Amazon.co.uk:Customer reviews: Philadelphia

Top positive review

2-disc CE: Great film, great extras

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2019

Excellent, moving film starring Tom Hanks and Denzel Washington.
The 2-disc CE (Collector's Edition) is well worth having: it includes 'People like us (an excellent 60-minute 'Making of'), a 75-minute documentary of interviews with AIDS patients, 6 very good deleted scenes, the video for Bruce Springsteen's 'Streets of Philadelphia', the original 5-minute 'Making of' featurette, and other extras. See photos. Full details at dvdcompare.net.

6 people found this helpful

Top critical review

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Mrs. L. A. Blase

the song is better.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2019

i bought this because i found the song very moving and wanted to check out the film. i gave up after 10 minutes. it started out like a guided tour of philadelphia and the short part i saw of the plot looked like they were trying to cram the storyline into a short time scan, which didn't work for me. passed it on.

One person found this helpful

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Mrs. L. A. Blase

the song is better.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 January 2019

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One person found this helpful

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Ian sparrow

A film that makes you think

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 12 November 2020

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A great film in its day and still worth watching

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Madabout

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 24 March 2016

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All ok, no probs ...

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Serkan Silahsor

not as powerful as I expected

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2008

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Hollywood's first big mainstream movie about ramifications of AIDS, anti-gay prejudice, bigotry, and sexual discrimination at workplace is a bold attempt, sometimes intense and thought-provoking experience full of social commentaries, but it falls short of being a true classic at the end.

Let's start with positives: Yeah, central performances are great. There are few films that depend so much on acting as "Philadelphia" does. Hanks is nothing but fabulous, as is Washington, so while both performances are top-notch. To take the advantage of the stardom and artistry of both actors to the hilt, the plot is character-driven. Demme brings well the main characters into focus. He gave them some powerful scenes in which to reveal their innermost feelings, achieving the intended emotional truth. The court scenes are well-made and well-executed. The final scenes are a good mixture of bouyancy and poignancy, and are delicately handled.

But, the film has a lot of credibility problems. It's impossible to believe that Andrew was turned away by several lawyers before finding Joe Miller, a homophobic, store-front ambulance-chaser. It is ridiculous to see that he couldn't find a hotshot lawyer on such a "juicy" case. While Andrew and Joe are fully fleshed out with emotions and motivations, Andy's employers are portrayed as WASPy, homophobic monsters. The script makes them less than one-dimensional, nasty egocentrics in that I had the feeling that two "real" people were assailed by cardboard cutout figures, all played like a necessity of the plot. Furthermore, Andy's family was unbelievably strong and supportive, even during the height of the AIDS scare in the 1980s, when everyone who had the disease was stigmatized, shunned, made redundant, or treated as lepers by the society. Really it was too sugary. Also, some melodramaric excesses, or trademark "Hollywoodized" moments such as the showpiece scene in which Andy interpreting a passionate aria sung was so apparently designed to win Hanks an Oscar.

To sum up, "Philadelphia" is a big, commercial film, elevated by the names of its cast. Albeit little less conventional and devoid of the taste and quality of an independent film, it's well worth a look. (3.4/5.0)

One person found this helpful

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H.E Cox

Respectible.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 January 2014

This is a film that I have a lot of respect for but not one that I particularly like. It is impossible not to admire the films ambition and Hanks and Washington give probably the best performances of their careers to date nd the supporting cast are all very good.Obviously it's very moving but unfortunately I did find the film dragged on a little.

I say this with regret but If you take out the fact that it's the first film about AIDS the second half of the film is just a typical courtroom drama. I also felt the film lacked re-playability. This is not the sort of film you will want to watch more that once.

Don't let me put you off watching this. I'm glad I watched it. I just feel that with a couple of tweaks it could be a great movie instead of a good one.

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fabienne thonnat

Très bien

Reviewed in France on 5 March 2021

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Produit conforme à ce que j espérais

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Caillou

mal vieilli.

Reviewed in France on 24 June 2017

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Ce film a mal survécu au nombre des années mais il traite d'un fléau qui n'est plus assez abordé de nos jours : le SIDA. Il reste cette chanson inoubliable de Springsteen pour le générique du début.

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Edgar R.

Great quality but...

Reviewed in the United States on 15 December 2018

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Great condition but honeslty the movie isn't that good! It's enjoyable but not really exciting.

Justiceteacher

Okay I guess

Reviewed in the United States on 1 October 2011

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I tried to use this movie for a court class I teach but it was not so much about the court process as it was about the actual life and story of Andrew Beckett. Yes, it was a good storyline but if you are expecting a lot of courtroom scenes you will be disappointed.

Glenda

Three Stars

Reviewed in the United States on 17 August 2015

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