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Philadelphia
1993
After a solid track record and a much-deserved promotion, Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a handsome, upwardly mobile Philadelphia lawyer, loses his high-paying corporate job when he starts developing full-blown AIDS. Though Andrew's firm attributes his dismissal to his supposedly poor performance, he knows otherwise, and he won't .. Read more
| Starring | Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen |
|---|---|
| Director | Jonathan Demme |
| Genres | Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
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Critics' reviews (7)
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Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk; California's first openly gay elected official. Who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White. read more »
- LOVEFiLM
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This was the first major Hollywood movie about Aids, and it won Tom Hanks his first best actor Oscar. Hanks plays homosexual lawyer Andrew Beckett, who takes his powerful employers to court for sacking him. The company bigwigs claim he was dismissed for incompetence, but Beckett suspects the real reason is his Aids-related illness. Beckett's counsel is wheeler-dealer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), who despises homosexuals but worships fair play, while Beckett's boss, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), is a bigot whose intolerance is hidden by bluff camaraderie. Hanks, meanwhile, portrays the ravaged, dying Beckett as a disabled everyman whose life has lessons for all of us. His passionate crescendo of praise for opera is a tour de force of close-up acting.
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A feel-good film about AIDS, set within a standard Hollywood courtroom drama; it is well made and absorbing, given its limits.
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Most helpful members' reviews (3)
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7 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Worthy but moving
Whatever you think of this film Tom Hanks does an outstanding job as the lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm when they fire him. For its time it was groundbreaking. I have to wonder how far we've come when current projects like Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' still shy from showing real onscreen intimacy between two men. Denzel Washington's everyman character almost steals the show from Hanks. Their relationship is one of the movie's highlights, given that it downplays that between Hanks and his beautiful lover, played by Antonio Banderas, who hovers in the background offering love and support. I suppose the filmmakers ought to be commended for not just preaching to the converted but trying to confront homophobia. It is ironic that a film about prejudice and discrimination against a gay man is afraid to deal with what that means, as though a sexually active gay man is somehow less deserving of our sympathy than a saintly victim. I was undeniably moved, and it is a very good film. However I suggest you rent 'Parting Glances' with Steve Buscemi to see a real gay man with AIDS, or get hold of 'Longtime Companion' which is a more honest film.
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Excellent - touching and real
Excellent film - a credit to Tom Hanks and worthy of an Oscar. Banderas was slightly wooden and no intimacy was shown making it still a 'safe' Hollywood film. Beautifully filmed, especially the scene after the fancy dress party with Denzel Washington and Hanks. Very watchable and thought provoking
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
A thinker!
This film is not for the faint of heart but it makes you think. A four star because it wasn't quite my cup of tea but it raises a very important issue in today's society. Watch it and be challenged. Watch it and you will cry!
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Most recent members' reviews (2)
View all -
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
10 years on its message rings loud
I have revisited this several times as the years roll by and my view has changed from one of thinking it is overblown hogwash to one that it was a portent of disaster to come.
The basic plot is one of understandable predjudice in the light of a newly emerging disease in a god fearing environment. Put in the same position with the knowledge available hand on heart would we be any different? Several million dead later its true worth emerges.
Hanks as always is sublime -
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Excellent
Brilliant acting, moving story line...would recommend.
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7 out of 9 people found this review helpful
Worthy but moving
Whatever you think of this film Tom Hanks does an outstanding job as the lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm when they fire him. For its time it was groundbreaking. I have to wonder how far we've come when current projects like Ang Lee's 'Brokeback Mountain' still shy from showing real onscreen intimacy between two men. Denzel Washington's everyman character almost steals the show from Hanks. Their relationship is one of the movie's highlights, given that it downplays that between Hanks and his beautiful lover, played by Antonio Banderas, who hovers in the background offering love and support. I suppose the filmmakers ought to be commended for not just preaching to the converted but trying to confront homophobia. It is ironic that a film about prejudice and discrimination against a gay man is afraid to deal with what that means, as though a sexually active gay man is somehow less deserving of our sympathy than a saintly victim. I was undeniably moved, and it is a very good film. However I suggest you rent 'Parting Glances' with Steve Buscemi to see a real gay man with AIDS, or get hold of 'Longtime Companion' which is a more honest film.
