Retro Film Review: And the Band Played On (1993)

(Note: Capsule version of the review is available here.)

Some may argue that movies made for cable television belong to the limbic world between commercial cinema and commercial television, which allows their authors to use all their creative energy without full limitations of those two industries. On one hand, cable movies are less restrained by censorship. On the other hand, they are less restrained by commercial considerations. So, it shouldn't surprise anyone that some of the best or most impressive pieces of American cinema in 1990s came from that domain. One of such examples is And the Band Played On, 1993 HBO docudrama directed by Roger Spotiswoode.

The movie is based on the book by Randy Shilts, gay activist who chronicled first years of AIDS epidemic. The author of this review had read excerpts from that book many years ago. Shilts, who died from AIDS himself in 1994, made quite compelling read, telling the true yet intriguing story about few unknown heroes - doctors, government officials, gay activists, scientists - who were trying to cope with new frightening disease. Although non-fiction, book was full of real, vivid characters and dramatic situations, and it looked like a good screen material .

Among many characters in the movie, chief protagonist is Dr. Don Francis (played by Matthew Modine), CDC expert for infectious diseases. At the beginning of the film we see him still troubled by his traumatic experiences during the Ebola epidemic in Central Africa 1976. Few years later, his team is faced with another, less visible, yet equally deadly medical mystery - young, healthy people, mostly homosexuals are having their immune systems destroyed. While the number of casualties slowly rises, Francis desperately tries to find the cause and suspects the unknown virus. In the meantime, gay activist Bill Kraus (played by Ian McKellen) tries to raise awareness about "Gay Related Immune Defficiency", both in the gay community and among U.S. government officials. But the odds are against him - in 1980 Ronald Reagan becomes President and new conservative administration is unlikely to help gay minority by financing desperately needed research. Research is even more hampered by the rivalry between Pasteur Institute in Paris and group of American scientists led by Dr. Robert Gallo (played by Alan Alda).

Although faithful to the book, and, as a consequence, almost two and half hours long, this film never becomes boring. Spottiswoode keeps the perfect pace, and the editing provides great drama. But the most important asset of this film are the actors - many of major Hollywood stars agreed to appear in cameos. They all work very hard and their roles are something to be remembered, even when they pop up only for a second. Even Matthew Modine, who can be rather irritating in other films is here impressive as a hero. However, the most impressive role is played by Ian McKellen as Bill Kraus, the most tragic figure in this sad epic. Musical score by Carter Burwell helps to set atmosphere and make this film distinctive from any average television product with the similar themes.

The movie, although very impressive, could have been better. The ending, with Elton John's song and long series of shots featuring most important AIDS victims, seemed somewhat out of place. The film had already told everything the viewer had to know, and this remainder at the end looked over-sentimental and too direct. But, despite that flaw, this is still very good piece of cinema. The audience recognised that - in, Croatia, for example, And the Band Played On was the only film ever to be released in cinema theatres after being in video distribution first. So far, this is the most informative and compelling film ever made about AIDS, and I hope that one day its reputation would surpass unjustifiably praised Philadelphia.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

(Note: The text in its original form was posted in Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on May 21st 1999)

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