And the Band Played On
Tags: tragedy, historical, queer

Plot synopsis:
In a prologue set in 1976, American epidemiologist Don Francis arrives in a village on the banks of the Ebola River in Zaire and discovers many of the residents and the doctor working with them have died from a mysterious illness later identified as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It is his first exposure to such an epidemic, and the images of the dead he helps cremate will haunt him when he later becomes involved with HIV/AIDS research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 1981, 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 Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians, numerous members of the medical community (many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal agendas), and gay activists. Of the latter, some such as Bill Kraus support him, while others express resentment at what they see as unwanted interference in their lifestyles, especially in his attempts to close the local bathhouses. One day, when exercising at a local gym, Kraus notices a spot at the base of his leg, worrying that it might be Kaposi's sarcoma. After a series of blood tests, Kraus is horrified that his worst fears have been confirmed when he learns that he has been diagnosed with AIDS. 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 the CDC, which is unwilling to prove the disease is transmitted through blood, and competing French and American scientists, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo. These medical researchers squabble about who should receive credit for discovering the virus. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs rapidly.

Review: I thought that Sir Ian McKellan and Richard Gere represented respectfully the signs of strength and fear.I was also disheartened to learn that throughout this tragedy, there were individuals who might have been more concerned with helping and protecting their own reputation and agenda as well as accepting the credit for their work in breaking down point by point the disease known as AIDS.
The movie gave a great time-line of the virus.It is so terrifying to think AIDS has actually been around since probably 1959 when a blood sample from a man from the Congo had died of a mysterious illness, and tests run on the blood sample today showed he did indeed have AIDS.
I lived in San Francisco when the epidemic began and had a first hand view of the fear, paranoia, and grief.The movie brings back memories of worrying about my gay child and many of my friends.
I view it more these days since I've had many friends die of "red tape" of AIDS.According to this film based in Randy's book, what bothers me the most was the opportunities that existed by several people to catch this disease at various stages and it just wasn't done.
However, it is sequenced well, and acted so well, that you sit there in astonishment that this could happen in a world full of otherwise brilliant people.I don't know what it will take to remove political considerations from life-and-death struggles...How about we work at saving lives, and worry about who gets credit later?
The purpose of the movie was precisely to show how the AIDS epidemics reached the stages that it did before anything was done, and how the Doctors, researchers and even the federal government and the CDC contributed as much to the progression of the disease as they did to discovering it.
A real-life story about the discovery and destructive nature of AIDS, And the Band Played On is a gripping drama that not only takes you to the front line and behind the scenes of the HIV virus.
And the band played is really the history of how the Aids Virus managed to spread throughout the world like few illnesses have.
He dies from the disease, but you get a real sense of his tragedy and it is easy to love this character.Lilly Tomlin, B.D. Wong, Glenne Headley and Steve Martin all play smaller roles and it always seems interesting to me that certain actors and actresses seem to appear together time and again.
American doctors from the under-funded Center for Disease Control scramble to figure out the origin of--and the causes behind--the alarming rate of homosexual male deaths in the early 1980s; as a fatal strain of pneumonia and hepatitis B cases begin appearing, as Reagan-era Washington apparently vetoes the mysterious disease as non-newsworthy, and as the gay community (shown as not one radically adept at helping their own cause) label the early cases as products of the Gay Cancer, the CDC battles with the Blood Industry in coming up with an inexpensive way of filtering out contaminated blood.
Alan Alda positively revels in the opportunity to play sniveling medical scientist Dr. Robert Gallo, who felt usurped when French scientists initially gained prestige for isolating the virus; as Dr. Mary Guinan, Glenne Headly does some of the best work of her career (while interviewing a sexually promiscuous airline steward, one of the earliest men to fall prey to the disease, Headly is remarkably natural and charming); and Saul Rubinek as Dr. Curran, who initiates the investigation and helps sort out all the jargon, is in masterful form.
AND THE BAND PLAYED ON (MADE FOR CABLE TV/HBO-1993) ***1/2 Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Charles Martin Smith, Richard Masur, Saul Rubinek, Richard Gere, Ian McKellen, Anjelica Huston, Swoosie Kurtz, Steve Martin, Phil Collins.
I can't help wonder what personal agendas are being followed when a prominent 'real-life' scientist like Dr. Robert Gallo (Alan Alda) is portrayed in such a shallow way.
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.
The movie star Matthew Modine and Alan Alda in main roles, and brilliant cameo/guest star appearances by Steve Martin, Richard Gere, Anjelica Houston and Phil Collins, among others, Worth taking a look at.
