Philadelphia
Philadelphia is a 1993 American drama film that was one of the first mainstream Hollywood films to acknowledge HIV/AIDS, homosexuality and homophobia.
It was written by Ron Nyswaner and directed by Jonathan Demme.
The film stars Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.
It was inspired in part by the story of Geoffrey Bowers, an attorney who in 1987 sued the law firm Baker & McKenzie for unfair dismissal in one of the first AIDS discrimination cases.
The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Tom Hanks), and Best Original Song ("Streets of Philadelphia").
It was also nominated for another Best Original Song award for "Philadelphia", as well as Best Makeup, and Best Original Screenplay (Ron Nyswaner).
This film's protagonist, Andrew Beckett, is listed at #49 among the heroes on the American Film Institute's list of the Top 100 Heroes and Villains.The film was ranked #20 on American Film Institute’s 100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies
The film was the first Hollywood big-budget, big-star film to tackle the issue of AIDS in the U.S. and signaled a shift in Hollywood films toward more realistic depictions of homosexuals and lesbians. According to a Tom Hanks interview for the 1996 documentary The Celluloid Closet, scenes showing more affection between him and Antonio Banderas were cut, including one with him and Banderas in bed together. The DVD edition, produced by Automat Pictures, includes this scene.
The family of Geoffrey Bowers sued the writers and producers. A year after Bowers's death, producer Scott Rudin interviewed the Bowers family and their lawyers and, according to the family, promised compensation for the use of Bowers's story as a basis for the film. Family members asserted that 54 scenes in the movie are so similar to events in Bowers's life that some of them could only have come from their interviews. However, the defense said that Rudin abandoned the project after hiring a writer and did not share any information the family had provided. The lawsuit was settled after five days of testimony. Although terms of the agreement were not released, the defendants did admit that "the film 'was inspired in part'" by Bowers's story.
The location is chosen in Philadelphia is because Philadelphia is called “The City of Brotherly Love”.
In the prologue of the movie, there is a store on the street named “condom nation”, if we put that together, we can read it as condemnation. It shows the peoples attitude toward homosexuality and HIV at that time.
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In "Philadelphia," Denzel is questioned about his sexuality from peers and strangers (when a guy tried to get a drink with him) because he was defending a gay man and taking on such an extreme case to do so. I am curious, was Hanks or Denzel questioned by the public regarding their sexuality when the film came out? Were either of them criticized for taking on a role that was associated with homosexuality? Or were people fairly receptive at the time the film was released?
ReplyDeleteThis is something that I could not find anything on. Although it seems in society many times when an actor portrays a gay character they are questioned about their sexuality. I remember reading a lot of press when Broke Back Moutain came out. It would be interesting to know.
ReplyDeleteI also am curious if playing a gay character can enhance the actor's reputation because it is in a way, a very brave move because he could, in some people's minds, tarnish his reputation or lower his likeability with certain audiences. By taking on the role, it seems the actor is taking a risk but it is worth it to him to play the given character. Also, I see it as a particularly challenging roles to fulfill, acting outside of one's sexuality would probably be uncomfortable which I think was noted in class when someone mentioned Banderas and Hanks onscreen relationship. But, evidently, they were both able to act as professionals and fulfill their character's roles.
ReplyDeleteI was curious about the same thing. I think that the times have not changed that much in the last few decades. The media profits from stories such as this today, just like i am sure they would have in 1993. This was a brave role for Hanks and Banderas, which makes their roles that much better. Undoubtable there were questions or rumors at the time this movie premiered.
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