Editorial Review

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Reviews (29)

IT'S IN LETTERBOX, and it's good
It's old, and so many of the people have died, but it's a great documentary.
FUNNY AND SAD DOCUMENTARY
This is a sub-culture with a minority that I was previously unaware of.The movie is a time capsule of a certain time in a certain place with a particular and peculiar group of gay men and their hangers-on who primped and pranced for their own ideas of glamour and class and who are sometimes outrageous and unreal in their comments on society and the straight AND gay world of NYC.
rm
With all the five stars having been given this movie, I expected much more. The packaging of the DVD gives a false impression (looks nice on the outside but inside mostly repackaged old stuff.) While the historical context of gay life is worthy of perhaps four stars, the feature itself rates less. It is short at seventy-six minutes. The picture quality for this overpriced DVD is poor. The outtakes are very poor. They appear to be copied from an old worn out VHS tape with no remastering. Don't expect much from this DVD. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

Rupert Everett narrates this sensitive documentary about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals during World War II. "Paragraph 175" refers to the old German penal code concerning homosexuality, which was used to justify the prosecution of gay men during the war (the code ignored lesbians, still considered viable baby-making vessels). As mere rumor became enough to justify imprisonment, over 100,000 were arrested and between 10,000 and 15,000 were sent to concentration camps. In Read more

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Reviews (19)

An extremely important human rights document
Documentarian Rob Epstein has captured as essential piece of human history, in the nick of time.The poorly documented terror aimed at gay men in Nazi-era Germany is examined in this very important and moving film.
A Place in History,
We should never forget what ALL people went through under Hitler's Nazi regime.
Paragraph 175
Excellent movie.Just what was required for the paper on sterotyping and prejudice in the nazi war camps. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Foreign    3. Foreign Film [Dub Or Subtitle]    4. International    5. Movie   

Editorial Review

From its title, Read more

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Reviews (9)

I was in this video.
My name is Chris and I was one of the kids featured in this video 10 years ago. I just want to say after reading some of the reviews of this video I am very glad that I did it. It's very diffucult for me to watch it as I was going through some very difficult things at the time but the fact that others have found the strength to deal thier sexuality through this video makes me vey glad I did it. As an update, my family is very supoortive of me and my boyfriend and things do get better for you. Youjust have to have faith and hang on.

Basic information
This was not bad however, I didn't feel it was a quality investment. Mostly it consists of a support group and its members talking about what is going on in there lives as young Gay folks. I felt that "Growing up Gay" was a much better learning tool and a fantastic investment.

Wonderful for parents too!
My husband and I suspected our teenage son was gay because of his lack of interest in girls and the way he was slowly isolating himself.We would have conversations in front of him discussing our understanding of different lifestyles and then one day we played this movie when he was around hoping he would stick around to watch it.He did watch it and a few weeks later he sat us down and said he had been thinking about something for a long time and the movie helped him feel better about confiding in us.He said he knew he was gay for a few years, but was frightened to say anything, he even considered committing suicide.But we showed him that we would not hate him or think of him as disgusting and that gave him the courage to tell us.Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Special Interest    4. TV Shows   

Editorial Review

It begins with a woman sitting on a bed with her dog, saying nothing, barely moving, and ends with a raucous gay pride parade. In between: candid opinions, hesitations, tears, songs, chainsaws, a lot of cigarettes, and a meal or two. And we learn that Barbie and Ken wear the same size.Read more

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What we've come to know and love from Epstein.
This documentary is a great one. It carries the same feel as Epstein's other documentaries, COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, and THE CELLULOID CLOSET to name a few. GLBT living history
This is probably the best GLBT documentary ever made. It is poignant, funny, and provocative. While somewhat dated since so much has changed in the past 20+ years, the stories hold up and still speak to the human condition in a touching way. Also, it's probably just as necessary to give people a historical context of how far the community has come, not only since the film was made, but throughout the lives of the participants, including The Pioneer Harry Hay, who just died recently.Read more

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Walk a mile in Jarman's shoes...
Much has been written about this fine work, the last by innovative British filmmaker Derek Jarman.A rumination on AIDS, produced when he was rendered blind by the disease, the film consists of a soundtrack of Jarman's narration surrounded by a collage of music and sound effects; the screen itself is just the color blue, never changing during the running time of the film.Seen in a darkened theater, the blue screen almost staring at you, "Blue" is a very moving experience - you're really put in Jarman's shoes as he takes a journey through a terminal illness that has robbed the filmmaker of his sight.On home video, the impact of what some have criticised as a "gimmick" might be minimized, but "Blue" is a remarkable achievement worthy of checking out.Turn out the lights, screen it on a big tv to fill the room with the solid color and give it a try.It might surprise you.

Beautiful
There's nothing else in the world of cinema like this beautiful brilliant movie, this Blue.From Jubilee to Blue is an amazing arc indeed, and this, Derek Jarman's last film, is a marvel of music and color and poetry.To be with Jarman's film from the opening "O Blue come forth" to the final "I place a delphineum, blue, upon your grave" is to be in the presence of genius.He is deeply missed.

