SummaryAmerica has the most technologically advanced health care system in the world, yet medical interventions have become the third leading cause of death, and the overwhelming majority of high-risk implanted devices never require a single clinical trial.
Directed By:Kirby Dick
Written By:Kirby Dick, Amy Ziering
The Bleeding Edge
Metascore
Generally Favorable
74
User score
Generally Favorable
7.8
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Top Cast
Metascore
Generally Favorable
100% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Jul 26, 2018
90
The surgery scenes in The Bleeding Edge are squirm-in-your-seat uncomfortable. But it’s the interviews — watching patients recount agonies they’ve suffered from poorly researched and regulated medical devices — that are hardest to sit through.
Jul 26, 2018
85
Finding an enthralling equilibrium between hard numerical data and heartrending testimonials, Dick masterfully weaves together both the expert statements you’d expect in a documentary like this and first-hand accounts from victims; the results are alarming and essential for anyone even remotely invested in their own physical and psychological wellness.
Jul 26, 2018
80
Combined with the forces of anti-regulation in government and profit-driven companies who know how to market to doctors and cover up their mistakes, the movie lays bare a blueprint for countless suffering.
Apr 27, 2018
75
Less cohesive documentary than feature-length red flag, The Bleeding Edge assembles a range of talking heads and upsetting case studies to target several key villains.
Jul 26, 2018
70
Sharply argued, indignantly one-sided and stylistically monotonous The Bleeding Edge sometimes seems closer to angry PSA than documentary. But that may not be a distinction that matters.
Apr 27, 2018
67
[An] overstretched look at the poorly regulated medical devices industry.
Jul 27, 2018
63
This is neither the most cinematically entertaining nor the sexiest topic ever examined by what amounts to a Code Red warning sign of a public service announcement. But Dick and producers Amy Ziering and Amy Herdy know the value of focusing on a compelling collection of human subjects who generously relive their first-hand agony.
User score
Generally Favorable
82% Positive
9 Ratings
9 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
18% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Jan 24, 2020
10
Good healthcare documentaries are very rare, this one is about medical devices implanted in people, the innovations and the power of companies producing them. This covers birth control implants, hips (10 million replacement hips causing neurological problems). Surgical mesh getting wrapped around nerves, slicing open genitals-19 surgeries to remove mesh. Johnson and Johnson paid $300m in lawsuits in a decade, made $683b in profits off it. 50,000 people a year getting cancer from ct scans. FDA installing spyware on doctor and scientist computers. it looks like this documentary got essure taken off market.
Production Company:
- Chain Camera Pictures
- Shark Island Productions
Release Date:Jul 27, 2018
Duration:1 h 39 m
Rating:TV-14
Tagline:Exposing the crimes of Big Medical.
Awards
Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
George Polk Awards
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Peabody Awards
• 1 Nomination
