Philadelphia (film)

Controversy

Bowers's family sued the writers and producers of the film. A year after Bowers's death in 1987, a producer, Scott Rudin, had interviewed the Bowers family and their lawyers, and, according to the family, promised compensation for the use of Bowers's story as a basis for a film. Family members asserted that 54 scenes in the movie were so similar to events in Bowers's life that some of them could only have come from their interviews. However, the defense said that Rudin had abandoned the project after hiring a writer and did not share any information the family had provided.^[7] The lawsuit was settled after five days of testimony. Although terms of the agreement were not released, the defendants did admit that "the film 'was inspired in part'" by Bowers' story.^[8]

Casting

Daniel Day-Lewis was offered the role of Andrew Beckett but turned it down, as he was already committed to In the Name of the Father.^{[9][10][11][12]} Andy García was briefly attached.^[9] Matthew Modine and William Baldwin were both considered.^[9]

Bill Murray, William Hurt, Robin Williams, Nick Nolte, and Tim Robbins were considered for the role of Joe Miller.^[9][13][14]

John Leguizamo was offered the role of Miguel Álvarez but turned it down to play Luigi in the film Super Mario Bros.^[15]

In a June 2022 interview with The New York Times, Tom Hanks said that the film would not be made with a straight actor in a gay role during that timeframe, stating audiences would not "accept the inauthenticity of a straight guy playing a gay guy". Hanks added that this was "rightly so", stating "One of the reasons people weren't afraid of that movie is that I was playing a gay man".^[16]

TriStar Pictures initially refused to insure actor Ron Vawter, who was openly HIV-positive at the time, insisting Jonathan Demme recast him. Demme refused, even changing the shooting schedule to accommodate Vawter after he was hospitalized for a month.^[17] Vawter died of complications from AIDS less than five months after the film's premiere. The American Film Institute notes that of some 53 AIDS-positive actors who appeared in the film, 43 (including Vawter) died within a year of its release.^[9]

Filming

The film was shot in-sequence (chronological order), as Hanks had to gradually lose weight over the course of the film, and to help the actor follow a clear emotional trajectory.^[9] Filming took place on-location in Philadelphia, with the courtroom scenes shot at City Hall. Other locations included the University of Pennsylvania library, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Spectrum arena.^[9]

Theatrical release

Philadelphia premiered in Los Angeles on December 14, 1993 and opened in limited release in four theaters on December 22, before expanding into wide release on January 14, 1994.^[9][18] The Los Angeles premiere was a benefit for AIDS Project Los Angeles, which netted $250,000 APLA Chair Steve Tisch told the Los Angeles Times.^[19]

The film was the first Hollywood big-budget, big-star film to tackle the issue of AIDS in the United States (following the television film And the Band Played On) and signaled a shift in Hollywood films toward more realistic depictions of people in the LGBT community.^[20][21] According to a Tom Hanks interview for the 1995 documentary The Celluloid Closet, he was cast in the role due to his non-intimidating screen persona in order to allow for audiences to sympathize with a gay, HIV-positive character. However, scenes showing more affection between him and Banderas were cut, including one with him and Banderas in bed together. The DVD edition, produced by Automat Picture, includes this scene;^[22] according to Jonathan Demme, the scene was cut for pacing.^[9]

Home media

Philadelphia was released on VHS on June 29, 1994^[23] and on DVD on September 10, 1997;^[24] it was later released as a limited edition Blu-ray through Twilight Time on May 14, 2013.^[24] In conjunction with the film's 25th anniversary, the film was released on 4K Blu-Ray on November 27, 2018.^[25]

The screenplay was also republished in a novelization by writer Christopher Davis in 1994.^[26]

Box office

Philadelphia was originally released on December 22, 1993, in a limited opening of only four theaters, and had a weekend gross of $143,433 with an average of $35,858 per theater. The film expanded its release on January 14, 1994, to 1,245 theaters and went to number one at the US box office, grossing $13.8 million over the 4-day Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend, averaging $11,098 per theater. The film stayed at number 1 the following weekend, earning another $8.8  million.

In its 14th weekend, the weekend after the Oscars, the film expanded to 888 theaters, and saw its gross increase by 70%, making $1.9  million and jumping from number 15 the previous weekend (when it made $1.1  million from 673 theaters), to return to the top ten ranking at number 8 that weekend.

Philadelphia eventually grossed $77.4 million in North America and $129.2 million overseas for a total of $206.7 million worldwide against a budget of $26 million, making it a significant box office success, and becoming the 12th highest-grossing film in the U.S. of 1993.^[1]

Critical response

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Philadelphia holds an approval rating of 81% based on 62 reviews, with an average rating of 6.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Philadelphia indulges in some unfortunate clichés in its quest to impart a meaningful message, but its stellar cast and sensitive direction are more than enough to compensate."^[27] Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 66 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[28] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.^[29]

In a contemporary review for the Chicago Sun-Times, Roger Ebert gave the film three and a half out of four stars and said that it is "quite a good film, on its own terms. And for moviegoers with an antipathy to AIDS but an enthusiasm for stars like Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington, it may help to broaden understanding of the disease. It's a ground-breaker like Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), the first major film about an interracial romance; it uses the chemistry of popular stars in a reliable genre to sidestep what looks like controversy."^[30]

Christopher Matthews from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer wrote "Jonathan Demme's long-awaited Philadelphia is so expertly acted, well-meaning and gutsy that you find yourself constantly pulling for it to be the definitive AIDS movie."^[31] James Berardinelli from ReelViews wrote "The story is timely and powerful, and the performances of Hanks and Washington assure that the characters will not immediately vanish into obscurity."^[31] Rita Kempley from The Washington Post wrote "It's less like a film by Demme than the best of Frank Capra. It is not just canny, corny and blatantly patriotic, but compassionate, compelling and emotionally devastating."^[31]

Year-end lists

• 8th – Dan Craft, The Pantagraph^[32]
• 8th – Joan Vadeboncoeur, Syracuse Herald American^[33]
• Honorable Mention – Dennis King, Tulsa World^[34]
• Honorable Mention – Bob Carlton, The Birmingham News^[35]

American Film Institute

• AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
  • Andrew Beckett – #49 (Heroes)^[44]
• AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies – #20^[45]

Track listing

The album was re-released in 2008 in France only as a CD/DVD combo pack with the film itself, containing the same track listing (catalogue number 88697 322052 under both Sony BMG Music Entertainment and Sony Classical labels).^{[citation needed]} The director originally contacted Neil Young to record a rock anthem to open the film, but after viewing a cut of it, Young was inspired to write a slow and quiet ballad instead. Demme decided Young's song would be more appropriate for the ending of the film, so he approached Bruce Springsteen to write an anthem. Springsteen viewed the opening montage, which at the time featured Neil Young's "Southern Man" as the temp track, but like Young he was inspired to create something quieter, in this case a beat-driven recording that became "Streets of Philadelphia." However, Springsteen's first contribution, "Tunnel of Love," was rejected by Demme.^[31] Even though Springsteen knew it was not what Demme originally wanted, he sent it to him anyway. When Demme and his wife were moved by the recording, she advised him that it was likely the direction he should be going and he agreed.^[49]

Certifications and sales