Roger Spottiswoode - And the Band Played On (1993)

A threat no one dared face. A word no one wanted to speak. A fight for many, fought by few. Story of the discovery of the AIDS virus. From the early days in 1978 when numerous San Francisco gays began dying from unknown causes, to the identification of the HIV virus. Impactante drama sobre la aparición del sida en los Estados Unidos, a través del retrato de la lucha de unos pocos, por una causa que atañe a todos, acerca de una amenaza contra la que nadie se quiere enfrentar sobre una enfermedad al principio innombrable. La batalla de los pioneros contra la sociedad y la burocracia por encontrar una cura a la "plaga del siglo XX". Realizada para la televisión por cable.



In a prologue set in 1976, American epidemiologist Don Francis arrives in a village on the banks of the Ebola River in the Congo and discovers many of the residents and the doctor working with them have died from a mysterious illness later identified as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It is his first exposure to such an epidemic, and the images of the dead he helps cremate will haunt him when he later becomes involved with HIV and AIDS research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.



In 1981, Francis becomes aware of a growing number of deaths from unexplained sources among gay men in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, and is prompted to begin an in-depth investigation of the possible causes. Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians and numerous members of the medical community—many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal agendas—and gay leaders, some of whom—like Bill Kraus—support him, while others express resentment at what they see as unwanted interference in their lifestyles, especially his attempts to close the local bathhouses. While Francis pursues his theory that AIDS is caused by a sexually transmitted virus on the model of feline leukemia, he finds his efforts are stonewalled by, among others, the CDC, which is loath to prove the disease is transmitted through blood, and competing French and American scientists, particularly Dr. Robert Gallo, who squabble about who should receive credit for discovering the virus. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs rapidly.




And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.

The film premiered at the Montreal Film Festival before being broadcast by HBO on September 11, 1993. It later was released theatrically in the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Germany, Argentina, Austria, Italy, Sweden, the Netherlands, France, Denmark, and Australia.



In his review in Variety, Tony Scott said, "If there are lapses, director Spottiswoode's engrossing, powerful work still accomplishes its mission: Shilts' book, with all its shock, sorrow and anger, has been transferred decisively to the screen."
Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly graded the film B+ and called it an "intriguing, sometimes awkward, always earnest combination of docudrama, medical melodrama, and mystery story . . . The stars lend warmth to a movie necessarily preoccupied with cold research and politics, and they lend prestige: The movie must be important, since actors of this stature agreed to appear. The result of the stars' generosity, however, works against the movie by halting the flow of the drama every time a familiar face pops up on screen . . . The emotions and agony involved in this subject give Band an irresistible power, yet the movie's rhythm is choppy and the dialogue frequently stiff and clichéd. The best compliment one can pay this TV movie is to say that unlike so many fact-based films, it does not exploit or diminish the tragedy of its subject."
Time Out New York says, "So keen were the makers of this adaptation of Randy Shilts' best-seller to bombard us with the facts and figures of the history of AIDS that they forgot to offer a properly dramatic human framework to make us care fully about the characters . . . The film [is] a disjointed, clichéd narrative."
Channel 4 says the film "is stifled by good intentions and a distractingly generous cast of stars in leads and cameos."
Film review website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 100% "Fresh" rating.




La película, de estructura coral, va desde el rastreo del primer paciente infectado hasta la rivalidad y la ambición de los médicos por erigirse como los pioneros en el descubrimiento, adentrándose en los pormenores de un mal que cambió las relaciones personales de las últimas décadas del siglo XX. Con un elenco multiestelar, la producción aborda el tema de manera fresca, sin melodramatismos.

"Excelente película que más o menos fielmente va contando como sucedió el descubrimiento del virus del Sida en forma casi simultánea en Francia y EEUU, mientras el virus arrasaba con los pacientes. Interesante descripción del trabajo que realizó el centro de control de enfermedades allá en el país del norte. Todos los avatares de un pequeño grupo de médicos más interesados en los pacientes que en la fama, los galardones, el dinero. Después se descubriría que el virus no respeta edad, condición sexual, religión, posición social ni nada. Muy interesante para aquellos a quienes el tema les resulte relevante."
brynhild54, filmaffinity


Script/Guión: Arnold Schulman (Novel: Randy Shilts)
Music/Música: Carter Burwell
Cinematpgraphy/Fotografía: Paul Elliott
Cast/Reparto: Matthew Modine, Alan Alda, Richard Gere, Phil Collins, Patrick Bauchau, David Dukes, Anjelica Huston, Steve Martin, Swoosie Kurtz, Richard Jenkins, Glenne Headley, Ian McKellen, Lily Tomlin, Nathalie Baye, Charles Martin Smith, Laura Innes