''Buddies'' is a 1985 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

. It is the first film to deal with the

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

pandemic, preceding the television film ''

An Early Frost ''An Early Frost'' is a 1985 American made-for-television drama film. It was the first major film with major motion picture stars, Aidan Quinn, Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara, and Sylvia Sidney, broadcast on a major television network, NBC, to deal ...

'' (also released in 1985). Directed by

Arthur J. Bressan Jr. Arthur J. Bressan Jr. (May 27, 1943 - July 29, 1987) was an American director, writer, producer, documentarian and gay pornographer, best known for pioneering independent queer cinema in the United States during the 1970s and 1980s. He wrote and di ...

, who died of complications from AIDS two years after the film was released, the film follows a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

gay man in a monogamous relationship becoming a "buddy" or a volunteer friend to another gay man dying of AIDS and the friendship that develops. The film stars Geoff Edholm, David Schachter, Billy Lux, and David Rose.

Cast

* Geoff Edholm as Robert Willow * David Schachter as David Bennett * Damon Hairston as Gym instructor * Joyce Korn as Lynn * Billy Lux as Edward * David Rose as Steve * Libby Saines as Mrs. Bennett * Susan Schneider as Sylvia Douglas * Tracy Vivat as Nurse

History

The first widely released Hollywood film to deal with the HIV/AIDS pandemic within the United States was ''

Longtime Companion ''Longtime Companion'' is a 1989 American romantic drama film directed by Norman René and starring Bruce Davison, Campbell Scott, Patrick Cassidy, and Mary-Louise Parker. The first wide-release theatrical film to deal with the subject of AIDS, ...

'' in 1989. While news reports about the pandemic began to appear in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' as early as 1981, the fact that many of the initial victims were

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

men contributed to how Hollywood and society responded. The long-standing taboo within Hollywood about depicting homosexuality played a large role in the refusal of the industry to cinematically deal with the pandemic, when it was initially treated as a "gay disease." ''

The Celluloid Closet ''The Celluloid Closet'' is a 1995 American documentary film directed and written by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman. The film is based on Vito Russo's 1981 book ''The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies'', and on lecture and film clip ...

'' book and documentary film tell the story of that time. In response to the pandemic, and to Hollywood hypocrisy, Bressan wrote and directed the film ''Buddies'' in 1985, and it was shown in a handful of urban, art house movie theaters. A 2K restoration was released in 2018 on DVD. Screenings were held at San Francisco's Castro Theater (where it had premiered in 1985) on June 21, 2018, and at New York's Quad Cinema starting June 22, 2018.

References

*
MSNBC "How Hollywood portrays AIDS"
1985 films American LGBT-related films Films directed by Arthur J. Bressan Jr. Gay-related films HIV/AIDS in American films 1985 drama films 1985 LGBT-related films American drama films LGBT-related drama films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films {{LGBT-drama-film-stub