The Worst Film Ever

Pretty Good

Admirable film.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

And the Band Played On is a television film docudrama that includes an all-star cast that includes Lily Tomlin as San Francisco health official Selma Dritz, Matthew Modine as Centers for Disease Control researcher Don Francis, Alan Alda as NIH official Robert Gallo, Ian McKellan as gay activist Bill Kraus together with Glenne Headley, Steve Martin and Anjelica Huston in cameo roles.It was directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.In 1981, researchers begin discerning a mysterious new disease that apparently affects only homosexual males. Working independently, and with marked hostility toward one another, an American and a French research team manage to identify and name the dreaded HIV virus. The long-range effects of AIDS is experienced through the first- and secondhand experiences of several unfortunate individuals.Don Francis becomes aware of a growing number of deaths from unexplained sources among gay men in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, and is prompted to begin an in-depth investigation of the possible causes. Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians and numerous members of the medical community, many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal agendas, and gay leaders. While Francis pursues his theory that AIDS is caused by a sexually transmitted virus on the model of feline leukemia, he finds his efforts are stonewalled by, among others, the CDC, which is loath to prove the disease is transmitted through blood, and competing French and American scientists, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, who squabble about who should receive credit for discovering the virus. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs rapidly.This was a pretty powerful TV film about the AIDS epidemic and government inaction.It also shows the ignorance of people back then and how politics and discrimination against homosexuals stonewalled the immediate discovery of a cure that could have alleviate the newly discovered disease.It is also worth to commend the all-star cast on their commitment in re-creating the events the surrounds the early days of the discovery of AIDS.This was definitely one of the best TV movies ever made!!!!

i was just looking at the comment the other person made and it was extremely well said and i just wanted to thank you! that movie gets my heart and soul every time. the Elton john song at the end makes my skin raise up. i tear up all the time. it was SO well made and done! i wish i could shake the hands of the people that put all the time and effort into this movie. i have known too many people to die from AIDS, and i always try to stay up to date with the news on AIDS. there is an organization called PWA - People With AIDS in Peoria, Il that i volunteered on for a while.i'm not looking for recognition, i'm just simple happy that someone actually make such a well comment on this movie. to you...my thanks.

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!

Well told history of the beginning of the AIDS crisis in America and the world. It showed the slow and inept response of the Republican lead government. The performances are brilliant. Ensemble cast brings a complicated story, to fruition by showing that AIDS is not merely a disease to study underneath a microscope, but a social typhoon that changed society as a hole. I think they should show this movie in high schools. An influential movie that stops and makes you think. I thought that Alan Alda's portrayal of Dr. Robert Gallo was a great departure from his normal "MASH" fare, I found a new respect for Matthew Modine after seeing his portrayal in this movie. Swoozie Kurtz is only on screen for a brief time, yet she pulls you into her characters desperation, sadness, and anger, at being kept in the dark by her own Dr's. Her Dr's never tell she has AIDS. The stigma of AIDS still stands today. I hope to one day live in a world when AIDS has been eradicated.