And the Band Played On
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Movie Reviews of And the Band Played On
Movie Review: For those who dared to make a difference.....
Summary: 5 Stars
First off, this is one very real and very sobering story of maybe the biggest plague we may see for a long time to come (AIDS)and how it affects so many people in so many ways. The story evokes a myriad of emotions in you in the way that the plot is developed and how the actors bring it to life.This is also a story of how our govenment and other high scale institutions decided to avoid what they believed to be "a sensitive issue" that did not deserve the importance it actually needed. The bureaucracy, by not acting in an intelligent and timely matter, delayed precious time and funds needed to research this disease and help those with AIDS that were literally crying out for support.
Enter Matthew Modine as the CDC researcher Don Francis who dared to stand up to the system only to have that system censor him, hamper his research and continually quell the urgency of his mission. On the other hand, we have Alan Alda playing another doctor who, seemingly on a mission to also help fight AIDS, is only out for glory and does more to hurt the fight than help it. This is really sad when you consider such an esteemed doctor could have given so much but did not see the bigger picture....the plight of the many outweighs the need for this one doctor to glorify himself.
The cast in this movie is absolutely stellar and provides for such a diverse aura of talent that shines throughout. How can you go wrong with Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Richard Gere, Steve Martin, Angelica Huston and Lilly Tomlin to name just a few?
To finish off, the movie closes with a very heart wrenching picture montage of famous celebrities who have died of AIDS over the years. This montage is simultaneously done with an incredible Elton John song in the background, "The Last Song", that will completely floor you. I almost broke down during this part of the movie. Those who have seen the movie will know exactly what I mean. A very impressive and excellent movie worth watching time and again.
Movie Review: A good movie
Summary: 5 Stars
The movie-"And the band played one" is excellant in cataloging the first few years of AIDS epidemic breakout. Even though it is not a book, the movie gives enough details to make people understand the events and stories that were taking place. Dr.Don Francis is the hero of the movie, when I first saw the movie I was awstruck by the efforts and his zeal to save the humanity against AIDS. But after watching it again, I do want to change my opinion on him. People who are in this type of GOVT service are mere facilitators who at best can bring out all the details of disease outbreak and coax and cajole people into right directions. Another point which makes Francis's character weak is his jumping the gun and wanting to close the bath houses,what for? I personally think that this was the group which was the most vulnerable(Gay men) and here they had this group readily available in the bath houses! shouldn't they have started with them, explaining about the dangers of multiple partners and to somehow excercise restraint till more could be understood about the disease. Later at the end of the movie,he quotes an exhorbitant amount for educating the public and then leaves when his budget is not approved.He didn't think of educating the population when they were scared most. The CDC's boss in fact comes across as a level head and balanced person. So I think that people who want to be in job like Dr.Francis must learn and act not to become like him, "A MADE MARTYR".Movie Review: Where were you twenty years ago?
Summary: 5 Stars
I never made it all the way through Randy Shilts's book so I won't presume to know whether this film did right by Mr. Shilts. Simply put, this is great drama. The patronizing statements about made-for-tv movies don't apply here. The drama, sadly, comes from the real events that are depicted--the collective denial about the reality of AIDS as that disease first began appearing in the gay and Haitian communities, the government's (read "Ronald Reagan's") persistent indifference, the professional jealousy within the medical communities vying to be the first to identify the agent (the virus) that causes AIDS, and how human beings resist having their preconceived notions about life challenged (as when a group of gay activists insists on keeping gay bath houses open even as it became apparent that AIDS was spread through sexual contact). This movie really took me back twenty years to when I first read a short article buried somewhere in the middle of the New York Times about a gay-related cancer little realizing how much my life would change from that point onward.The performances across the board are great. I was especially impressed by Matthew Modine (I've liked him since "Birdy" and I like to see him get meaty roles as here), Alan Alda (not the likable mensch from MASH), Ian McClellan, B.D. Wong, and Phil Collins (who knew?).
Aside from some cast biographies this DVD has no other "extras". Nor does it need any.
Movie Review: Important message and strong performances
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie was excellent. I have a degree in public health so this was a smash hit to me. You can gain appreciation for it on many levels.
I found the investigating of HIV and the disease course tracking to be interesting. Anyone interested in politics or history would love this movie. Anyone who has been touched by AIDS/HIV themselves or in knowing someone who suffered from the disease will gain knowledge and insight from this. Anyone who is interested in government scandals or foreign relations would be drawn to the story. And mostly, anyone who can appreciate human interaction and flaws and how our sexuality is tied or not tied to our identity would glean a lot from this.
The message and information is so powerful. Of course as anything delivered from Hollywood there are slight exaggerations to the story but for the most part it accurately chronicles the struggles both politically and scientifically that plagued the on-set on AIDS/HIV disease spread. The same frustrations can speak for many issues and so this is not only a piece dealing with the hard topic of AIDS but, since science doesnt often make it into Hollywood, it is representative of many struggles.
Matthew Modine and Lily Tomlin are wonderful!
Movie Review: Mesmerizing evidence that demands a verdict.
Summary: 5 Stars
From the very first time I sat through this movie, my awareness of AIDS versus politics, and the gay rights movement versus gay peoples' self-examination into their personal activities and morals, increased 10 fold. The various band members portrayed -- "fast lane" homosexuals, the bathhouse owners, the San Francisco Health Department, Blood bank operators, Homosexual Rights Groups, and the Media, Public Health Authorities, and the Reagan Administration -- show a stunning portrayal of the responsibility we all share in the face of a crises that ultimately affects us all on one level or another. Though not as thorough as the book upon which the fact-based movie is based (And the Band Played On: Politics, People and the AIDS Epidemic; By Randy Shilts, St. Martin's Press), this made-for-cable film poignantly testifies to those few who fought desperately to get the band's attention and those who died horribly while it continued to play.
The movie proves that the issue does not necessarily surround, (in Shilts's paraphrase), "society's responsibility to find the medical technology to prevent all sexually transmitted diseases rather than the gay community's responsibility to keep sexuality in line with what medical technology can cure."