The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic, and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic, and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.The story of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic, and the political infighting of the scientific community hampering the early fight with it.
- Won 3 Primetime Emmys
- 11 wins & 23 nominations total
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- Writers
- All cast & crew
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Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Richard Gere accepted a small role, he broke taboos about the subject, and major movie stars taking small parts in television productions. Subsequently, Steve Martin, Alan Alda, Phil Collins, and Anjelica Huston were willing to appear.
- GoofsThe movie presents January 4, 1983 as the date when the term AIDS was created in a proposition in the CDC, in Atlanta. The real meeting where the term was developed was July 27, 1982, and the reunion took place in Washington. (Source: Time Magazine)
- Quotes
Blood Bank executive: Is the CDC seriously suggesting that the blood industry spends $100M a year to use the test for the wrong disease because we have a handful of transfusion fatalities and eight dead hemophiliacs?
Dr. Don Francis: How many dead hemophiliacs do you need? How many people have to die to make it cost effecient for you people to do something about it? A hundred? A thousand? Give us a number so we won't annoy you again until the amount of money you begin spending on lawsuits make it more profitable for you to save people than to kill them.
- Alternate versionsIn 1999, the end credit scrolls were rewritten to show updated AIDS statistics.
A vivid, well-acted tracing of the history of AIDS from the point of view of epidemiology. That sounds boring, but just the opposite. The intense pressure on the early researchers is part of the drama. And the injustice of the politics getting in the way is important. Most of all, of course, is the terrible suffering of the victims, which is a small but key part of the story.
All of this is really well done, no fat to the story, moving along and keeping the progression of events clear. I resisted watching this for a long time thinking it would dry, or that the story is well known and would offer no surprises, but I enjoyed it all.
The director, Canadian Roger Spottiswoode, has done nothing else on this impressive scale. Even working with the stellar cast (many famous actors with small roles, and a couple, like Alan Alda, more prominent) requires a kind of juggling and intelligence that's great to watch. Is the movie perfect? In a way, yes, given the choice of subject matter.
- secondtake
- Nov 14, 2015
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- $8,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime2 hours 21 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1