Dark Victory (1939)

From NetFlix: Fast living comes easy for Long Island socialite Judith Traherne (Bette Davis): Lavish soirées, free-flowing booze and raising thoroughbreds are among the pleasures in her hedonistic existence. But a horse-jumping accident forces her to come to terms with her lifestyle -- and mortality -- when a handsome doctor (George Brent) discovers that Judith suffers from a potentially fatal brain tumor. Humphrey Bogart costars in this timeless tearjerker. 1939, 104 minutes

A classic. Great acting and moving story.

Suddenly Last Summer (1959)

From Netflix: In Tennessee Williams's tale of sexual repression set in 1937 New Orleans, rich widow Mrs. Venable (Katharine Hepburn) is distraught over the death of her son Sebastian during his vacation to Europe, where the two had traveled together every summer. This time, Sebastian had taken his cousin Catherine (Elizabeth Taylor), who appears to go mad the day Sebastian dies. Dr. Cukrowicz (Montgomery Clift) is called in to assess her mental state. 1959, 113 minutes
Awards:
1960 Academy Award®: Best Actress nominee: Katharine Hepburn
1960 Academy Award®: Best Actress nominee: Elizabeth Taylor
1960 Academy Award®: Best Art Direction Black and White nominee
1960 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama)
1960 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama)

Suggested by Charles Katz

The English Surgeon (2007)

Get acquainted with the work of British brain surgeon Henry Marsh, who, since his haunting first visit to a Russian hospital in the early 1990s, has been devoted to founding a quality brain surgery clinic in the former Soviet Union. Marsh cobbles together secondhand tools and used equipment from hospitals in the U.K. to treat patients in need, such as Marian, a Ukrainian man for whom Marsh is his greatest hope. 2007 94 minutes

Henry Marsh, a leading British neurosurgeon who spends his holidays working 18 hour days for free in a Kiev operating theatre, must remove an enormous tumour from the brain of a Ukrainian man who will otherwise die. Anaesthetic is too risky so the patient is kept awake while a hole is bored through his skull using a second-hand household drill with a flat battery. Mr Marsh then performs the surgery, mindful that the slightest slip will kill, paralyse or alter Marian's personality forever. This is the pivotal moment in a documentary which is by turns funny, frightening and deeply moving."

2007, 84 minutes.