Philadelphia is known as the “City of Brotherly Love” among Americans. Director Jonathan Demme was inspired by this wonderful city and decided to make a powerful movie about it. The movie is based on the actual account of an American who suffered an unjust termination from his position. The dramatic film earned two Academy Awards and was the first to address the taboo subjects of homosexuality, sexually transmitted diseases and homophobia. Find out more about how the film was shot in Philadelphia, the plot of the film and the scandals surrounding it at philadelphiaski.com.
Plot, popularity and legal matters
The film opens with Tom Hanks’ character, Andrew Beckett, a successful young lawyer, being sacked from the Wyant-Wheeler legal company. He was advised that he was unsuitable for the position owing to incompetence. The true explanation, however, was that the supervisors became aware of his sexual orientation and AIDS.
The man is attempting to prove his case in court, but no lawyer is willing to defend Andrew. Joe Miller, a black social advocate and homophobe, was particularly reluctant to assist Andrew. The role of a lawyer who is afraid to even shake hands with Beckett, so as not to get HIV, is played by Denzel Washington.
The main character intends to defend his name in court on his own, referring to the relevant law, but subsequently encounters Mr. Miller and persuades him to assist him for the sake of justice.
Following the film’s release, Geoffrey Bowers’ family filed a case in court on the aforementioned storyline. According to them, without authorization, the film utilized Geoffrey’s life narrative, which family members told the media in interviews. As you may already know, this story concluded with a withdrawn claim, but no one knew at what cost. Only after considerable time had passed did the directing team of “Philadelphia” disclose that the film of the same name contains sequences from Geoffrey’s life.
“Philadelphia” was nominated for two Academy Awards, including Best Actor and Best Original Song, as well as several other awards at international film festivals. The drama film directed by Jonathan Demme was the debut film that told about homosexuality, AIDS and homophobia. The film was favorably reviewed by critics, who gave it a 74% rating on the respective websites. According to the American Film Institute, the film took the 20th place in the 100 Years… 100 Cheers: America’s Most Inspiring Movies list and Andrew Beckett took the 49th place in the list of 100 Heroes & Villains. Another intriguing common fact is that the film initially had an intimate scene between the characters of Hanks and Banderas, including one in bed, but it was later removed.
In which city locations was the movie filmed?
This picture, like the majority of Demme’s works, was virtually entirely shot in real locations. For instance, the Office of Action Aids, where Andrew Beckett (Tom Hanks) was tested or the office of the prestigious law firm Wyant.
There were additional scenes involving a local pharmacy and a law firm owned by Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) in the film. The pharmacy where Miller’s homophobia is disputed by a gay student is Pickwick Pharmacy, which is located in the city at 1700 Market Street, directly opposite the Mellon Bank Building.
It also depicts the present Spectrum Sports Arena, home of the Philadelphia KiXX football club. In the plot, Miller delivers a summons to the head of the legal cinema, Charles Wheeler (Jason Robards), while playing ball in the sports arena.
Additionally, the most notable landmarks of Philadelphia were on film, including the Benjamin Franklin Bridge over the Delaware River, the brilliant modernist skyscrapers of Liberty Place and the Liberty Bell.