‘Philadelphia’

Although the air of do-goodism hangs like a pall over this 1993 film, it is still a milestone. Tom Hanks (pictured) won an Oscar for his affecting performance as an attorney dying of AIDS. As directed by Jonathan Demme from an original script by Ron Nyswaner, the movie fits comfortably into the pattern of such mainstream socially conscious films as “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” Denzel Washington portrays the initially homophobic lawyer who represents Hanks in his lawsuit against the firm he believes fired him because of the disease (TMC Tuesday at 11:35 a.m., 9 p.m.; Saturday at 3:15 p.m.).