Running 81 minutes, “Buddies” felt like a play and starred just two actors. Now, 33 years after its debut, “Buddies” is being remembered, thanks to an impassioned push by people determined not to leave behind an artifact of a painful history. An intimate two-hander from 1985, it was a snapshot of a terrible time for gay men in New York, made during some of the worst hours of the epidemic. But long forgotten is “Buddies,” the first feature film about AIDS. “Philadelphia,” “Parting Glances,” “Longtime Companion” and “Tongues Untied” are often cited as benchmark movies about AIDS.