Cameos And Political Correctness Get In The Way. This is a movie based upon the late Randy Shilts book AND THE BAND PLAYED ON , a book that I have never read but know has been critically acclaimed and praised for its readability since it is very similar in structure to a detective novel as scientists try to track down and identify a virus that is killing gay men .
If the story about the nationalistic rivalries and plain old fashioned egotism ( A Nobel prize to the first person to identify this illness is a certainty here ) of the scientific community had been the main focus this would have been superb drama but ironically because of a need to make the drama more human we're introduced to far too many characters so that the story soon descends into mawkish melodrama and yes I did notice something of an agenda in here Take the bath house sequences for example where gay men congregate for casual sex and a character points out to Dr Harold Jaffe ( In reality it's being pointed out to a mainstream audience ) about how a hetrosexual equivalent would be somewhere a man would be able to meet lots of beautiful women for meaningless but great sex .
It should be pointed out that Phil Collins is laughable in the role of Papasano Phil Collins isn't the only inapprotiate cameo in this television movie , the whole TVM drowns in them , it's even more distracting than THE LONGEST DAY with big name or familiar face actor appearing in the shortest scenes: Alan Alda , Richard Gere , Anjelica Houston , Steve Martin , Ian Mckellan and Saul Rubinek to name but some all make appearances which seems more like a parade of Hollywood liberals and makes you realise that you're watching a TVM .
Like the story the familiar faces should have only been confined to the scientists working on the case rather have appear in pointless cameos AND THE BAND PLAYED ON ends with a poignant epilogue made even more poignant when one of those featured is Elisabeth Glaser who died on December the 3rd 1994 , the day after this TVM received its British network premier.
That it became what it is today is also the result of society's and physicians' disbelief.The movie is great in portraying the scientific research in a way laymen can understand, and at the same time the struggle real people went through.
At the same time, it correctly points out that AIDS has a long incubation period - meaning that people had been transmitting HIV to each other for years before patients even turned up with symptoms.
Of course, the film and the book from which it was extrapolated could be criticized as an over-simplified exercise in finger-pointing directed towards everybody from sexually promiscuous gay men to Ronald Reagan to callous blood banks to glory-hungry medical researchers.
Unfortunately it came out in the same year as the Tom Hanks vehicle, Philadelphia, which overshadowed any other film on the same subject, but arguably this film is also not only more important, but I would suggest more informative and ultimately more tragic and far more moving than the sentimental yet worthy Hanks/Washington effort.At the time with its chronological depiction of the unfolding of the AIDS crisis in America in the early 1980s this film received Luke warm reviews and a limited cinema release in the UK in 1993, but following the death of my cousin in 1991, I was keen to see it, and made the effort.
The story switches successfully between the small group of Doctors at the CDC working to combat the virus from day one in appalling conditions with little or no help from an uncaring Reagen era Adminstration who showed disgusting indifference at the events that were unfolding before them - and the group of Gay Activists that began to form in San Francisco who were having their own troubles convincing the gay community to unite under one banner against a disease that no one wanted to admit might be advancing rapidly in their own community through promiscuity.
The subplot involving Doctor Gallo (Alan Alda) who tried to sideline the French and claim discovery of the virus gives real insight into the disgusting level of politics that went on even among health professionals during this critical time.This is a movie that every teenager in every school should be made to see, not only for the benefit of their own sexual health, but to honour those like Bobbi Campbell (Played by the brilliant Donal Logue) who stood up to be counted in their battle against the virus.
It gives a brilliant overview of what happened back in the 1980s and the film has aged well and still stands up today, making it one of the most important films about the AIDS virus ever made.Prehaps it is time for a bigger budget mini-series which could cover the Eastern Coast perspective of the book, so as to not repeat all the same characters and material.For anyone with the slightest interest in this subject, this film is a must watch but I would go one stage further and say, that it is a film everyone should see in their life time, even if its not going to be the easiest two hours of your life..
And the Band Played On thought me the history of HIV and AIDS and how important it is to know the facts.
There is a popular urban myth which goes along the lines that HIV/AIDS is a gay disease, that heterosexuality provides people with immunity from infection.
This made for HBO movie is a little heavy handed and hard to stomach at times; but if you've ever known anyone with AIDS, or lost someone to this terrible disease, then you will probably share my feelings that this film was long overdue and very important.
This is a HBO movie about the first few years of the AIDS epidemic in America.
Matthew Modine as Dr. Don Francis is the nominal star, but also appearing are Alan Alda, Phil Collins, Bud Cort, Richard Gere, Glenne Headly, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Ian McKellen, and Lily Tomlin, to name a few.Maybe they felt that they had to make this movie do to the fact that gays were portrayed so negatively in movies for so many years (see "The Celluloid Closet").
