best movie i've ever seen.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

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.

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

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.

Everything is good and Andy (Tom) is a well respected and a great attorney but his life choose to take him on different path. As he falls from his highest point to the lowest he goes through many different things, both emotional and physical. Joe (Denzel) is attorney that is going to help him fight for his rights and prove that every man is equal and deserves a fair treating. It's incredible how powerful human beings are and same goes for Joe that in first was repelled by Andy and after seeing how he is ready to fight for himself, he decided to help him. Nerves and will that Andy put into this case were humongous and he brings every little emotion to screen and puts quite a experience for everyone watching. It shows how people are treated as not equal and that there are so much judgment in a lot of humans. Some of the scene were a little choppy and maybe tried to be bring some feeling but didn't quiet succeeded. Magnificent and moving performance by Tom Hanks which just left mouths shut and projected so much emotions, pain and fight for right things. Denzel also puts up a great performance and shows how humans are great and willing to fight for another. Musical piece that played is also very refreshing and amazing. 3.5/4

Glorifies homosexuality and AIDS.What else can I say? That's all the film does. Apparently we should embrace AIDS because homosexuals would feel bad if we didn't. Well, I don't agree with that idea.I think society should stop pandering to all these protected groups, that get to be treated like royalty, even as they walk around with all kinds of diseases that are the result of their life styles.No red carpet for AIDS 'victims', as far as I'm concerned. Also, if you have unprotected sex in a manner that is likely to cause an infection, you are not a victim. You are a menace for society. The fact is that even with all the protection available on the market, homosexuals are many times more prone to be infected with HIV, and frankly, I think they should be held accountable.

When a man with AIDS (Tom Hanks) is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer (Denzel Washington) as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.I absolutely love seeing Roger Corman on the stand... thanks, Jonathan Demme for letting Roger appear in your films. Maybe the average viewer doesn't appreciate the nod, but it's not lost on the rest of us.Strangely, as Tom Hanks' disease progresses, he looks increasingly like David Hyde Pierce. Coincidence? Hanks was rightly praised for this film, but it seems that the real strong performance came from Washington. We has a wide range of hatred, fear, grudging acceptance and more... it is a nice roller coaster.