhoe (Schneider) hears that she is sick and that she will die soon. Vincent Ferriman (Stanton), an executive of NTV, spies on her and plans to film the last days of her life to make it into a reality television show.
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9	Not to be confused with two unrelated films: ''[[Film/Deathwatch1966 Deathwatch]]'' (1966) or ''[[Film/Deathwatch2002 Deathwatch]]'' (2002).
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12	!!''Death Watch'' provides examples of:
13	* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: This future looks a lot like TheEighties, except for some AppliedPhlebotinum: the possibility to implant cameras and transmitters behind somebody's eyes, the end-of-life treatment, the computer that can write novels, the drug that prevents from sleeping...
14	* {{Aesoptinum}}: The possibility to implant cameras and transmitters behind somebody's eyes (an operation that can make the patient blind as side-effect) only exists to teach that voyeurism is bad.
15	* CorruptCorporateExecutive: The main villain is Vincent Ferriman, an executive of NTV who produces an ImmoralRealityShow.
16	* {{Dystopia}}: In this society, most diseases have disappeared, but old people are constantly high in drug, so that they do not realize that they are growing old and dying. Moreover, the TV channels have a lot of leeway: filming someone constantly without his consent does not seem to be a big deal for them.
17	* ElectronicEyes: Roddy has cameras and transmitters implanted behind his eyes, so that everything he sees can be recorded.
18	* TheFilmOfTheBook: The film is based on ''The Unsleeping Eye'' (sometimes called ''The Continuous Katherine Mortenhoe''), a novel by David G. Compton.
19	* HarmfulHealing: The drug that Dr. Mason gives to Katherine [[spoiler:actually makes her sick (for the sake of the show). It even kills her in the end.]]
20	* ImmoralRealityShow: NTV produces ''Death Watch'', a reality television show about someone who is slowly dying. That person is filmed constantly, but she is not aware of it. [[spoiler:Moreover, she is not really dying: she was just tricked into taking drugs that make her sick for the sake of the show.]]
21	* MadDoctor: Dr. Mason [[spoiler:is part of a scheme to create a reality television show about someone who is dying. He gives Katherine a drug that makes her sick for the sake of the show.]]
22	* MetafictionalTitle: InUniverse, ''Death Watch'' is the title of a reality television show about someone who is slowly dying.
23	* NewOldFlame: Katherine has been divorced for years, but she wants to meet her ex-husband, Gerald Mortenhoe. When they meet, they rekindle good memories.
24	* OurGraphicsWillSuckInTheFuture: Katherine's computer can write novels, but its screen is blue and white and it only displays text.
25	* SinisterSurveillance: NTV spies on Katherine Mortenhoe. They secretly film her appointment with Dr. Mason, then they send Roddy, who has cameras implanted in his eyes, to film everything she does.
26	* TheSleepless: Thanks to a special drug, Roddy does not need to sleep. If he falls asleep, he will go blind.
27	* VisitByDivorcedDad: In the beginning, Roddy visits his child and ex-wife. He gives some money to her.
28	* WeWillHavePerfectHealthInTheFuture: In this future, most diseases have been eradicated, to the point that the public has a morbid fascination of those rare individuals that still suffer from incurable disease. Thus the titular TV show "Deathwatch'', which voyeuristically documents these people's slow deaths, whether they agree or not.
29	* YourDaysAreNumbered: Dr. Mason tells Katherine that her days are numbered. {{Subverted\|Trope}} because [[spoiler:he lies: actually Katherine is not sick. Dr. Mason is part of a scheme to create a reality television show about someone who is dying.]]

Context Film / Deathwatch1980