And the Band Played On (1993) on Netflix
In 1981, CDC epidemiologist Don Francis investigates a rare pneumonia killing gay men in three cities. Blood suppliers resist testing, and French and American scientists quarrel over credit.
- Netflix3.8/5
- IMDb7.8/1011,876 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes100%
Trailer
Plot summary
In 1976, epidemiologist Don Francis helps investigate an Ebola outbreak in Zaire. At the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Dr. James Curran asks him to lead an investigation into a new immune disorder: a rare pneumonia, pneumocystis pneumonia, is killing gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York City. Under federal spending limits, his team has little money, cramped space and outdated equipment. Evidence indicates the disease spreads through sex. San Francisco activist Bill Kraus supports his work, while other gay men object to his attempt to close the city's bathhouses. Blood industry representatives are unwilling to act, and researchers at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and Robert Gallo at the National Institutes of Health quarrel over credit for the work.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about And the Band Played On (1993)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Screenwriter Arnold Schulman said the job he expected to take two months had taken almost two years of his life: one director came and went, then another, and he rewrote day and night with each new one.
- The film closes with footage of a candlelight vigil and march in San Francisco, then a montage of celebrities who had died of AIDS or were involved with HIV/AIDS education and research, accompanied by Elton John singing his “The Last Song”.
- As of April 2026, Magic Johnson was the only person featured in the film's closing montage who was still alive.
