🏷 Discover The Best Aids Movies & TV Shows To Watch Today

21 titles with this tag

Discovering powerful narratives can provide profound insights into complex issues. When it comes to AIDS, movies and TV shows have depicted the struggles, triumphs, and realities faced by those affected. This guide will help you uncover the best films and series that tackle the AIDS epidemic with sensitivity and depth.

Cast

Matt Bomer

Jonathan Bailey

Jelani Alladin

Linus Roache

Fellow Travelers (2023) TV Show

8.4 199 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 8

Audience: TV-MA

Story: A chronicle of a decades-long volatile romance between two men — from their first meeting during the height of the 1950s Lavender Scare to the AIDS crises of the 1980s.

Plot: aids, based on novel or book, romance, hedonism, lgbt, mccarthyism, political thriller, historical romance, ...

Time: vietnam war

Cast

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Geoff Edholm

David Schachter

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Libby Saines

David Rose

Buddies (1985)

8.2 54 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 81 min.

Audience: NR

Story: David, a naive graduate student, has volunteered to work as a 'buddy' for people dying of AIDS. Assigned to the intensely political Robert, a lifelong activist whose friends and family have abandoned him following his diagnosis, the two men, each with notably different world views, soon discover common bonds, as David's inner activist awakens and Robert's need for emotional release is fulfilled.

Plot: new york city, friendship, aids, male friendship, hiv, hospital, masturbation, lgbt, ...

Cast

Christian Borle

Stephanie J. Block

Andrew Rannells

Brandon Uranowitz

Falsettos (2017)

8.2 32 votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Music

Country: United States of America

Duration: 143 min.

Audience: NR

Story: Jewish family man Marvin leaves his wife and son for a male lover during the height of the AIDS crisis in 1980s New York City.

Plot: new york city, marriage proposal, chess, aids, marriage crisis, arranged marriage, jewish life, bar mitzvah, ...

Cast

Pepper LaBeija

Octavia St. Laurent

Venus Xtravaganza

Dorian Corey

Paris Is Burning (1991)

8.0 550 votes

Genre: Documentary

Country: United States of America

Duration: 78 min.

Audience: R

Story: Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Plot: new york city, transvestism, aids, homophobia, drag queen, male homosexuality, transsexual, subculture, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Rami Malek

Gwilym Lee

Ben Hardy

Joseph Mazzello

Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

8.0 17.8K votes

Genre: Drama, Music

Country: United States of America

Duration: 135 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, drummer Roger Taylor and bass guitarist John Deacon take the music world by storm when they form the rock 'n' roll band Queen in 1970. Hit songs become instant classics. When Mercury's increasingly wild lifestyle starts to spiral out of control, Queen soon faces its greatest challenge yet – finding a way to keep the band together amid the success and excess.

Plot: london, england, aids, musician, biography, based on true story, singer, hiv, ...

Time: 1970s, 1980s

Cast

Matthew McConaughey

Jennifer Garner

Jared Leto

Denis O'Hare

Dallas Buyers Club (2013)

7.9 9.1K votes

Genre: Drama, History

Country: United States of America

Duration: 117 min.

Audience: R

Story: Loosely based on the true-life tale of Ron Woodroof, a drug-taking, women-loving, homophobic man who in 1986 was diagnosed with HIV/AIDS and given thirty days to live.

Style: intense

Plot: aids, homophobia, rodeo, biography, dallas, texas, based on true story, hiv, ...

Time: 1980s

Place: texas

Cast

Joseph Mazzello

Brad Renfro

Annabella Sciorra

Diana Scarwid

The Cure (1995)

7.9 356 votes

Genre: Drama, Family

Country: United States of America

Duration: 97 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Erik, a loner, finds a friend in Dexter, an eleven-year-old boy with AIDS. They vow to find a cure for AIDS together and save Dexter's life in an eventful summer.

Plot: aids, mississippi river, minnesota, male friendship, hiv, sick child

Cast

Luna Wedler

Jannik Schu00fcmann

Luise Befort

Victoria Mayer

Close to the Horizon (2019)

7.8 507 votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: Germany

Duration: 117 min.

