Longtime Companion

Theatrical Release Date: 1990 05 11 (USA)

UPC: 027616857705

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Sexual Situations]

Summary: At the time of Longtime Companion's release in 1990, the devastating disease of AIDS was seen as a mysterious and deadly scourge, replete with rumors, lies, and panic. As the first narrative film to examine the AIDS epidemic, screenwriter Craig Lucas and director Norman Ren? place the disease in an historical context, dramatizing the impact of the disease through time in a series of vignettes involving seven gay men. AIDS first made its presence felt surreptitiously, as an article in The New York Times reported on a rare cancer attacking gay men called Karposi's syndrome. Then the Village Voice began a series of in-depth articles concerning a "gay plague" which later became known as AIDS. The film follows the AIDS crisis through the lives of the seven main characters so that they are only aware of AIDS in the historical framework of each episode. The characters include former gay couple Willy (Campbell Scott) and John (Dermot Mulroney), first seen partying at a Fire Island club, who don't pay much attention to the mysterious article in The New York Times but become intimately effected by the disease. There is also Sean (Mark Lamos), a soap opera writer whose mind is slowly deteriorating because of the disease, and his supportive friend David (Bruce Davison). ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

Category: Drama

Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – null Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Independent Spirit Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Independent Spirit Awards Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Supporting Actor – New York Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actor – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Audience Award – Sundance Film Festival Audience Award – Sundance Film Festival Best Supporting Actor – National Society of Film Critics

Features: Original theatrical trailer
English: mono
Spanish: mono
French and Spanish subtitles

Longtime Companion

Format: Digital Video Disc (DVD)

Release Date: 01/23/2001

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1, 1 USA & territories, Canada

Runtime: 100 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: Spanish,French

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Scene Selections
0. Scene Selections
1. Credits/July '81 news [7:51]
2. Some work, more play [6:14]
3. "Hot date" [4:06]
4. April '82/John's sick [5:54]
5. Death notice [7:57]
6. June '83/Fear of others [12:42]
7. Sept. '84/"Dis-ease" [8:54]
8. March '85/Work suffers [5:24]
9. Brain seizures [7:21]
10. Jan. '86/Letting go [5:54]
11. Burial gown [7:36]
12. May '87/Remembering [5:44]
13. Sept. '88/Volunteering [3:22]
14. "Living with Aids" [2:17]
15. July '89/The survivors [2:05]
16. "Port mortem"/Credits [5:56]

Rebecca Flint Marx

Aside from the regrettably little-seen Buddies (1985) and Parting Glances (1986), Longtime Companion (1990) was the first feature film to deal explicitly with AIDS. At the time of its release, few filmmakers had examined the impact of AIDS on those living and dying with the disease. Feature films about gay men were still a rarity, and films about gay men with AIDS were non-existent. Although the film has been criticized for its focus on white, upper-class men, it uses this comfortable insularity to demonstrate AIDS' devastating effects, capturing the "it can't happen to me" attitude and the subsequent, horrific realization that, yes, it can. In exposing the lingering horror of AIDS, the film presents one of the first and still most poignant celluloid portraits of love and affection among gay men. The importance of its content aside, Longtime Companion also remains a remarkable display of ensemble acting, with almost uniformly excellent performances from its entire cast. A particular stand-out is Oscar nominee Bruce Davison, whose "Let it go" speech to his dying lover is one of the screen's most affecting depictions of love and loss. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Welker White  Actor 
Dan Butler  Actor 
David Drake  Actor 
Brad O'Hare  Actor 
Michael Carmine  Actor 
Marceline Hugot  Actor 
Michael Schoeffling  Actor 
Kelly Connell  Actor 
Hazel Medina  Actor 
Tony Shalhoub  Actor 
Annie Golden  Actor 
Joyce Reehling  Actor 
Freda Foh Shen  Actor 
Keith Charles  Actor 
Philip Moon  Actor 
Margo Skinner  Actor 
Tanya Berezin  Actor 
Robert Joy  Actor 
Greg de Belles  Composer (Music Score) 
Lidsay Law  Producer 
Craig Lucas  Screenwriter 
Lydia Dean Pilcher  Producer 
Norman Rene  Director 
Stan Wlodkowski  Producer 
Bruce Davison  Actor 
Campbell Scott  Actor 
Stephen Caffrey  Actor 
Mark Lamos  Actor 
Patrick Cassidy  Actor 
Mary-Louise Parker  Actor 
John Dossett  Actor 
Brian Cousins  Actor 
Dermot Mulroney  Actor 
Brad O'Hara  Actor 

Country: USA