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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 Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians and numerous members of the medical community, many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal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!!!!
score 10/10
Desertman84 10 September 2012
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2671299/ |
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15-3-2021 06:05:06