Not Quite Epic, But Will Make You Think
Added 8/9/2009
Over the last few years, I have been churning my way through the films of Denzel Washington. I love the intensity and passion he brings to his roles, plus the fact that, "Manchurian Candidate" aside, he hasn't really been in any bad films. For whatever reason, I had not yet seen "Philadelphia", which is hailed by film critics and garnered Tom Hanks a Best Actor academy award in 1992. After viewing, I found it to be not as epic as some would have me believe, but still an interesting two hours nonetheless.
The basic plot of the film is the story of two lawyers (Denzel and Hanks). Hanks' character contracts AIDS and enlists the help of "Washington" to help him file a discrimination lawsuit against the company that fired him (supposedly due to the disease). Along the way, the plot actually morphs to become more of a "panel discussion" on the treatment/perception of gay people in the United States.
In dealing with such a sensitive topic, the film is able to lay out its message without sounding too crass or too offensive to either side. Basically, director Jonathan Demme knows that viewers will obviously have pre-determined attitudes about the issue before viewing the film, and thus doesn't try to sway any perceptions. Instead, through the legal, court-room setting, he just invites both sides to think about the issues at hand and consider possible scenarios. I liken it to a more recent Denzel Washington film entitled "The Great Debaters", which discussed the issue of the Jim Crow south through a high school debate team. Some pretty meaty issues were thrown around, but under the guise of "debate" the viewers don't really feel any compulsion to take a side, instead just being privy to the information. A similar factor is what I believe is the true brilliance of Demme's film...he treats the viewers like a jury and allows us to come to our own conclusion about the issues he is discussing.
Thus, unless you have incredibly strong feelings one way or the other about the issue of gay rights (then the film is bound to upset in its generalization of the topic), I would recommend this film to pretty much anyone. While it may not live up to critical hype (likely due to the fact that critics are usually bonkers over artsy or heavy-themed films), it will give you some things to think about.
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Philadelphia
Added 5/25/2009
This is one of my favorite Tom Hanks films. The seller was a third party seller through amazon. My movie arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I would purchase from them again.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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philadelphia
Added 4/24/2009
i love tom hanks, I have a few of his movies. he's a very good actor. I n this movie they play a homosexual with antonio banderas my two favorite
actors. At the end of the movie I CRIED because it was sad . he was dieing .it was good
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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good condition
Added 1/13/2009
This was my first used purchase and i was extremely satisfied with the condition i recieved my item!
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Valuable Life Lessons Can Be Learned
Added 12/31/2008
When I first had the chance to preview a downloadable Flash Video version of "Philadelphia", I, like many other viewers and listeners, realize that a few valuable life lessons can be learned, especially when watching and listening to this film for the first time.
1. Discrimination against people because of a disability, or even just discriminating against people in general, under any circumstances, is not OK, especially name Calling. For centuries, people have been discriminated against because of their religion, age group, sexuality, customs, skin color, cultural upbringing, intelligence level, or even because they have a disability or a disease.
For example, I remember a time when I was living at Sheldon Oaks Apartments in Eugene, Oregon, which is like an Assisted Living Facility, more like a retirement home, for people who are 55 and older. When I was living there, I was surrounded by folks who thought that I may have been one of their granddaughters. They were thinking, "What's this 'Young Lady' in their twenties doing in our facility?" Little did they know that I'm a 'young woman', not a 'Young Lady'. (I hate the term 'Young Lady' with a passion, and I would never address any females in that manner. I am a young woman who is totally blind, and has Autism Spectrum Disorder, which by the way is the full name of the disability. Those older folks consider people like me with Autism Spectrum Disorder to be nonverbal, unintelligent, good-for-nothing citizens. I happen to be one of those with Autism Spectrum Disorder who is extremely high-functioning, with an advanced level of intelligence, and I know full well that it's not OK to call females "Lady" or "Young Lady", according to the laws of morality. Calling people names that offend them is not OK!
2. People can come up with the phoniest excuses to fire someone from a job, only to hide the real reason why that person is being fired.
For example, I once worked at Lazar's Bazaar in Eugene, Oregon, lacing shoes, which by the way is hard to do when you can't see. Lazar is not only the store owner, but at the time that I worked there, he was also my boss. There came a day when I got fired from my job, just two months after Lazar had hired me. Instead of my boss making up a phony reason for me being fired, it was actually my family. For days, they had spread the news that I had allegedly spoken to my boss in a nasty tone of voice. However, Lazar revealed the real reason for letting me go, which was because my productivity wasn't good enough for him, in other words, my work wasn't fast enough for him. So remember, if you are a boss of a company, and you suddenly decide you want to fire someone from a job, don't make up phony excuses as to why they're being fired. Always tell them the truth!
