This is the story of the discovery of the AIDS virus, from 1978 when numerous gays began dying from unknown causes, to the identification of the HIV virus. To reduce this to a reasonable-length feature, HBO pictures and writer Aaron Spelling devised a way of making it interesting for the small TV screen. They decided to follow the career of Dr. Don Francis, of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, and his team as they worked to uncover the mystery of the disease, and then had to fight to get public and official recognition of the problem.
In the prologue set in 1976, American epidemiologist Dr. Don Francis (Matthew Modine) arrives in a village on the banks of the Ebola River in the Congo and discovers many of the residents and the doctor working with them have died from a mysterious illness later identified as Ebola hemorrhagic fever. It is his first exposure to such an epidemic, and the images of the dead he helps cremate haunt him when he becomes involved with AIDS research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 1981, Francis becomes aware of a growing number of deaths from unexplained causes among gay men in Los Angeles, NYC, and San Francisco, and begins an investigation of the possible causes. Working with no money, limited space, and outdated equipment, he comes in contact with politicians and many members of the medical community--many of whom resent his involvement because of their personal agendas--and gay leaders, some of whom support him, while others resent what they see as interference in their lifestyles, especially his attempts to close the local bathhouses. While Francis pursues his theory that AIDS is caused by a sexually transmitted virus, he finds his efforts are stonewalled by the CDC, which is reluctant to prove the disease is transmitted through blood, and competing scientists who squabble about who should receive credit for discovering the virus. Meanwhile, the death toll climbs rapidly. The film ends with a montage of video clips and stills of prominent people who have died of AIDS.
This excellent and compelling made-for-TV film docudrama is notable for the number of big names that turned out for mostly small parts: Alan Alda, Lily Tomlin, Phil Collins, Richard Gere, Steve Martin, Anjelica Huston, and Ian McKellen. Many actors lent their support to this project as a public service, accepting only minimum union fees or no payment at all. The premiere was in Washington, D.C. before an audience which included members of Congress and government and industry leaders. Arnold Schulman adapted the teleplay from journalist Randy Shilts' best-selling 1987 book of the same title. Carter Burwell composed the music score, and Roger Spottiswoode directed.
