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Philadelphia
on DVD (1993)
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| Starring: |
Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, Antonio Banderas, Tracey Walter, Joanne Woodward |
| Director: |
Jonathan Demme |
| Studio: |
COLUMBIA TRI-STAR HOME VIDEO |
| Run time: |
120 mins |
| Certificate: |
 |
| User collections: |
Films Everyone Should See, films for any mood., John McClane's Die Hard Dozen, Films that make you think, Jason's best gay movies collection, My Essential Movies, Films to see before you die, Gay-a-thon, Brilliant Gay Films |
| Genres: |
Drama, Gay/Lesbian |
| Languages: |
English |
| Released: |
26/05/1998
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Brief synopsis of 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 knows otherwise, and he won't accept the firm's discrimination lying down. Andrew will do whatever is necessary to prosecute. But when nine other lawyers refuse to help him, Andrew reluctantly hires Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), a showy, homophobic, ambulance-chasing lawyer whose first reaction to the news that Andrew has AIDS is to rush to the doctor and have himself checked. Despite Joe's fear and dislike of gays, he and Andrew discover they've got quite a bit in common, and they decide they're going to fight to the finish. The result is an emotionally potent drama that doesn't flinch from exposing the long-term effects of the disease on Beckett and his friends and family. Jonathan Demme directs and Bruce Springstein sings the title song, 'Streets of Philadelphia,' part of an Academy Award-winning score.
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All DVDs in this series
Philadelphia - Feature
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Philadelphia - Bonus Disc
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Related
Critics Reviews
Radio Times
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.
Halliwell's Film Guide
A feel-good film about AIDS, set within a standard Hollywood courtroom drama; it is well made and absorbing, given its limits.
Time Out
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 www.timeout.com
See all 6 Critics Reviews »
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