Although now a dozen years old, it stands as an authoritative visual history of the early period of the health crisis.Roger Spottiswoode's direction is commendably consistent in style, especially considering its large cast, with star cameos that are smoothly integrated, never calling undue attention to themselves.We gain an understanding of personal, group, professional perspectives as events unfold themselves in a unique socio-political-medical situation that is history-making."And the Band Played On" is a made-for-TV movie that's done with great care, taking its multi-leveled subject and treating it clearly from all aspects.
It follows Matthew Modine as a doctor trying to find a cure for it in the face of homophobia and government bureaucracy.It's very well-done, has a great cast (except for Alan Alda who's really bad) and does a very good job of adapting a difficult book...but it lacks any real power.
"And the Band Played On" vibrantly illustrated the original outbreak of HIV and AIDS across the world, with an A-list cast and great storyline depiction of a true historical event that significantly affected the world in the 1980s.
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.
A determined but very small group of scientists are trying to find out, but are faced with strong opposition from the homosexual community, the medical community, the scientific community, the government and from religious leaders such as Jerry Falwell who is shown in the film.What I personally found most interesting is that, according to this movie, the HIV Virus was not discovered by Dr. Robert Gallo at all.
This was a very enjoyable film, and much better than you would expect a TV movie to be with great acting from a number of good character actors and top performers.
The good part of the movie is that it shows part of the trouble that AIDS researchers had in the early stages of identifying and treating the disease, and that it was initially considered strictly a gay disease, therefore, in-depth work and effort on finding a cause and cure was inconsequential within the bureaucratic infrastructure and the heads of the blood supply, which is the main reason AIDS has become so widespread today.But the basic premise presented by the author of the film, that AIDS was introduced in the USA by one man, "Patient #1" (the part of Gaetan Dugas), is not only a Typhoid-Mary-inspired myth, it's also ridiculous.
It's ironic that Dr. Don Francis, played by Matthew Modine, actually was a part of the S.F. vaccine operations at that time.By the way, I'm not gay, so don't think this is a diatribe by a person sympathetic to homosexuality.
Matthew Modine was intriguing as Don Francis, as HBO shows the struggle that one man put up for the safety of the country.The story will break your heart as it shows how Don Francis and the CDC fight to show the country the danger of the then unknown virus, AIDS.It's a positively gripping movie, even if it had a little "tinkering".
I lived and worked in Atlanta and have been to the CDC, and I can assure you no Georgians talk like the characters in this movie (mostly badly cast New York actors, with people like Richard Gere and Steve Martin brought in to do cameos).
An all star cast headed by Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Ian McKellen, Lily Tomlin, Glenne Headly, Richard Masur and Saul Rubinek along with several star cameos give outstanding performances in this story about the rise and investigation of a formerly unnamed virus that was killing off people who were homosexuals.
At the same time, it catches the atmosphere of the 1980s, the paranoia, the general fear and confusion that marked the first appearance of AIDS.There have been arguments whether the movie is too "pro"- or "anti-homosexuals" but I tend to think that it handles the story pretty neutral and hence can be enjoyed by people who themselves are neutral on the issue.
There's often a fine chemistry among the cast, especially the research team around Don Francis (Matthew Modine) – on other times, the chemistry seems forced, not quiet natural (for example, we are never explained why there should be such a deep bond between Francis and Bill Kraus (Ian McKellen)).In essence, though many criticisms are true – especially that too many story lines are cramped into a mere two hours (the rather lengthy book by Randy Shilts would probably have been better served by a mini-series) and that the film is a virtual star-sighting tour (some of the cameos lasting merely a few seconds) – it doesn't make it a bad movie.
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.
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!!!!.
And the Band Played On. Document of the tragic beginnings of AIDS from when it was considered "gay cancer" and started to spread throughout the gay community (it was reputed to be especially set off in bathhouses where sexual transmission between numerous partners was the norm) killing at an alarming rate but not recognized by our government or provided proper funding for scientific research, even though it was clearly an epidemic deserving of attention.
There's an emphasis on the frustrations of those working at the CDC in Atlanta (Matthew Modine, Saul Rubinek, Glenn Headly) and how a French lab is at odds with a renowned scientist's (Alan Alda; this actor is always good at playing snobbish, condescending assholes with a superiority complex) over who can "name" the AIDS virus as their own discovery (although you wouldn't think they were rivals if Alda's Dr. Gallo's "we are all getting along swell" behavior in front of the media was any indication).
I began watching this movie not knowing if this would be a fiction drama or a documentary involving everything that happened with AIDS in the nineties.
This movie tells a remarkable story about the beginnings of the war on AIDS.