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3 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Excellent - touching and real
Excellent film - a credit to Tom Hanks and worthy of an Oscar. Banderas was slightly wooden and no intimacy was shown making it still a 'safe' Hollywood film. Beautifully filmed, especially the scene after the fancy dress party with Denzel Washington and Hanks. Very watchable and thought provoking
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
A thinker!
This film is not for the faint of heart but it makes you think. A four star because it wasn't quite my cup of tea but it raises a very important issue in today's society. Watch it and be challenged. Watch it and you will cry!
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Shocking how relevant this still is
What really shocked me was that we were watching a story based on realities of the 1990's and it is hard to believe that people might really have behaved so badly and with such ignorance so recently. It must have been ground breaking when it first came out. Very well done, enjoyable and of course very sad.
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
10 years on its message rings loud
I have revisited this several times as the years roll by and my view has changed from one of thinking it is overblown hogwash to one that it was a portent of disaster to come.
The basic plot is one of understandable predjudice in the light of a newly emerging disease in a god fearing environment. Put in the same position with the knowledge available hand on heart would we be any different? Several million dead later its true worth emerges.
Hanks as always is sublime -
2 out of 3 people found this review helpful
Worth watching it!
Very good film. Sad but worth watching it because it is real life instances. Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington both did a great job.
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Eye opener
I first watched this film as part of a project for school and it really opened my eyes as to how hard it would be to deal with not only a fatal disease, but with every day prejudices which I realised I had no idea about. This film confirms that Tom Hanks is with no doubt one of the best actors in Hollywood. A must see!
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1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
Excellent
Brilliant acting, moving story line...would recommend.
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Does exactly what it says in the review.....
Well written, well produced, well acted and well worth a watch.
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1 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Philadelphia
An excellent film and I'm not even gay. Shows the injustices of corporations and thier victimisations of the people who don't fit into the suites that they try to make fit. Sad
Critics' reviews (7)
-
Nominated for an Oscar for Best Picture, Sean Penn plays Harvey Milk; California's first openly gay elected official. Who was assassinated along with Mayor George Moscone by San Francisco Supervisor Dan White. read more »
- LOVEFiLM
-
This was the first major Hollywood movie about Aids, and it won Tom Hanks his first best actor Oscar. Hanks plays homosexual lawyer Andrew Beckett, who takes his powerful employers to court for sacking him. The company bigwigs claim he was dismissed for incompetence, but Beckett suspects the real reason is his Aids-related illness. Beckett's counsel is wheeler-dealer Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), who despises homosexuals but worships fair play, while Beckett's boss, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), is a bigot whose intolerance is hidden by bluff camaraderie. Hanks, meanwhile, portrays the ravaged, dying Beckett as a disabled everyman whose life has lessons for all of us. His passionate crescendo of praise for opera is a tour de force of close-up acting.
-
A feel-good film about AIDS, set within a standard Hollywood courtroom drama; it is well made and absorbing, given its limits.
-
Hollywood's first major movie about AIDS is, at the very least, as good as we had any right to expect. The plot is... read more on Time Out
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"...A moving experience....PHILADELPHIA is successful because it is intelligent, sensitive and committed..."
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"...As a piece of moviemaking PHILADELPHIA often works wonderfully well..."
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"...Landmark..." - Recommended
Buy from the LOVEFiLM shop
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Philadelphia
After a solid track record and a much-deserved promotion, Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks), a handsome, upwardly mobile Philadelphia lawyer, loses his high-paying corporate job when he starts developing full-blown AIDS. Though Andrew's firm attributes his dismissal to his supposedly poor performance, he ...
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