Philadelphia (1993)
- Jonathan Demme originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Eagle-eyed viewers have noticed a hidden easter egg referencing Jonathan Demme's previous film in the background of the opening scene.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Philadelphia is a 1993 American legal drama directed by Jonathan Demme. Tom Hanks stars as Andrew Beckett, a promising attorney at a prestigious Philadelphia law firm who is fired after his partners discover he has AIDS. Believing his termination was illegally motivated by prejudice against his homosexuality and his disease, Andrew hires Joe Miller, a personal injury lawyer played by Denzel Washington, who is openly homophobic but takes the case on principle.
The trial forces both men to confront their prejudices β Joe must overcome his discomfort with homosexuality while defending Andrew's right to work, and the courtroom becomes a forum for examining how society treats those it considers different or dangerous. Tom Hanks's performance, which required him to lose 30 pounds and depict the physical deterioration of AIDS over the course of the trial, earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor β the first major Oscar awarded for playing a gay man with AIDS. Bruce Springsteen's "Streets of Philadelphia" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
Philadelphia earned $206 million worldwide on a $26 million budget and is credited with bringing mainstream American cinema's first sympathetic portrayal of a person with AIDS to multiplexes nationwide.
