Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9938 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-07-10
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.77:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Danish, English, German, Greek, Hindi, Turkish
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 95 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
The late director Norman Rene and writer Craig Lucas made a pretty fine creative team on the stage and in the movies, and this 1990 drama about the evolving impact of AIDS on gay New Yorkers is their best cinematic achievement. The ensemble story follows the lives of nine or so characters as word of the so-called "gay cancer" eventually becomes a real force, killing several of them as the years go by. The film works well on a number of levels, not least of which is the enviable closeness of the characters, the script's wit, the bittersweet experience of loss, and a celebratory attitude at the end mixing wisdom with defiance. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
The story of a group of friends and the changes that affect their world beginning from the day in 1981 when the first New York Times article mentioned the outbreak of a 'rare cancer' in the gay community, known today as AIDS.

Customer Reviews

Beautiful, moving film
This is a low budget film, ($1.5 million), that has a strong and moving story line played by a great cast. This is a film that will make you cry. The story is set against the backdrop of America at the time when HIV and Aids started to become noticed. We follow a group of friends and lovers through the next decade or so and watch with heartache as several of them succumb to HIV and Aids. This film is so much more than what I can put into words here. If your looking for a film that will move you, then this is it.

Remember the time before AIDS arrived?
I love this film so much. It follows the lives of several gay men and the impact that AIDS has on them all.

The film opens with the main characters waking up on 3 July 1981 and discovering the article in the New York Times which reports of a 'Rare Cancer found in Homosexuals'. This is against the backdrop of the 4th of July holiday and some of the cast partying on Fire Island in an age of what now seems complete inocence.

Each 'chapter' in the film picks the events from a random day in the following years until 1989. The intervening years have seen illness, the death of several characters and cynicism overwhelming the characters.

This is a strong ensemble cast. Its a wonderful film which was produced on a very small budget and managed to overcome problems in distribution.

I think this and 'And the Band Played On' are very good complimentary pieces to watch side by side.

A Must See. A Great Movie At A Bargain Price!
A wonderful movie. Heart wrenching and beautiful. Watch this movie and also, And The Band Played On. You won't regret it.