Other mistake: In the library Joe quotes from a law book: "...the prejudice surrounding AIDS exacts a social death which precedes the physical one...". The subtitles read: "...which proceeds the physical one...", which is grammar- and otherwise wrong. (00:37:50)
Philadelphia (1993)
1 other mistake
Directed by: Jonathan Demme
Starring: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Antonio Banderas, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Genres: Drama
Revealing mistake: When Andy comes to Joe's office to ask for representation his head is shaven. The transitition of artificial scalp to Andy's neck is pretty badly done, and it looks almost disgusing when he is standing in front of Joe's office after he has been declined. (00:28:30)
Dr. Armbruster: The HIV virus can only be transmitted through the exchange of bodily fluids, namely blood, semen, and vaginal secretions.
Trivia: The film starred Tom Hanks and Jason Robards, the last two actors to win consecutive Oscars.
Question: Philadelphia City Hall is a massive building with thick walls. Right after their arguments in the Kendall case Hanks and Washington are seen in the elevator using their cell phones. Cell phones didn't get great reception in 1993 anyway, so would they have worked at all in an elevator inside a massive building?
Chosen answer: Probably not. But occasionally phones have worked in places they shouldn't. a signal gets through, somehow. In the movies, anything is possible as long as it moves the plot along.