Understand that any film we credit with changing the world is a distraction. Films don't change the world. They react to changes in the world. They reflect changes. There are films that can be shown to have had impact, especially in individual circumstances, but for the most part, films are a reflection of the times they are made. The reason for this is that most films, especially big studio films, rely on the financial backing of the ruling class. Some of that is different in other countries or in independent (or, these days, crowdfunded) films, but a film like this, a huge Oscar-bait major studio production, could only get made with the tacit approval of the ruling class.

The ruling…

One of the first mainstream films in Hollywood to cover the issue of HIV/AIDS, Philadelphia is a sensibly told, brilliantly crafted & strongly performed cinema that's powerful, essential & heartbreaking at the same time and also works as a thought-provoking social commentary that has a lot to say about the society we live in.

Set in the titular town, Philadelphia tells the story of Andrew Beckett; a closet homosexual infected with AIDS who sues his former law firm after they fire him when they find out about his condition. Unable to find a lawyer to represent his case, Beckett is compelled to act as his own attorney but eventually finds an unlikely ally in a homophobic lawyer.

Directed by Jonathan Demme (known…

I'm always picking on Jean-Marc Vallée and The Dallas Buyers Club, and I'm afraid I'll need to do so one more time: here's a much better example of how to do a mainstream drama about the AIDS epidemic. Jonathan Demme is such an expert at treating the passage of time and the development of dramatic events with a steady hand. You never feel like things are contrived, there are no plot conveniences, there are simply people who enter a situation, engage with it, and then exit. That's not to suggest there isn't any dramatic artifice, but it's an artifice driven by natural human interactions rather than genre conventions. This isn't a heroic tale of a man's fight against circumstance, except…

✅78%

So I found out my wife had never seen this film, and I immediately clicked play (currently on Netflix). She is lacking in the “critically acclaimed classic” category, and I knew she would love the story here. Hanks plays a broken man who has been wronged by those around him that he put his trust in. He seeks the help of good ole Denzel Washington, and that marks the beginning of a beautiful on-screen friendship. The story itself is simple, but it’s the direction/performances that give it life. When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal…

1. The opening credits are 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥. That Springsteen song layered over Demme's montaging is as good as it gets.

2. Demme doesn't get enough credit for what he does with the camera. Never showy, mostly still, but always delicately probing. Intimate close ups. Sensitive floating. Tak Fujimoto doing God's work with the lighting. I mean, it looks like a Shyamalan film, in the best way.

3. I wasn't old enough in 1993 to comprehend how many barriers this film was knocking down with regards to homophobia and AIDS panic and especially with putting a black man at the center of struggling with this (who is arguably the real protagonist), but it feels like it provided a tectonic shift in a…

Jonathan Demme è un regista che ha saputo costruire bene le storie, lasciando il segno nel Cinema con Il silenzio degli innocenti. Il suo più riuscito.
Philadelphia è considerato un cult anni '90, su una sceneggiatura di Ron Nyswaner. Film che tratta il tema dell'Aids che all'inizio di quel decennio era diventato una piaga mondiale. Ma anche delle implicazioni sociali che esso comportava a chi si ammalava di quella terribile malattia. Oggi in buona parte mitigate.
La storia è stata costruita per toccare il cuore e sensibilizzare su un tema molto delicato. Sebbene l'occhio più vigile non può non accorgersi che tutto sia compiuto con evidente linearità ma anche scontatezza. A tratti ruffianeria. Ogni particolare è funzionale allo scopo finale.…

Being the first mainstream Hollywood film to tackle AIDS on screen, It's needless to say how important the film is. And what better duo of actors to have than Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, two of the best to ever do it.

The focus of the film is about Beckett's trial and his wrongful firing. It's during this time that he'll have a chance for people to witness he's no different than anybody and shoudn't have been treated this way. Now the problem in his firing is that he wasn't even fired because he had AIDS. Only one guy noticed it and never told his associates, so It doesn't make a lot of sense.

Denzel's character follows the classic homophobic…

Philadelphia is an instant 90’s Classic, straight from the intro sequence of its titular City.
Philadelphia tells the story of Andrew Beckett, a homosexual infected with AIDS who sues his former law firm after they unfairly dismiss him due to his condition. Whilst he’s unable to find a lawyer willing to represent him, Beckett is compelled to act as his own attorney until he finds an unlikely ally in a homophobic lawyer. 

It’s a rather simple plot, so realistic that it could very well be true, and it works like a charm in this film. 
Philadelphia covers a wide range of issues that were prevalent in society then and still continue to exist today in few places, however it is primarily…