1993 Directed by Jonathan Demme
Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Tom Hanks Denzel Washington Jason Robards Mary Steenburgen Antonio Banderas Ron Vawter Robert Ridgely Charles Napier Lisa Summerour Obba Babatundé Andre B. Blake Robert W. Castle Daniel Chapman Roger Corman Ann Dowd David Drake Karen Finley Charles Glenn Peter Jacobs Paul Lazar John Bedford Lloyd Roberta Maxwell Warren Miller Harry Northup Dan Olmstead Joey Perillo Lauren Roselli Anna Deavere Smith Lisa Talerico Show All…
People Like Us, At Risk, Filadélfia, Philadelphia - Az érinthetetlen
Moving relationship stories Politics and human rights Faith and religion gay, sexual, relationships, feelings or homophobic religion, church, faith, beliefs or spiritual artists, biography, musician, songs or emotional racism, african american, powerful, hatred or slavery emotional, emotion, family, moving or feelings Show All…
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…
I would watch a wisdom tooth extraction, if it were directed by Jonathan Demme.
as a queer man, this ripped my fucking heart out and made me cry harder than i can even describe. i can't even say how affecting and how perfect this is, i don't have the words for it. saw it for the first time about 5-6 years ago, when i was a child and not aware of my sexuality, my queerness, and it broke me completely, i sobbed over it for days. and seeing it now, as an openly bisexual man, i broke down in tears. it has such empathy and compassion, such beauty and humanity that it's impossible not to feel overwhelmed with emotion. i can't even describe how much this hit me. demme was the master of humanity, one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, and i'm so grateful to him for making this. miss him everyday.
growing up, whenever I started to explain something convoluted, my mom would make me stop and then she'd say, "explain it to me like I'm 6 years old... Denzel Washington, Philadelphia." needless to say, I felt predisposed to feel affection for this film and I felt a great deal of it. Ann Dowd!
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…
Not to be crass, but this is an example of the kind of film about gay people that straight people love. Denzel Washington's character is able to operate as both a hero and martyr by "overcoming" his prejudice and helping the poor, weak gay guy. Nevermind the fact that the guy that screwed Tom Hanks over at the beginning tries to repent at the end of the movie.
Anyway...
Philadelphia feels like a movie that is impossible to hate. It’s beautiful story, raw and rich performances, layered characters and heartbreaking feel allow it to be great. Tom Hanks earned a very deserved Oscar for his portrayal in this movie. The performance felt so subtle, yet so powerful. He tackled a demanding and difficult performance very well. Denzel provides the great co-lead role. He’s passionate and does exactly what he needs to. The screenplay pushes the movie to explore deeper areas of the subject matter, which forces the movie to become more emotional. The music theme is simple, but carries the emotional beats beautifully. If you are a member of the lgbt community, or not, this is a must watch.
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…