Story: Jessica knows exactly what her life is supposed to look like and where it takes her. But then she meets Danny. He has a complicated past and could confuse all their plans. Jessica has to decide.

Plot: depression, based on novel or book, aids, pain, childhood trauma, based on true story, terminal illness, grief, ...

Cast

O'Shea Jackson Jr.

Corey Hawkins

Jason Mitchell

Neil Brown Jr.

Straight Outta Compton (2015)

7.8 4.2K votes

Genre: Drama, History, Music

Country: United Kingdom, United States of America

Duration: 147 min.

Audience: R

Story: In 1987, five young men, using brutally honest rhymes and hardcore beats, put their frustration and anger about life in the most dangerous place in America into the most powerful weapon they had: their music. Taking us back to where it all began, Straight Outta Compton tells the true story of how these cultural rebels—armed only with their lyrics, swagger, bravado and raw talent—stood up to the authorities that meant to keep them down and formed the world’s most dangerous group, N.W.A. And as they spoke the truth that no one had before and exposed life in the hood, their voice ignited a social revolution that is still reverberating today.

Plot: drug dealer, police brutality, husband wife relationship, rap music, hip-hop, sibling relationship, aids, parent child relationship, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Tom Hanks

Denzel Washington

Jason Robards

Mary Steenburgen

Philadelphia (1993)

7.7 4.7K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 126 min.

Audience: PG-13

Story: Two competing lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.

Plot: philadelphia, pennsylvania, court, jurors, aids, pennsylvania, usa, homophobia, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Mark Ruffalo

Matt Bomer

Taylor Kitsch

Jim Parsons

The Normal Heart (2014)

7.7 919 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 133 min.

Audience: 15

Story: The story of the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York City in the early 1980s, taking an unflinching look at the nation's sexual politics as gay activists and their allies in the medical community fight to expose the truth about the burgeoning epidemic to a city and nation in denial.

Plot: new york city, aids, gay club, based on play or musical, hiv, male homosexuality, epidemic, lgbt, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Al Pacino

Justin Kirk

Ben Shenkman

Mary-Louise Parker

Angels in America (2003) TV Show

7.6 257 votes

Genre: Drama, Science Fiction

Country: United States of America

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 6

Audience: TV-MA

Story: God has abandoned Heaven. It's 1985: the Reagans are in the White House and Death swings the scythe of AIDS. In Manhattan, Prior Walter tells Louis, his lover of four years, he's ill; Louis leaves but as disease and loneliness ravage Prior, guilt invades Louis. Joe Pitt, a Mormon Republican attorney, is pushed by right-wing fixer Roy Cohn toward a job at the Justice Department. Pitt and Cohn are closeted: Pitt, out of shame and religious turmoil; Cohn, to preserve his power and access. Pitt's wife Harper is strung out on Valium, aching to escape a sexless marriage. An angel invites Prior to be a prophet in death.

Plot: new york city, angel, aids, drag queen, drug addiction, heaven, terminal illness, ronald reagan, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Aditi Balan

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Shwetha Shekar

Lakshmi Gopalaswamy

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Mohammad Ali Baig

Aruvi (2017)

7.5 65 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: India

Duration: 122 min.

Story: A gentle girl born and brought up amidst the ever growing eco-social-consumeristic environment finds it difficult to fit in the society. She decides to take it hard on the people.

Plot: aids, social justice

Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire (2009)

7.3 1.8K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 110 min.

Audience: R

Story: In Harlem in 1987, Claireece "Precious" Jones is a 16-year-old African American girl born into a life no one would want. She's pregnant for the second time by her absent father, and at home she must wait hand and foot on her mother, an angry woman who abuses her emotionally and physically. School is chaotic and Precious has reached the ninth grade with good marks and a secret – she can't read.

Style: cynical

Plot: rape, aids, illiteracy, unwillingly pregnant, balloon, school, crying, motorcycle, ...

Time: 1980s

The Constant Gardener (2005)

7.0 1.7K votes

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Country: Germany, United Kingdom

Duration: 129 min.

Audience: R

Story: Justin Quayle is a low-level British diplomat who has always gone about his work very quietly, not causing any problems. But after his radical wife Tessa is killed he becomes determined to find out why, thrusting himself into the middle of a very dangerous conspiracy.

