How to Survive a Plague

Filmmaker David France's Oscar-nominated chronicle of the AIDS crisis during the dark years of the late 1980s and 1990s focuses on the activist group ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power)—founded by outspoken playwright Larry Kramer—whose members angrily occupied hospitals and New York's St. Patrick's Cathedral in reaction to perceived apathy toward the pandemic and its victims. The emphasis here is on the East Coast, Greenwich Village, and the NYC area, as archival footage recalls a hotbed of activism, with reporter Ann Northrop dropping journalistic objectivity to coach ACT UP on how to stage their actions. Viewers are reminded of an era when even the late Mayor Ed Koch was vilified for not doing enough, although particular venom here is reserved for then-President George H.W. Bush and Republican Senator Jesse Helms. Arch-conservative Pat Buchanan actually comes off better, shown here as being sympathetic to AIDS patients who were denied by red tape and the National Institute of Health from trying new and experimental treatments. Fractious politics eventually splintered ACT UP, creating a breakaway group called TAG (Treatment Action Group). Doctors credit the efforts of both groups to exert ongoing pressure and spread awareness, which led to "combination therapy" and widespread, affordable AIDS drugs—developments that came sadly and fatally late for so many. DVD extras include audio commentary by the director and various members of ACT UP, and deleted scenes. Recommended. [Note: this is also available with public performance rights for $295 from Ro*co Films Educational, www.rocoeducational.com.] Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)