After 82: The Untold Story of the AIDS C — After 82( DVD)

After 82: The Untold Story of the AIDS Crisis in the UK is a 2019 documentary looking at the year the AIDS virus hit the UK, and its aftermath. It brings together impactful interviews with those who survived, those who treated people & a few politicians, and remembering those who passed - as well as a good selection of news footage/newspaper cuttings from the time. Here from Dreamscape Media is a bare-bones region-free DVD release of the film.

The film was co-directed by Steve Keeble & Ben Lord- and this is Both’s first feature film doc. The documentary runs at the one hour and thirty-seven-minute mark.  It’s narrated by British actor Dominic West( Appropriate Adult, Pride, The Awakening) 
 
The documentary opens by introducing us to actor Jonathan Blake- who was one of the first people to catch AIDS in UK, and at that point, he didn’t get a full/ proper diagnosis. Now thirty years on he is still living with the disease- managing to carry out a full life with modern medication.
 
As the film moves on we move onto discussion of Terrence Higgings- who was one of the first people to die from HIV in the UK. He was key & loved figure in gay club land- so, as a result, his partner Rupert Whitaker, and four friends Martyn Butler, Tony Calvert, Len Robinson and Chris Peel formed Terrence Higgins Trust, which of course has gone on to become one of the most known of AIDS charity. And we get lengthy interviews with Whitaker, and a few others who formed the charity.  As we move on we get interviews with others who have survived the disease, and of course,  talk about those who were sadly lost.
 
Also featured are interviews with doctors who dealt with the disease in the early 80s, a few politicians, and those involved in various organizations that righted the lies published in the media at the time, as well as taking part in marches/ propaganda at the time.
 
There is no doubt the film is very powerful, at moments a highly moving documentary- but personally, I felt there could have been a bit of editing done here & there. As it feels too long at nearing the one hour & forty-minute mark, and  I felt that at just over an hour the whole thing would have been more focused, and ultimately more wholly impactful.
 
The DVD just features the film, and nothing else- the scan as this is a modern film- looks good & clear in its stock. Though it’s a pity there couldn’t have been one or two extras- maybe a compilation of news footage used throughout the film, an interview with the directors.
 
There is no doubt that After 82: The Untold Story of the AIDS Crisis in the UK- is a very important documentary- charting the impact of AIDS in the Uk. I just wish there had been a little editing/ tightening up here & there, as I truly think the whole thing would have played better, and ultimately been more impactful/ watched film.