And the Band Played On

For its depiction of the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, this film scores all stars. Using a compressed timeline, as far back as the first AIDS patient and as far forward as the fight over who discovered the virus, it does a great job of showing the myriad personalities who fought the war -- the doctors, the administrators, the activists and the gay community. The performances are almost uniformly affecting, even Matthew Modine as the head doctor especially as I've always considered him a mediocre actor. And they sure did pack the stars in -- Lily Tomlin, Ian McKellen, Richard Gere, heck, even Phil Collins as the owner of a gay bathhouse. But (you knew that was coming, right?), while the film touches your heart, it never touches your head. There's nothing stellar about the filmmaking. It's plenty adequate, but it never makes you sit up and take notice. I'm not certain that matters greatly, since the content of the film is more important than any style it might adhere to, but it did make for a less involving viewing. It's safe to say that most people are unaware to this day of how the AIDS battle has been fought and for that alone, it's worth watching.

year: 1993
length: 141 min.
rating: 3.0
IMDB link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106273/combined