And the Band Played On (1993)

A Disappointing Continuation

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

And the Band Played On (1993)A vivid, well-acted tracing of the history of AIDS from the point of view of epidemiology. That sounds boring, but just the opposite. The intense pressure on the early researchers is part of the drama. And the injustice of the politics getting in the way is important. Most of all, of course, is the terrible suffering of the victims, which is a small but key part of the story.All of this is really well done, no fat to the story, moving along and keeping the progression of events clear. I resisted watching this for a long time thinking it would dry, or that the story is well known and would offer no surprises, but I enjoyed it all. The director, Canadian Roger Spottiswoode, has done nothing else on this impressive scale. Even working with the stellar cast (many famous actors with small roles, and a couple, like Alan Alda, more prominent) requires a kind of juggling and intelligence that's great to watch. Is the movie perfect? In a way, yes, given the choice of subject matter.

And the Band Played On, essentially a drama documentary about the battle against one of greatest destructive forces man kind has ever faced and based on the book of the same name. Criminally, this film was all but overlooked in the UK on the time of its release, which was a complete travesty. Unfortunately it came out in the same year as the Tom Hanks vehicle, Philadelphia, which overshadowed any other film on the same subject, but arguably this film is also not only more important, but I would suggest more informative and ultimately more tragic and far more moving than the sentimental yet worthy Hanks/Washington effort.At the time with its chronological depiction of the unfolding of the AIDS crisis in America in the early 1980s this film received Luke warm reviews and a limited cinema release in the UK in 1993, but following the death of my cousin in 1991, I was keen to see it, and made the effort. When I came out of the cinema I was numb, angry and given a thirst for knowledge on the film. I immediately purchased the book by Randy Shilts, which told the story on a far wider perspective and from many more angles. One of those that were dropped were the perspectives of the Gay men from New York who made up its then social elite and enjoyed their summers on Fire Island. However, one can see that with the films limited budget and running time decisions had to be made to determine what were the right choices to take from the book, that would work effectively and distill into a manageable story. Fortunately all the choices made here, were the right ones. The story switches successfully between the small group of Doctors at the CDC working to combat the virus from day one in appalling conditions with little or no help from an uncaring Reagen era Adminstration who showed disgusting indifference at the events that were unfolding before them - and the group of Gay Activists that began to form in San Francisco who were having their own troubles convincing the gay community to unite under one banner against a disease that no one wanted to admit might be advancing rapidly in their own community through promiscuity. These difficult and complex subjects are well complimented by stock news footage of the time and the superb leading cast, all excellent, without exception are backed by all manner of big names in key supporting roles. (A worthy commitment from all those involved who did the film for basic scale pay) Director, Spottiswoode handles very moving scenes with great care and has the camera linger at all the right moments. Special mention must go to Lawrence Moonsoon, who deftly handles a dying mans confused re-collection of how his lover and friends died, to Swoozie Kurtz in the scene where her and her husband discover by accident she has been exposed to the virus through a blood transfusion. Ian McKellen is brilliant as gay activist Bill Krause, who tries to convince his own community to act before they have no community leftMathew Modine anchors the piece nicely as a doctor fighting the bureaucracy and sheer stupidity in a race against time to save lives as more and more Americans drop by the wayside. The subplot involving Doctor Gallo (Alan Alda) who tried to sideline the French and claim discovery of the virus gives real insight into the disgusting level of politics that went on even among health professionals during this critical time.This is a movie that every teenager in every school should be made to see, not only for the benefit of their own sexual health, but to honour those like Bobbi Campbell (Played by the brilliant Donal Logue) who stood up to be counted in their battle against the virus. It gives a brilliant overview of what happened back in the 1980s and the film has aged well and still stands up today, making it one of the most important films about the AIDS virus ever made.Prehaps it is time for a bigger budget mini-series which could cover the Eastern Coast perspective of the book, so as to not repeat all the same characters and material.For anyone with the slightest interest in this subject, this film is a must watch but I would go one stage further and say, that it is a film everyone should see in their life time, even if its not going to be the easiest two hours of your life.

I've read far too many reviews of this movie that just don't seem to get it, even if they did enjoy the film. The purpose of the movie was precisely to show how the AIDS epidemics reached the stages that it did before anything was done, and how the Doctors, researchers and even the federal government and the CDC contributed as much to the progression of the disease as they did to discovering it. To state that this presentation, while not quite showing as much regarding the suffering of the early AIDS patients in some way makes "less of an impact" than it may have otherwise, is to basically state that you have no concept of what the purpose of the movie was! Anyone who actually WAS around when the AIDS crisis began can remember getting blood tests for Hepatitis, then something called HTLV III, then HIV, all with no explanation or understanding as to why. And that was only if you were giving blood! They misconceptions and fears passed on from scientists themselves made it far more difficult to actually understand what it was and how to be safe. This movie explained far better than any other resource exactly what was going on during a time when those of us who WERE alive were getting no answers at all.So, if you're going to comment on a movie, make sure you have some idea of what the purpose of the film is before questioning the point of view of the film. This is quite possibly one of the most important films of the past twenty years BECAUSE of its point of view.

I have never watched a film that covered so much information the way that this film had. Based on years of dedicated research. Questions were now answered. Myths were put to rest and facts and not fiction was distributed to the public. I thought I knew about the early years of AIDS how wrong I was. And The Band Played On gives its viewers insights both in the medical field and into the lives of the countless people it infected and affected. It takes us down a path where young, old, poor and rich feel the deadly affect of being diagnose with HIV or AIDs in the 80's.Watching this film I became somewhat disheartened by the way the scientist fought over who would receive credit for finding the HIV virus. It is sad to know that while millions of lives were ending, politicians and some of the medical professions did not find it very important to tests the blood supplies until some one prominent was diagnose with AIDS. True to life the film delivers knock out performances by Ian McKellian, Alan Alda, Matthew Modine, Lilly Tomlin, Richard Gere, Anjelica Houstan, Phila Collins and well the lists goes on.I applaud every one who made this movie. I loved it so much I went out and bought it. This is a must see!