And the Band Played On

This made-for-cable HBO production was released in 1993, one year before author Randy Shilts' death from complications of AIDS. The screenplay is by Shilts and Arnold Schulman, with Roger Spottiswoode directing.

Based on the stellar book by the same name, this film is a hard-hitting synopsis of five years of the AIDS epidemic. An all-star cast includes Matthew Modine, as the Center For Disease Control physician, Don Francis, who first gets wind of some troubling patterns in the ever-changing world of epidemiology. His struggle for funding, dedication and efforts to prove blood-borne pathology are well done.

Playing research scientist, Dr. Robert Gallo, Alan Alda avoids the trap of creating a one-dimensional, over-the-top character. He should be commended for his courage and integrity in choosing to play such an unpopular individual, whose underhanded treatment of important HIV breakthroughs by French researchers, (Louis Pasteur Institute), cause further delays in needed identification and treatment. The jockeying itself is repugnant in light of the toll on humanity.

HBO should be congratulated for bringing this historically compelling film to life. It is part detective story, and part scathing indictment of the CDC's stonewalling, the Red Cross and Blood Banks' irresponsible mishandling of crucial public information, the Reagan Administration's unacceptable budget cutting in the face of a pandemic. A difficult movie to make, it strives, within it's budgetary and time constraints, to make public a national travesty.

Shilts, who experienced the devastation of Castro Street firsthand, has the benefit of hindsight in his accusations. His story is meticulously and exhaustively researched, and was first brought to my awareness in the serialized account which appeared in Rolling Stone magazine in the late 1980's. I'm glad he lived long enough to see the completion of this film, and all it represents.

The movie has been denigrated for glossing over the in-fighting among scientists, the turf wars, the gay community's indecision on closing down the infamous Sutro Baths, and the general dumbing down of a story of twinks, Marys, Montgomery Street elder statesmen, Harvey Milk, hemophiliacs, bicoastal and intercontinental stews, and professional turf wars.

In it's defense, this movie seeks to condense an enormous amount of literature in less than 2 1/2 hours, and will be seen more than the book will be read. I wish it were the other way around, as the book deserves a five star rating. I will give this film 4 stars, for wonderful cast, (I especially enjoyed Lily Tomlin as a Public Health physician and Richard Gere, as a choreographer, and victim), plotting and general consciousness raising vehicle.

Yes, it helped that I read the serialization, then novel, prior to seeing the film. As a registered nurse, I am interested in both the etiology and prevention aspects of disease. I'd recommend Microbe Hunters, as a book that will introduce you to the world of research, identification and in some cases, treatment of the underlying disease, if you enjoy the detective aspects, or Ebola for information on another insidious killer.

Filmwise, recommended are Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt, Parting Glances, Longtime Companion and the related Philadelphia. No longer considered the Gay Plague, the AIDS victim can be from any town, country, background, sexual or ethnic persuasion. It is an equal opportunity virus. Yes, medical science has made some inroads against this cunning retrovirus serial killer, and the average life expectancy has increased.

My last year in Nursing School, (1986), my best friend, Jan, confided in me that her Dad was dying. "He got some blood transfusions back in 1983, prior to his bypass surgery. He's been sick on and off ever since, but it's not his heart." Jan's father developed a host of opportunistic infections, generally seen only in those with severe immuno-deficiencies, such as thrush, pneumocystic pneumonia, and finally sarcoma and brain metastasis causing dementia. As he lay dying in Intensive Care, Doctors grilled the mother of his three children about his illicit encounters. I held her in my arms as she cried.

Sadly enough, ignorance still abounds. My friend's scars will heal. Her Dad is probably in Heaven right now, maybe chatting with other transfusion-related AIDS victims such as the young Ryan White. I only wish this information had been made public sooner. This film will show why this notification was so horribly tardy. A cautionary tale, to be learned and never forgotten.

The film has been updated in 1999. Chuck Workman, who is responsible for the chilling historical montage, known as the Butcher's Bill, has redone the roll call of victims. It is very sad to see Shilts' name among the casualties.