The Dryden will screen Philadelphia (Jonathan Demme, U.S. 1993, 125 min., 35mm) as part of the ImageOut of the Archive series.

The City of Brotherly Love serves as the backdrop to Jonathan Demme's acclaimed courtroom melodrama. Ambulance chaser Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) is forced to put aside his own homophobic feelings after agreeing to represent AIDS-afflicted lawyer Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks, earning his first Academy Award) in his wrongful termination lawsuit. As the first major Hollywood film to deal head-on with the devastating impact of HIV and AIDS in the gay community, Philadelphia is a landmark of queer cinema. Though the film drew criticism for placing a heterosexual character front and center in such a story, it was undeniably effective in forcing audiences largely uneducated about the ongoing Aids crisis to confront their own prejudices and misconceptions. Demme tackles a difficult subject with his typical empathy and deep humanism, making this a highlight among the late, great director's esteemed filmography.

[source: George Eastman Museum, 2017-Oct-2]