Product Description

Hailed as the first mainstream film to put a human face on the AIDS epidemic, Longtime Companion is a "remarkable" (Newsweek) drama that takes an honest, unflinching look at how this devastating disease changes everyone it touches. "Intelligent, unflinching and unpatronizing" (Boxoffice), and starring a "terrific ensemble cast" (Time), including OscarÂ(r) nominee* and Golden Globe winner** Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Dermot Mulroney and Mary-Louise Parker,this heartrending yet triumphant film "is an illuminating, deeply moving experience" (Los Angeles Times). During the summer of 1981, a group of friends in New York are completely unprepared for the onslaught of AIDS. What starts as a rumor about a mysterious "gay cancer" soon turns into a major crisis as, one by one, some of the friends begin to fall ill, leaving the others to panic about who will be next. As death takes its toll, the lives of these friends are forever redefinedby an unconditional display, of love, hope and courage. *1990: Supporting Actor, Longtime Companion **1990: Supporting Actor, Longtime Companion

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18553 in DVD
• Brand: DAVISON,BRUCE
• Released on: 2001-01-23
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, Spanish
• Subtitled in: Spanish, French
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 100 minutes

Amazon.com
The late director Norman Rene and writer Craig Lucas made a pretty fine creative team on the stage and in the movies, and this 1990 drama about the evolving impact of AIDS on gay New Yorkers is their best cinematic achievement. The ensemble story follows the lives of nine or so characters as word of the so-called "gay cancer" eventually becomes a real force, killing several of them as the years go by. The film works well on a number of levels, not least of which is the enviable closeness of the characters, the script's wit, the bittersweet experience of loss, and a celebratory attitude at the end mixing wisdom with defiance. --Tom Keogh

From The New Yorker
Longtime Companion-The screenwriter, Craig Lucas, and the director, Norman René, track the effects of AIDS on the lives of eight people: seven gay men and a straight woman who is a lifelong friend of one of the men. The filmmakers focus on one day in each year of the epidemic, from 1981 through 1989, and the mournful progress of the decade is expressed by the gaps between the annual episodes: the cast of characters keeps getting smaller, and at the end only the woman and three of the men are left. The movie is sometimes very effective, but it's often blander and more simplistic than it should be. It seems determined to convey a wholesome, "normal" image of gay life to straight America-so all its characters are pleasant and good-looking, and they're all white, too. The only really interesting characters are a middle-aged couple, David (Bruce Davison) and Sean (Mark Lamos). The natural protagonist of the drama is David, who, when Sean gets sick, cares for him with extraordinary patience and tenderness. Davison's performance (in probably the best role he has ever had) is wonderfully dry and precise. There's a strange reserve in his demeanor even when he's being goofy, so the strength he shows at the bedside of his dying lover is both heartbreaking and absolutely convincing. It's a well-written role, and Davison does a beautiful piece of acting. After he, too, disappears-between episodes-the movie seems to have lost the best part of itself. Also with Campbell Scott, Stephen Caffrey, Patrick Cassidy, Mary- Louise Parker, John Dossett, and Dermot Mulroney. -Terrence Rafferty
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker