betty dalton Slowburning courtdrama about Tom Hanks sueing his boss for being fired because he has got Aids. Not suited for those who want to see a cheery Tom Hanks movie, because "Philadelphia" is serious stuff, but very enticing nonetheless, for those who like hours long of courtroom dialogues intermixed with sentimental scenes of Tom Hanks dying of Aids. Despite this seemingly depressing story it is still a feel good movie, but one with a few heartwrenching tears.Acting is really terrific. I think it is one of the best dramatic roles Tom Hanks has ever played. Because of that I have to skip some parts of the movie because I would otherwise get to emotional and teary eyed. There are some really grand dramatic scenes which give me goosebumps just thinking about them. Director Jonathan Demme really made one of his best work in his entire carreer with "Philadelphia". His other masterpiece would be the well known "Silence of the Lambs". Jonathan Demma has got the talent to make characters become real life like. And in "Philadelphia" that means that we get to share the struggle of Tom Hanks close up, as if we were his family. Very touching. You gotta understand that this movie was released in the nineties, a period in which Aids was still often wrongfully being associated with homosexuals. Lots of fear and repulsion of Aids expressed by characters in the movie doesnt make sense nowadays anymore. Everybody now knows Aids is not a disease of homosexuals solely. Everybody knows that you dont get contaminated with Aids by just shaking hands or hugging. But all these negative prejudices were still floating around in mass media back in the nineties. For that reason this movie has become a bit dated now, although it was rather groundbreaking back then, certainly for Hollywood standards. How many big box office movies about homosexuals are out there? Just a tiny few. This fight for equal rights for homosexuals which is portrayed in this movie still makes it worth watching nowadays, because discrimination is still rampant. My only real criticism of this movie is that it still remains a cliche Hollywood movie which has to be sold to the masses and therefore a lot of sugarcoated melodrama is added to the story. Although the balance between sugarcoated sentiment and real drama is balanced fairly enough to please both the feel good loving masses and those who long for more true to life drama.

seeingbystarlight The more I watch movies that I've only seen once, or not for a long time, the more I'm of the opinion that (for the most part) you can't possibly get a good idea about a movie just by seeing it the one time.My opinion of Philadelphia has changed drastically since the first time I saw it several years ago.The first time I saw it, I liked neither the story, nor the screenplay, and the movie's only redeeming quality (other than the cast), was the theme song which won an Academy Award.Now, however, after seeing it two weeks ago, I'm amazed at what a really great movie this is.The issues it touches on are explosive, and controversial.I never really appreciated what a good job it does of bringing them out, the script having been written objectively, and with a great deal of class, and finesse.Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) is one of the best attorneys at the top Philadelphia law firm that employs him.His bosses, in fact, have so much faith in his abilities, that they are about to let him represent the most prestigious client ever to come their way...until one of them sees something on Andrew's forehead which gives away his contraction of AIDS.Suddenly Andrew is fired, after the staged misplacement of a document allows the partners to claim he's incompetent.The excuse is as flimsy as paper, and Andrew (unable to put this outrage behind him) is determined to sue.No lawyer he goes to, however, can see that he has a case, and after his ninth try, Andrew finally finds himself in the office of Joe Miller (Denzel Washington).In the past, Joe and Andrew had been rivals in court, and like other attorneys, Joe does not see that Andrew has a case.He is also putt off by Andrew's sexual orientation, and, more importantly, his illness which makes Joe worry about his newborn baby.But after encountering Andrew in a library, Joe decides to represent him.The two men form a reluctant friendship, as the case drags on, and Andrew's life begins to slip away.All the cast was excellent, Denzel Washington was great, and Tom Hanks, (I must say), really deserved the Oscar. No one could've played the character as well as he did.This is a surprising, outstanding movie, which may warrant a second or even third watching to be appreciated, but it's certainly worth it.Originally, Review #118Posted On: May 20, 2011

Red-125 Philadelphia (1993) was directed by Jonathan Demme. The AIDS epidemic started in the early 1980's, and movies about AIDS started to appear in the mid-1980s. However, to my knowledge, Philadelphia was the first high-budget, mainstream film about AIDS to appear on the screen.TriStar certainly provided the funds to attract an all-star cast. Tom Hanks portrays brilliant lawyer Andrew Beckett. When Beckett is fired from his high-prestige law firm, no lawyer wants to touch his case for wrongful dismissal. Denzel Washington plays Joe Miller, who agrees to represent Beckett. (Joe is himself uncomfortable with AIDS. However, he knows injustice when he sees it.) Antonio Banderas plays Beckett's loving partner, Miguel Alvarez. Jason Robards is perfectly cast as Charles Wheeler, Beckett's mentor until he becomes Beckett's enemy. All four men are superstars, and it's easy to see why.The film doesn't just have star power in the leading roles. Great actors like Roberta Maxwell and Joanne Woodward have small supporting roles.The movie is courageous in facing AIDS directly. In the 1980's and 1990's, people distinguished between "good AIDS" and "bad AIDS." Good AIDS was AIDS that people contracted from blood transfusions. So, the thought was that these people were innocent victims.Bad AIDS came from (mostly) men having sex with men. In retrospect, we can see the moral error in this good vs. evil judgment. But, at the time, gay sex was considered evil, and many people thought that gay men with AIDS deserved the disease. How this prejudice played out inside and outside the courtroom represents the plot of the movie. It's very strong and truly heart-wrenching.We saw this film at the excellent Dryden Theatre at George Eastman Museum in Rochester, NY. It was shown at Rochester's wonderful ImageOut, the LGBT Film Festival. Almost all of the movies shown at ImageOut are new, cutting-edge films. Philadelphia was shown under the heading, "ImageOut of the Archives." The movie was made almost 25 years ago, and it's being shown again to mark that anniversary.Philadelphia is an important film, and shouldn't be missed. It will work very well on the small screen. Find it and watch it. (Or, as I did, watch it again.)P.S. Mary Steenburgen has a supporting role as Belinda Conine, the attorney representing Beckett's former law firm. I can't remember when an actor has made so strong an impression in a relatively small role. She's just what you'd expect in this context--brilliant, eloquent, with a heart that has no room for conscience or remorse. She knows that the law firm had dismissed Beckett because he had AIDS. However, that's not going to stop her in the least. It's not even going to slow her down.

zazagelashvili This movie displays array of multiple emotions, it made me feel passionate, sorry, angry and sad at the same time. There are not many movies on this subject lurking around. it's one of those that when one makes it, it is hard to make another one about the same subject, and it really targets crucial issues of mid-late 20th century. Great act by Tom Hanks which, honestly, i was kind of expecting, followed by the dramatic scenes in "The Green mile" or in "Forrest Gump". All and all, Judging the entire effect of the movie, it was amazing. "Philadelphia is a good movie and it is especially outstanding for its time 1993, what is the most important that this movie actually provided information of how people who are infected with HIV feel like until it turns into AIDS.