Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
 |
|
|
Washington Blade - June 2, 2006
Greg Marzullo
"An Early Frost" (1985): The first TV AIDS film premiered on NBC and starred the young Aidan Quinn as a successful lawyer who flies home to tell his parents, played by Ben Gazzara and Gena Rowlands, that he's gay and has AIDS. The film was number one in the ratings on the night it aired, and won an Emmy for best writing in a limited series or special.
"Parting Glances" (1986): One of the earliest AIDS-related films to gain a theatrical release, "Parting Glances" was director Bill Sherwood's only feature - he died from AIDS-related complications in 1990. The film marks the debut of Steve Buscemi ("Fargo," HBO's "The Sopranos") as a gay man living with AIDS.
"Longtime Companion" (1990): The film tracks a group of friends from the onset of AIDS through 1989, and predictably, many of the characters die throughout the course of the story. This was the first widely released AIDS film, and it is considered by many critics to be the quintessential gay AIDS movie.
"And the Band Played On" (1993): Based on Randy Shilts' 1987 account of the epidemic's early years, HBO's "And the Band Played On" dramatized the scientific community's struggle to gain funding and attention for AIDS research during President Reagan's first term.
"Philadelphia" (1993): Tom Hanks won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a lawyer who is fired from a conservative law firm because of an AIDS diagnosis. He hires a homophobic lawyer (Denzel Washington) to take up his case against the firm. Although the film was seen as a critical and financial success because of Hanks' humanizing portrayal, many gay critics lambasted "Philadelphia" for its too-safe direction and the asexual relationship between Hanks and his partner (Antonio Banderas).
"Boys On The Side" (1995): Starring Whoopi Goldberg as a lesbian, Mary-Louise Parker as a woman with AIDS and Drew Barrymore as a woman fleeing an abusive relationship, "Boys On The Side" remains one of the few studio AIDS films that tackles the subject of women living with the disease.
"In The Gloaming" (1997): HBO produced another AIDS film, this time starring Robert Sean Leonard ("Dead Poets Society") as a man with AIDS who goes home to his family during his final days. Directed by Christopher Reeve, Glenn Close plays his mother who strengthens her relationship with him as he eventually succumbs to the disease.
"The Hours" (2002): With HIV becoming a more manageable illness, characters with HIV and AIDS have been moving into the fabric of a film instead of being the focus of the script. Ed Harris' exquisite performance as a gay poet dying of AIDS is one of the many stories in this rich mini-epic about the right to life and death in the face of chronic adversity.
"Angels in America" (2003): An all-star cast, including Al Pacino and Meryl Streep, leads HBO's film version of gay playwright Tony Kushner's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about AIDS and the gay experience in the '80s. The movie won both the Golden Globe and the Emmy awards for Best Miniseries.
"Yesterday" (2004): An Oscar-nominated film in the Best Foreign Film category, "Yesterday" chronicles the struggle of a South African woman who is diagnosed with AIDS and then vows to stay alive to see her daughter go to her first day of school, an opportunity the ailing mother never had. "Yesterday" played in film festivals in the United States but had a wider following in South Africa.
060602
WB060604
Copyright © 2006 - The Washington Blade. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of The Washington Blade content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of the Blade. The Washington Blade shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. The Washington Blade.
AEGiS is a 501(c)3, not-for-profit, tax-exempt, educational corporation. AEGiS is made possible through unrestricted funding from Boehringer Ingelheim, Bridgestone/Firestone Charitable Trust, Elton John AIDS Foundation UK, the National Library of Medicine, AIDS Walk of Orange County, and donations from users like you.
Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2006. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.
AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.
Copyright ©1980, 2006. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .