Philadelphia

19931993
PG-13PG-13
2h 5min

Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington in Philadelphia (1993)

Official Trailer

Play trailer2:59

When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.

See production, box office & company info

See production, box office & company info

Won 2 Oscars
- 20 wins & 23 nominations total

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Philadelphia

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Tom Hanks in Philadelphia (1993)

See production, box office, & company info

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Fearing it would compromise his career, lawyer Andrew Beckett hides his homosexuality and HIV status at a powerful Philadelphia law firm. But his secret is exposed when a colleague spots the illness's telltale lesions. Fired shortly afterwards, Beckett resolves to sue for discrimination, teaming up with Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), the only lawyer willing to help. In court, they face one of his ex-employers top litigators, Belinda Conine. —SAMUEL AXON

aids city name in title listening to opera lawyer gay 44 more

Taglines
- No one would take on his case... until one man was willing to take on the system.
Genre
- Drama
Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
- Rated PG-13 for some graphic language and thematic material
Parents guide

Trivia
Director Jonathan Demme wanted people not familiar with AIDS to see his film. He felt Bruce Springsteen would bring an audience that would not ordinarily see a movie about a gay man dying of AIDS. The movie and the song "The Streets of Philadelphia" did a great deal to increase AIDS awareness and take some of the stigma off the disease.

Goofs
The court stenographer doesn't seem to be actually typing, and the paper tape recording her keystrokes also doesn't ever advance.

Quotes
[Andrew transcendentally describes his favorite opera,slowly walking around his apartment, closing his eyes, looking up]
Andrew Beckett: Do you like opera?
Joe Miller: I'm not that familiar with opera.
Andrew Beckett: This is my favorite aria. This is Maria Callas. This is "Andrea Chenier", Umberto Giordano. This is Madeleine. She's saying how during the French Revolution, a mob set fire to her house, and her mother died... saving her. "Look, the place that cradled me is burning." Can you hear the heartache in her voice? Can you feel it, Joe? In come the strings, and it changes everything. The music fills with a hope, and that'll change again. Listen... listen..."I bring sorrow to those who love me." Oh, that single cello! "It was during this sorrow that love came to me." A voice filled with harmony. It says, "Live still, I am life. Heaven is in your eyes. Is everything around you just the blood and mud? I am divine. I am oblivion. I am the god... that comes down from the heavens, and makes of the Earth a heaven. I am love!... I am love."

Crazy credits
"This motion picture was inspired in part by Geoffrey Bowers' AIDS discrimination lawsuit, the courage and love of the Angius family and the struggles of the many others who, along with their loved ones, have experienced discrimination because of AIDS."

Alternate versions
The cable and network television versions of Philadelphia edit out portions of the pharmacy scene where a gay University of Pennsylvania law student attempts to pick up Joe Miller. These two versions end this scene with the law student responding "Do I?" to Joe Miller's question concerning whether Miller looked gay. In the theatrical, home video and premium channel versions, Joe Miller continues to berate the law student with bigot remarks regarding homosexuals.

Connections
Edited into Die Geschichte des erotischen Films (2004)

Soundtracks
Streets Of Philadelphia
Produced by Bruce Springsteen and Chuck Plotkin
Written and Performed by Bruce Springsteen
Courtesy of Columbia Records

Top review

9/10

Wonderful.

A touching movie, which has taken the place of "The Fugitive" (1993) as my favorite movie. Tom Hanks' performance was obviously worthy of his first Oscar for his portrayal of Andrew Beckett, a gay, AIDS-stricken man who was fired from his job for what he believes to be discrimination against his sexual orientation and disease. Denzel Washington, in his portrayal of Joe Miller, the ex-homophobic who decides to help Andrew win his case, is excellent, deserving of a Best Supporting Actor award. This story of AIDS, homophobia and homosexualism is first-rate. I highly recommend this to anybody looking for a great movie.

helpful•63

21

Bowie718
Aug 10, 1998

Budget
- $26,000,000 (estimated)
Gross US & Canada
- $77,446,440
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $143,433
- Dec 26, 1993
Gross worldwide
- $206,678,440

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 2h 5min
Sound mix
- SDDS
- Dolby
Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1

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