After more than 10 years of dealing with one of the greatest health crises in history, a mainstream Hollywood film finally stepped up to the plate and dealt honestly with the issue of AIDS in director Jonathan Demme's Philadelphia (1993). With a stellar cast that boasted the likes of Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Jason Robards, Mary Steenburgen, and Joanne Woodward, Philadelphia had the pedigree to be a heavy favorite when it came time to hand out Oscars. The popular film did not fail to meet those expectations. Tom Hanks won his first Oscar for his stirring portrayal of a young attorney whose professional and personal life is cut short, while rocker Bruce Springsteen walked off with his first Oscar for Best Song, a haunting ballad entitled "Streets of Philadelphia." It was the first time Springsteen lent his writing talent for a motion picture production.

The film's journey from script to screen was a long, rocky road. At one time under the working title People Like Us, Ron Nyswaner's script went through 25 drafts over a period of five years. Shortly after Nyswaner began writing, Orion Studios, the money tree funding the making of Philadelphia, filed for bankruptcy in December 1991. As a result, the story idea became embroiled in the Chapter 11 proceedings. Ed Saxon, the Oscar-winning producer of Demme's The Silence of the Lambs (1991), had to go through the formality of appearing in bankruptcy court in order to rescue the film project from oblivion.

The arduous road did not get any easier after that. Once word got out that an AIDS-themed film was in the works in Hollywood, members of the film industry and gay activist groups began to anticipate the movie as the first public statement of how mainstream Hollywood would confront AIDS and homophobia. But after the film was completed and released, those same groups began to harshly criticize the film for sugarcoating the reality of living with AIDS. Despite the controversy created by the film, Philadelphia was a moving experience for most audiences and grossed about $77 million in U.S. after its January 1994 wide release.

While Philadelphia certainly generated discussion about social issues, it also served as the unlikely inspiration for a comedy. In the hit 1997 comedy In & Out, Kevin Kline plays a much loved and respected high school drama teacher who has much to celebrate; an impending marriage to fiancee Joan Cusack and professional pride in his former student Matt Dillon, now an Oscar nominee. When Dillon wins the coveted award, he not only thanks his former teacher, but also inadvertently "outs" him on television, forcing Kline to come to terms with his sexuality and his equally perplexed family and friends. Screenwriter Paul Rudnick came up with this very funny premise after Hanks, in his Oscar speech, graciously thanked his former mentor and high school teacher, Rawley Farnsworth, for being the inspiration behind his performance.

Producer: Jonathan Demme; Edward Saxon
Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenplay: Ron Nyswaner
Production Design: Kristi Zea
Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Costume Design: Colleen Atwood
Film Editing: Craig McKay
Original Music: Howard Shore
Principal Cast: Tom Hanks (Andrew Beckett), Denzel Washington (Joe Miller), Jason Robards (Charles Wheeler), Mary Steenburgen (Belinda Connie), Antonio Banderas (Miguel Alvarez).
C-126m. Letterboxed. Closed captioning.

by Scott McGee