Philadelphia (1993)

Director:

Jonathan Demme

Writer (WGA):

Ron Nyswaner (written by)

Release Date:

23 December 1993 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

No one would take on his case... until one man was willing to take on the system.

Plot:

When a man with AIDS is fired by a conservative law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.

Plot Keywords:

Male Nurse | City Name In Title | Pennsylvania | Philadelphia | Gay Lead Character

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 9 wins & 12 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sun. May 18

1:30 PM

Fox

Cast

Tom Hanks	...	Andrew Beckett
Denzel Washington	...	Joe Miller
Roberta Maxwell	...	Judge Tate
Buzz Kilman	...	Crutches
Karen Finley	...	Dr. Gillman
Daniel Chapman	...	Clinic Storyteller
Mark Sorensen Jr.	...	Clinic Patient
Jeffrey Williamson	...	Tyrone
Charles Glenn	...	Kenneth Killcoyne
Ron Vawter	...	Bob Seidman
Anna Deavere Smith	...	Anthea Burton
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Rachel Smilow (as Stephanie Roth)
Lisa Talerico	...	Shelby
Joanne Woodward	...	Sarah Beckett
Jason Robards	...	Charles Wheeler

Also Known As:

At Risk (USA) (working title)
People Like Us (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

125 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby | SDDS

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Iceland:L | Portugal:M/12 | Mexico:C | Argentina:13 | Australia:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:S | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Netherlands:AL | Norway:10 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (re-rating) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

City Hall - Broad and 15th Streets, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Company:

Clinica Estetico

Trivia:

The film's workings title included "People Like Us", "At Risk" and "Probable Cause".

Goofs:

Continuity: Andy's tie jumps about during the courtroom scene where he shows the jury the lesions on his chest.

Quotes:

Judge Garrett: In this courtroom, Mr.Miller, justice is blind to matters of race, creed, color, religion, and sexual orientation.
Joe Miller: With all due respect, your honor, we don't live in this courtroom, do we?

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "Family Guy: Death Has a Shadow (#1.1)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

La mamma morta

A powerful film about a important subject

Many people are homophobic (or aren't even afraid, just don't like) and do not like people with AIDS. However, I think that even for the most puritan of people, they might have the first step of changing they're minds, especially if they are fans of the actors. Philadelphia is a usual courtroom drama, however it has a topic on it's side (2 to be precise) that probably no other film before 1993 had- gay people with the AIDS virus.

Tom Hanks plays a lawyer here who gets supposedly fired by his firm due to the fact that he has aids. He then gets another lawyer, played in a good supporting role by Denzel Washington, to defend him and sue the firm. While it can sometimes get sidetracked, the film is often on track and takes it process smart-like, mainly by director Demme. One of the better films of 1993. By the way, I was surprised (considering I saw this film a few years ago after Seeing Desperado) that that is Antonio Banderas as Hanks' lover. A