And the Band Played On (1993)

Overrated

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

And the Band Played On is a television film docudrama that includes an all-star cast that includes Lily Tomlin as San Francisco health official Selma Dritz, Matthew Modine as Centers for Disease Control researcher Don Francis, Alan Alda as NIH official Robert Gallo, Ian McKellan as gay activist Bill Kraus together with Glenne Headley, Steve Martin and Anjelica Huston in cameo roles.It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.In 1981, researchers begin discerning a mysterious new disease that apparently affects only homosexual males. Working independently, and with marked hostility toward one another, an American and a French research team manage to identify and name the dreaded HIV virus. The long-range effects of AIDS is experienced through the first- and secondhand experiences of several unfortunate individuals.Don Francis becomes aware of a growing number of deaths from unexplained sources among gay men in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, and is prompted to begin an in-depth investigation of the possible causes. Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians and numerous members of the medical community, many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal agendas, and gay leaders. While Francis pursues his theory that AIDS is caused by a sexually transmitted virus on the model of feline leukemia, he finds his efforts are stonewalled by, among others, the CDC, which is loath to prove the disease is transmitted through blood, and competing French and American scientists, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, who squabble about who should receive credit for discovering the virus. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs rapidly.This was a pretty powerful TV film about the AIDS epidemic and government inaction.It also shows the ignorance of people back then and how politics and discrimination against homosexuals stonewalled the immediate discovery of a cure that could have alleviate the newly discovered disease.It is also worth to commend the all-star cast on their commitment in re-creating the events the surrounds the early days of the discovery of AIDS.This was definitely one of the best TV movies ever made!!!!

What do you do when your entire worldview is shaken? The advent of a threatening disease that inexplicably dropped people in their tracks forces scientists, policy makers, medical experts and ordinary individuals to reevaluate fundamental assumptions. No one comes off totally unscathed in this gutsy, gritty movie. None of us want to hear upsetting news, nor do we want to discover the world isn't as safe as we thought it was. Heroes and villains abound and reveal complex nuances in this remarkable window on one of the most life-changing events in several generations. Brilliant script, brilliant acting and directing. We learn a lot about the world, ourselves and each other just by watching! Sombre, yes -- but one of my favorite movies of all time. A great example of how film can awaken us to new insights on issues we don't even realize that we haven't yet considered.

I read this book in high school in the late 80's just as it was released. The book was excellent and gave a great educational lesson on HIV and AIDS. The movie was just as good. I was really touched at the end when "The last song" by Elton John was playing. The movie gave a great time-line of the virus.It is so terrifying to think AIDS has actually been around since probably 1959 when a blood sample from a man from the Congo had died of a mysterious illness, and tests run on the blood sample today showed he did indeed have AIDS. The movie was very touching, this whole topic leaves a lump in my throat. I was 13 when AIDS had started making the news and in 1985 or 1986 my dad had a blood transfusion. We spend months worrying if he had contracted HIV. Thank god he got clean blood and he dodged a bullet, unlike the 25,000 people in the 70 and 80's who received tainted blood.I got teary eyed when an HIV+ guy in the movie says "This is not a political issue. This is a health issue. This is not a gay issue. This is a human issue. And I do not intend to be defeated by it. I came here today in the hope that my epitaph would not read that I died of red tape." The predictions were accurate. The scientists predicted there would be 40 million people worldwide infected with HIV by the turn of the century and that number has proved to be pretty much dead on, literally.

This is a movie based upon the late Randy Shilts book AND THE BAND PLAYED ON , a book that I have never read but know has been critically acclaimed and praised for its readability since it is very similar in structure to a detective novel as scientists try to track down and identify a virus that is killing gay men . I also know the book also received some criticism because it was written by a HIV+ homosexual who seemed to have a political axe to grind . If that's the case ( Again I confess to never reading the book ) then all I can say is that this is a very well adapted story Certainly the story works best when the scientists are on the case . If the story about the nationalistic rivalries and plain old fashioned egotism ( A Nobel prize to the first person to identify this illness is a certainty here ) of the scientific community had been the main focus this would have been superb drama but ironically because of a need to make the drama more human we're introduced to far too many characters so that the story soon descends into mawkish melodrama and yes I did notice something of an agenda in here Take the bath house sequences for example where gay men congregate for casual sex and a character points out to Dr Harold Jaffe ( In reality it's being pointed out to a mainstream audience ) about how a hetrosexual equivalent would be somewhere a man would be able to meet lots of beautiful women for meaningless but great sex . This equivalent doesn't actually exist in reality though and we a mainstream audience are being asked to sympathise with homosexual promiscuity . In many ways it's a form of emotional blackmail , if we can't empathise with this lifestyle that marks us down as " homophobic " when homophobia doesn't come into it - Promiscuity is the problem here . Later the owner of the bath house Eddie Papasano speaks about how he's not going to shut his premises down because he'll lose money . Oh boy you can see where this is heading , greed is good for the pocket and bad for people who choose to have sex with complete strangers . Are we to take it the greed of Eddie Papasano and the people who use his bath house are comparable to the blood bank executives who scared of losing their profits don't screen blood donations for HIV+ Of course not , but this TVM makes out anyone wants to make money in whatever form is a cold hearted villain and anyone committing promiscuity is a hard done by victim . It should be pointed out that Phil Collins is laughable in the role of Papasano Phil Collins isn't the only inapprotiate cameo in this television movie , the whole TVM drowns in them , it's even more distracting than THE LONGEST DAY with big name or familiar face actor appearing in the shortest scenes: Alan Alda , Richard Gere , Anjelica Houston , Steve Martin , Ian Mckellan and Saul Rubinek to name but some all make appearances which seems more like a parade of Hollywood liberals and makes you realise that you're watching a TVM . Like the story the familiar faces should have only been confined to the scientists working on the case rather have appear in pointless cameos AND THE BAND PLAYED ON ends with a poignant epilogue made even more poignant when one of those featured is Elisabeth Glaser who died on December the 3rd 1994 , the day after this TVM received its British network premier