The late journalist Randy Shilts' best-selling book on the burgeoning AIDS crisis was adapted for cable TV by Arnold Schulman. In 1981, researchers begin discerning a mysterious new disease that apparently affects only homosexual males. Working independently (and with marked hostility towards one another), an American and a French research team manage to identify and name the dreaded HIV virus. The long-range effects of AIDS is experienced through the first and second-hand experiences of several unfortunates, including a choreographer (Richard Gere) whose character is said to be based on Michael Bennett. The all-star cast (most of whom eschewed their usual high salaries) includes Lily Tomlin as San Francisco health official Selma Dritz, Matthew Modine as Centers for Disease Control researcher Don Francis, Alan Alda as NIH official Robert Gallo (who emerges as the villain of the piece), Ian McKellan as gay activist Bill Kraus, and Glenne Headley, Steve Martin and Anjelica Huston in cameo roles. Harrowing in its implications and ambitious in scope, And the Band Played On has taken on even more power and significance in the years since its September 11, 1993 debut on the HBO cable service. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide