IMDb RATING
7.6/10
6.1K
YOUR RATING
The emergence and devastation of the AIDS epidemic is chronicled in the lives of several gay men living during the 1980s.The emergence and devastation of the AIDS epidemic is chronicled in the lives of several gay men living during the 1980s.The emergence and devastation of the AIDS epidemic is chronicled in the lives of several gay men living during the 1980s.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 6 wins & 6 nominations total
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe title refers to the only way that newspapers at the time would allow a gay man's lover to be listed in an obituary.
- GoofsIn the second act, dated April 1982, Howard and Paul are discussing how Howard will play one of the first gay characters in a daytime soap opera. Howard says it's fine for an actor like William Hurt to play a gay character but not him. He is obviously referring to Hurt's role in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), for which Hurt won an Academy Award for Best Actor. But that film came out in 1985, three years after the time in which this scene is set.
Featured review
A milestone of gay cinema
A landmark film, not only in that it is the first film to deal with the AIDS crisis, but also in its portrayal of gay men and their friends. Sitting on the cusp between earlier depictions of gays as murderous or suicidal and later caricatures of funny, sexless "best friends", the men shown here are very real and very honest in their decade long struggle with death and illness. I defy you to watch Bruce Davison's heartbreaking farewell speech and not be choked up on some level of emotion. And Mary Louise Parker add a special touche. This movie has arguably the greatest final scene in gay cinema.
helpful•344
- timleemail
- Feb 14, 2001
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $3,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $4,609,953
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $50,525
- May 13, 1990
- Gross worldwide
- $4,609,953
- Runtime1 hour 36 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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