Dying (1976 film)
Dying is a 1976 American documentary directed by Michael Roemer. The 80-minute English-language film follows three people from the Boston area as they confront terminal illness and the reality of death, along with the lives of their loved ones.
Sally, 46, has brain cancer that has left one side of her body paralyzed. She is cared for in a hospital and undergoes treatment before it is withdrawn. She returns home to be cared for by her elderly mother and eventually dies, reflecting on a life once full of activity, including mountaineering.
Harriet and Bill are a married couple with two sons, aged 8 and 10. Bill is dying of melanoma at 33. Harriet fears leaving behind her husband and wonders how she will raise their boys, hoping to remarry soon so they will have a new father.
Reverend Bryant, 56, a preacher, has cancer that has spread to his liver. He recalls a lonely childhood in foster care and how his life changed after meeting his wife Kathleen. He and his family take a trip to the American South to visit his ancestral home. He dies on January 23, 1975, and his funeral is shown with family, clergy, and parishioners.
Roemer, with support from a National Endowment for the Humanities grant, followed these three people and their families for about two years. The film was first broadcast on WNET in 1976 and was later restored and released in theaters at the Film Forum in New York in 2025.
Critical reception emphasized the film’s observational style, with little external narration. Critics praised its intimate realism and emotional immediacy. Judith Crist called it a brilliantly illuminating look at a universal experience, and Time described it as the year’s most distinguished documentary. The New York Times noted Roemer’s unobtrusive approach and argued that the film brings death to the foreground in a way that traditional media often sanitizes; some critics later suggested the film felt unfinished due to a missing framing explanation.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 16:53 (CET).