3. Emotions are not something to be played with! When someone needs help, and especially medical help, try to ask that person what's the matter. Try to have them explain how they feel.
The scene that struck me is when Tom Hanks' character, Andrew Beckett, was in the men's restroom, and I believe he was going to the toilet. But while this was going on, I could've sworn I heard him crying. That made me want to come over to that restroom, put my arms around him, give him a big hug, gently pet him on the back, and say to him that everything's going to be all right. Crying is not uncommon --- Especially in guys! We all have feelings, and sometimes, feelings get hurt. Also, when someone is crying, it's not uncommon for another person to stand there and make fake tears (a common facial expression where people pretend to be crying), and boo hoos (a common sound that people make when they mock someone who's crying.). I say, when anyone is crying, it's not cool to make fake tears and boo hoos! That only makes them cry more! When Tom Hanks emerged from rinsing his mouth (If I'm not mistaken, I believe he threw up in that scene, which probably explains the crying), when I heard him say, "I think I need to go to the hospital", I knew right away that he was in desperate need of medical help. If someone is feeling pain or discomfort, ask them in a tender tone if everything's all right, and try to help them in their situation, whatever the problem may be.
4. This whole world, and especially the city of Philadelphia, is in desperate need of Brotherly and Sisterly Love. For those who may not know, the name Philadelphia is Greek. It comes from the words, "Philos", which means "Love" or "Loving", "Adelphos", which means "Brother", "Brothers", or "Brotherly", and "Adelphia", which means "Sister", "Sisters", or "Sisterly". It is high time we take a moment to come together, give peace a chance, live in perfect harmony, stop the fights and the wars, Stamp out the Profanity and the name calling, put an end to hating and killing each other, and once and for all, bring the Brotherly and Sisterly Love back home to Philadelphia!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Not Quite Epic, But Will Make You Think
Added 8/9/2009
Over the last few years, I have been churning my way through the films of Denzel Washington. I love the intensity and passion he brings to his roles, plus the fact that, "Manchurian Candidate" aside, he hasn't really been in any bad films. For whatever reason, I had not yet seen "Philadelphia", which is hailed by film critics and garnered Tom Hanks a Best Actor academy award in 1992. After viewing, I found it to be not as epic as some would have me believe, but still an interesting two hours nonetheless.
The basic plot of the film is the story of two lawyers (Denzel and Hanks). Hanks' character contracts AIDS and enlists the help of "Washington" to help him file a discrimination lawsuit against the company that fired him (supposedly due to the disease). Along the way, the plot actually morphs to become more of a "panel discussion" on the treatment/perception of gay people in the United States.
In dealing with such a sensitive topic, the film is able to lay out its message without sounding too crass or too offensive to either side. Basically, director Jonathan Demme knows that viewers will obviously have pre-determined attitudes about the issue before viewing the film, and thus doesn't try to sway any perceptions. Instead, through the legal, court-room setting, he just invites both sides to think about the issues at hand and consider possible scenarios. I liken it to a more recent Denzel Washington film entitled "The Great Debaters", which discussed the issue of the Jim Crow south through a high school debate team. Some pretty meaty issues were thrown around, but under the guise of "debate" the viewers don't really feel any compulsion to take a side, instead just being privy to the information. A similar factor is what I believe is the true brilliance of Demme's film...he treats the viewers like a jury and allows us to come to our own conclusion about the issues he is discussing.
Thus, unless you have incredibly strong feelings one way or the other about the issue of gay rights (then the film is bound to upset in its generalization of the topic), I would recommend this film to pretty much anyone. While it may not live up to critical hype (likely due to the fact that critics are usually bonkers over artsy or heavy-themed films), it will give you some things to think about.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
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Philadelphia
Added 5/25/2009
This is one of my favorite Tom Hanks films. The seller was a third party seller through amazon. My movie arrived promptly and in excellent condition. I would purchase from them again.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
philadelphia
Added 4/24/2009
i love tom hanks, I have a few of his movies. he's a very good actor. I n this movie they play a homosexual with antonio banderas my two favorite
actors. At the end of the movie I CRIED because it was sad . he was dieing .it was good
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
