The story of the discovery of the AIDS virus, from the early days in 1978, when San Francisco gays began dying from unknown causes, to the identification of the HIV virus. Bigots spoke of a gay plague, scientists fought for the kudos of being first to identify the cause, and disagreements beset San Francisco's gays over the closure of the bathhouses. The film, quite rightly, deals with these issues. find out more...

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LA businessman Max (Snipes) is Mr Happily-Married-Nice-Guy, until he goes to New York to visit his HIV-positive best friend, Charlie, a towering performance from Robert Downey Jr. There he meets Nastassja Kinski, cops off with her for a night of passion, and returns to LA racked with guilt, whence his once blissful marriage begins to crumble. Returning to New York a year later to comfort the now dying Charlie, Max's monumental indiscretion comes back to haunt him when Kinski reappears. Soul-sear find out more...

Hanks deservedly won an Oscar for his portrayal of a brilliant young lawyer with AIDS, is sacked for "incompetence", and sues his bosses. Denzel Washington is superb as the homophobic brief who helps him fight the system. Excellent and thought-provoking. find out more...