During a time when society’s ignorance about AIDS and HIV wasn’t far from its peak, Philadelphia was one of the first major motion pictures to tackle the stigma surrounding the disease, as well as the homophobia Andrew faces in his legal battle. When he tries to take them to court, no one will touch the case except the ambulance chaser Joe Miller (Denzel Washington), and even he takes convincing.
Hanks plays Andrew Beckett, a superstar lawyer on the road to the top of his law firm when his colleagues discover Andrew’s secret - he has AIDS. But with the powerful 1993 drama Philadelphia, he cemented his reputation as a dramatic actor. In the ’80s and ’90s, Tom Hanks was known mostly for comedic roles. Watch on Amazon Prime Philadelphia (1993) Stars: Max Harwood, Lauren Patel, Sarah Lancashire,ĭirector: Jonathan Butterell, Dan Gillespie Sells, Tom MacRae Regardless, it proves to be a fun and heartwarming musical, with Harwood’s inherent magnetism making up for any narrative shortcomings. The film is a story we’ve heard before and are likely to hear again. Jamie, a lot of critics will tell you, does not break new ground. Four years after the premiere of the musical, the story was adapted to film with Mark Harwood in the eponymous role. The BBC reported on his story with the 2011 documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, which inspired the stage musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Jamie Campbell came out as the drag queen Fifi at a high school prom. Watch on Amazon Prime Everybody’s Talking About Jamie (2021) Stars: Patricia Bell Scott, Pauli Murray, Dolores Chandler Through archival footage and the extensive recordings Murray left behind when she passed away in 1985, My Name Is Pauli Murray paints an intimate portrait not only of an influential activist whose name has gone unspoken on too many tongues for too long but someone with a surprisingly contemporary understanding of gender that many today are still struggling to wrap their heads around. Instead, they were delving into the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg for the 2018 documentary RBG, and the name of this relatively unknown lawyer and activist kept popping up as one of Ginsburg’s biggest influences.Īs early as the 1940s, Pauli Murray was fighting for women’s rights and ultimately proved instrumental in adding the Equal Protection Clause to the 14th Amendment. Julie Cohen and Betsy West weren’t looking to find an unsung hero of the civil rights struggle when they first came upon Pauli Murray’s name. When you’re done going through this list, check out the best LGBTQ movies on Netflix as well as the best LGBTQ films to stream right now on multiple services. We’ve made finding these great films as easy for you as we can with a curated list of the best LGBTQ-themed movies you can find on Prime Video. Among other things, Prime Video offers subscribers powerful documentaries, glorious musicals, and one of the most powerful courtroom dramas of all time. It can be tough mining Amazon Prime Video for good LGBTQ films, but the service has been making strides to increase the diversity in its offerings, particularly in the last year.