Celebrate the silver anniversary of "Philadelphia"
One of the first studio films to bring light to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Philadelphia, celebrates its 25th anniversary.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment commemorates the 25th anniversary of this important and enthralling modern classic with the debut of the film on 4K Ultra HD and on digital in 4K with HDR.
Tom Hanks, in his first Academy Award-winning performance, plays Andrew Beckett, a talented lawyer who was fired because of his positive HIV status. Two-time Academy Award winner Denzel Washington (1989, Best Supporting Actor, Glory; 2001, Best Actor, Training Day) is the small-time lawyer who teams up with Beckett as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
In addition to Hanks’ win as Best Actor, Philadelphia was nominated for a total of five Academy Awards, with Bruce Springsteen winning Best Music, Original Song for Streets of Philadelphia.
Philadelphia was hailed as a landmark film with deep emotion and exceptional acting. Hanks (Best Actor, 1993, Philadelphia; 1994, Forrest Gump) and Washington are two competing lawyers who join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination.
As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Directed by Academy Award winner Jonathan Demme (1991, Best Director, The Silence of the Lambs) and written by Ron Nyswaner (Homeland), Philadelphia was produced by Edward Saxon and Jonathan Demme; with Gary Goetzman, Kenneth Utt and Ron Bozman serving as Executive Producers.
Philadelphia also stars two-time Academy Award winner Jason Robards (1976, Best Supporting Actor, All the President's Men; 1977, Best Supporting Actor, Julia), Academy Award winner Mary Steenburgen (1980, Best Supporting Actress, Melvin and Howard), Antonio Banderas (Frida) and Academy Award winner Joanne Woodward (1957, Best Actress, The Three Faces of Eve).
In conjunction with the new 4K UHD release, Philadelphia was shown in more than 10 markets on December 1 in honor of World AIDS Day. The theaters included the new short featurette, The Last Mile, presented by (RED) and The Coca-Cola Company, which highlights progress made since the release of Philadelphia and the work remaining in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
Philadelphia was only featured in the following markets on December 1: Atlanta, GA; Boston, MA; Chicago, IL; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Los Angeles, CA; Miami, FL; New York, NY; Philadelphia, PA; San Francisco, CA; Washington, DC and Toronto, Canada.
The (RED) and Coca-Cola featurette teaser includes new interviews with Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and Mary Steenburgen, commentary with Director Jonathan Demme and Screenwriter Ron Nyswaner.
This version includes some deleted scenes. The music video for the song Streets of Philadelphia, People Like Us: Making Philadelphia” Documentary, “One Foot on a Banana Peel, the Other Foot in the Grave” Documentary.
Also deleted are the courthouse protest footage and interviews, Joe Miller’s Macready & Shilts Legal Services TV spot, the original making-of featurette and the theatrical trailer.
Philadelphia has a run time of approximately 125 minutes and is rated PG-13 for some graphic language and thematic material.
Fully restored in 4K from the original camera negative, Philadelphia: 25th Anniversary on 4K Ultra HD features High Dynamic Range and exclusive Dolby Atmos audio. The 4K Ultra HD package will also include the film on Blu-ray, stemming from the 4K master. The Blu-ray will not be available separately.
Copyright The Gayly – December 10, 2018 @ 12:10 p.m. CST.