Philadelphia

The last time I watched this was 20 years ago. It´is still one of the most powerfull movies, not only of its time, but in general. You can´t be nothing but impressed by Hanks performance for which he rightfully got an Oscar.
I dare say this is the kind of movie Hollywood has forgotten how to do. Original content, great actors and sending a massage not by ramming it through your skull but by telling a compassionate story.

Ugh, so good, and the song at the end just kills me every time.

Tom Hanks in one of his life roles, where he showed his talent for drama, not just comedy. The film's subject matter has soared to the shelf of classics that tried to fight the world around us.

> "We're standing here in Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, the birthplace of freedom, where the founding fathers authored the Declaration of Independence, and I don't recall that glorious document saying anything about all straight men are created equal. I believe it says all men are created equal."

This movie broke me by the end. It starts off pretty slow and halfway through I was wondering if it was going to be a typical David vs Goliath case but it really does hone in on people just wanting to be treated like humans. This had great performances all around.

At first, I thought it was based on a true story, and the final scene feels like real footage of the character’s prototype.

Simple and profound, calm as an ancient well. Apart from a moment in the courtroom where the defendant’s lawyer speaks, and a scene where two people share a moment of connection by the fire with music playing in the background, the film doesn’t rely on dramatic editing. It’s more like a documentary, faithfully recreating the scene.

The two protagonists, in terms of skin color and sexual orientation, each have their advantages but also face challenges. This setup gives their later empathy and reconciliation a sense of legitimacy.

The film carries a strong Enlightenment spirit. The Enlightenment believes that cultivated reason can overcome innate passions and that the progress of ideas can promote reconciliation between different social groups. The influence of this film and the trends in later societal development prove its correctness.

It works both regarding the instructional and the emotional content. There are however sections which are quite boring and redundant, sign that the meaning and the characters interpretation is likely much superior than the actual script.

This is a fairly standard courtroom drama elevated by brilliant performances by the two main leads (Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington) and the important subject matter. I don't think it's as groundbreaking as To Kill a Mockingbird but, from memory, it opened the doors for a more honest public conversation about HIV and AIDS in the UK. (From the comments in the publicity material, the was true for the US as well.)
The whole film is extremely well handled by Jonathan Demme, with typically engaging conversations due to the extreme close-ups and the actors looking directly into the camera and at the viewer, and the fine supporting cast which is notable for the high number of gay men, is as notable as the Oscar-nominated and Oscar-winning performances from the leads.

Bruce Springsteen's theme song – Streets of Philadelphia – is also one of the most thought-provoking and lyrically engaging songs recorded for any film, but praise must go to Neil Young for his eulogy-like song which plays over the home movies at the end.

Very good. I did think I'd enjoy 'Philadelphia' much more though, solely based on who appears on the poster.

The performances of Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington are impressive enough, though I'd say they have done greater in other productions. The story they portray here is a sizeable one and it is well told, it certainly makes you feel uncomfortable in parts and saddened in many others.

I do feel like the pacing could've been better, a shorter run time perhaps would've helped. Overall, if I'm honest, my interest in this wasn't all that strong throughout, I couldn't shake the feeling of wanting something more from it. I can still acknowledge it's objective quality, of course.

A heart-tugger from the darkest days of the AIDS epidemic and public disdain for the gay community. It holds our hand a bit more than is really necessary, and tirelessly beats us over the head with its point, but it feels like that sort of treatment was somewhat necessary for such a controversial issue in the early '90s.

Tom Hanks is revelatory in the lead role, balancing his usual bubbling vat of character with a potent, hard-edged determination to fight for the justice he's due. Not to harp on the morality of the times too much, but I don't think it can be understated how important this casting was, both for the film and its lead actor. The level of good-natured, approachable personality that Hanks wears on his chest is crucial to humanizing the character, making him more than just the sick, faceless member of an alien culture. That we'd laughed with him so many times already makes it all the more powerful to see him near death, struggling to remain upright in bed as the disease ravages his body.

Denzel Washington fails to keep pace as his moderately scummy, though well-spoken lawyer, an awkward personification of the ugly, ignorant target audience, but he nails a few convincing courtroom speeches and has his come-to-Jesus moment, which is all we really need from the role. It can get clunky at times, but _Philadelphia_'s message remains potent and profound, even amidst the vastly-shifted modern landscape.

An exceptional movie with good perfomances from both Tom and Danzel.. 7.6/10