Style: tense

Plot: diplomat, aids, rwandan genocide, politician, morgue, pharmaceutical industry, cancer, political thriller, ...

Place: nairobi, kenya

Cast

Woody Harrelson

Courtney Love

Edward Norton

Brett Harrelson

The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996)

7.0 1.3K votes

Genre: Drama

Country: United States of America

Duration: 130 min.

Audience: R

Story: Larry Flynt is the hedonistically obnoxious, but indomitable, publisher of Hustler magazine. The film recounts his struggle to make an honest living publishing his girlie magazine and how it changes into a battle to protect the freedom of speech for all people.

Plot: pornography, free love, court case, aids, eroticism, group sex, last judgment, freedom of speech, ...

Cast

Sebastian Stan

Jeremy Strong

Martin Donovan

Maria Bakalova

The Apprentice (2024)

6.8 988 votes

Genre: Comedy, Drama, History

Country: United States of America, United Kingdom

Duration: 122 min.

Audience: R

Story: A young Donald Trump, eager to make his name as a hungry scion of a wealthy family in 1970s New York, comes under the spell of Roy Cohn, the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé—someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.

Style: absurd

Plot: new york city, rape, corruption, aids, funeral, politics, blackmail, biography, ...

Time: 1970s, 1980s

Cast

Candela Peu00f1a

Micaela Nevu00e1rez

Mariana Cordero

Llum Barrera

Princesses (2005)

6.8 94 votes

Genre: Drama

Country: Spain

Duration: 113 min.

Audience: 18

Story: Caye is a young prostitute whose family is unaware of her profession. She meets her striking Dominican neighbour Zulema, an illegal immigrant, after she finds her in the bathroom, badly beaten up. They strike up a close friendship unbeknownst to Caye's xenophobic co-workers.

Plot: depression, friendship, prostitute, rape, strong woman, aids, madrid, spain, ...

Time: future

Cast

Michel Blanc

Emmanuelle Bu00e9art

Sami Bouajila

Julie Depardieu

The Witnesses (2007)

6.4 64 votes

Genre: Drama, Romance

Country: France

Duration: 112 min.

Story: Paris, 1984. A group of friends contend with the first outbreak of the AIDS epidemic.

Plot: prostitute, sibling relationship, paris, france, aids, marseille, france, cruising, ...

Time: 1980s

Cast

Eric Stoltz

Julie Delpy

Jean-Hugues Anglade

Tai Thai

Killing Zoe (1993)

6.2 375 votes

Genre: Action, Crime, Drama

Country: United States of America, France

Duration: 96 min.

Audience: R

Story: Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.

Plot: friendship, prostitute, robbery, drug abuse, paris, france, jazz, aids, ...

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Top Movies and TV Shows About AIDS

The representation of AIDS in media has evolved significantly since the epidemic first emerged. Here are some of the most impactful films and TV shows that highlight the human stories behind this disease.

Must-Watch Movies

Philadelphia (1993) - This groundbreaking film features Tom Hanks as a lawyer dismissed from his firm due to his AIDS diagnosis. It tackles discrimination and stigma with grace and urgency.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013) - Matthew McConaughey stars as Ron Woodroof, who battles both the disease and the medical establishment to provide treatment for himself and others.
And the Band Played On (1993) - A powerful adaptation of Randy Shilts’ non-fiction book, this film chronicles the early years of the AIDS epidemic and the response from the government and society.
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) - This biopic of Freddie Mercury explores the rock star’s life, including his battle with AIDS and its impact on his music and legacy.

Engaging TV Shows

Pose (2018-2021) - Set in the 1980s and 90s, this series showcases the ballroom culture and the impact of the AIDS crisis on the LGBTQ+ community.
It's a Sin (2021) - This British miniseries follows a group of friends in London during the 1980s as they navigate life, love, and the harsh realities of AIDS.
Rent: Live (2019) - A musical that brings to life the struggles of young artists in New York City, capturing the essence of love and loss during the AIDS crisis.

These films and shows not only entertain but also educate audiences about the AIDS crisis, its effects, and the resilience of the human spirit. Watching these narratives can foster empathy and understanding, making them essential viewing for anyone interested in the history of the epidemic.