Untitled Blues
"I fall into a blue funk..." says the narrator about 10 minutes into this film. An understatement by far. Blue is a brooding spoken-word epic that traces the mind of a person (Jarman himself) who is in the advanced stages of AIDs. Jarman died from AIDs-related causes in 1994. The text, excerpted from Jarman's sublime book about color, CHROMA, riffs on the nature of the color blue--literally and metaphorically. These are melancholy, but not necessarily sad, meditations on the various "blues" the speaker has experienced throughout his life in general and his sickness in particular. True to the visionary nature of many of Jarman's films (The Last of England and Jubilee, for instance), Blue is a lush, experimental tour-de-force: there are no images accompanying the dialogue in this film, only an empty, glowing, aqua-marine blue screen that overwhelms the potential sadness of this film with a Tabula-Rasa like radiance. Aesthetically, this is a beautiful, but radical choice; viewers of this film will have to focus entirely on the fragmentary dialogue, without the help of images to keep distractions at bay. Politically, this choice sums up Jarman's artistic modus operandi: he is interested in work that leaves plenty of space for the viewer's imagination to fill in the narrative blanks. Jarman's empty blue screen shows the director working to not pin-down the experience of sickness and death too firmly. My only criticism of this films is that sometimes the dialogue becomes too melodramatic, undermining the understated visual component, All in all, however, Blue is an intoxicatingly morose film that, in spite of the lack of images, manages to engage the viewer throughout its duration. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Feature Film-drama    3. Movie   

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Reviews (7)

Treatise on Black Gay Desire & Impressionistic Cinema
In mainstream gay cinema, the images of the black gay man is somewhat controversial and contrived.Often, he is portrayed as the overly effete stereotype.For the sake of the dollar and to appeal to cross-cultural fetishistic interest to reach a wider audience, he is often shown preferring and seeking out the attentions of white gay men.Writer-director Isaac Julien's LOOKING FOR LANGSTON represents a departure from the status quo of the image of black gay men while also attempting to reclaim the black gay identity and history that only now is beginning to be widely acknowledged by the general black community.
Haunting and equisite poetry in motion!
I first saw this film and have been entranced by it ever since- i can't explain it- it was like the first time I ever swam. The film is made so beautifully- it worships the contibution the poet Langston Hughes made on this earth- and also lends itself to celebrating the strength that other gay men- and, hell, anyone on the outer- should feel and be thankful for. Triumph of belief and passion over misguided energy and vanity. This film worships risk-takers, underdogs and worships the gentle strength in the human male (so rarely explored) and seems to celebrate our connection to nature in a very vividand timless way. As a confused aggressive gay man at 18 year old- i saw this film and felt like there was someone else on this earth who spoke my langauge and said- hey you! you're not alone- do what you want to do so passionately and be proud of what it is that you have to say, you have a right to be here. So feel free and be yourself- the world needs to hear what it is you feel. God bless the man that made this film- it tickles my soul. Thanks to my sweet Ma - thanks to her i am finally going to own this gem after 10 years of searching!!!!!

A brilliant counter-history
Julien seeks to mine the archive of the Harlem Renaissance for what has been lost or forgotten, namely the role of gay black men--writers, visual artists, and singers--in official history. More than this, however, this film moves backward and forward in time, an homage to black gay men today and the dangers they face and have faced in U.S. history.The final coup of the film is that it is not about Langston Hughes but rather uses Hughes as an icon for the ineffability of identity itself--was Hughes gay or straight?Julien refuses to answer the question, refuses spectacle and surveillance as means of "spotting" identity.Julien's filmic language is also beautiful and subversive and he alters written texts, such as Bruce Nugent's Smoke, Lilies, and Jade (Nugent is now known as the first "out" African American writer) to fit his own political project.I have written an article on this film, 35 pages, forthcoming from VU University Press, Amsterdam, 2002, copyrighted, and think most reviews of the film are idiotic or simply do not understand the beauty and complexity of this very alternative film. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Lifestyle    2. Documentary    3. Gay/Lesbian-Themed Film    4. Mature    5. Movie   

Editorial Review

A revealing and spirited documentary, Read more

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Really well done, painful, funny, important
I'm so happy to find this video here. I have a copy that is worn out from playing for my students every year. It shows the human side of the impact of the anti-gay hate movement. The level of ignorance from the hate mongers about homosexuality would be comical if not for the fact that some fearful homophobes turn to violence, as this important film illustrates.

spectacular
The first time I saw this video, I was alone, at home, and broke down into tears at the surreal level of hate aimed at lesbians and gay men. The second time I saw it was at the New York LGBT Film Festival; I could hear that scores of other adults were weeping with me in the dark. We've come a long way since 1992, thank God, farther than most of us would have expected at the time. But it's still good to know how recently lesbians and gay men were utter pariahs, and how much irrational hatred still could erupt if encouraged by public leaders--either towards lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgendered folks or toward other unpopular groups, if the majority does not come to their aid.

"An attempt by a group of people to run this country under fascist standards."
"Ballot Measure 9" is a documentary about the Oregon Citizens Alliance's (OCA) attempts to place Measure 9 on the Oregon ballot in 1992. Measure 9 stated that all government agencies and schools would recognise that homosexuality was "abnormal, wrong, unnatural, and perverse." The proponents of the measure touted the fact that Measure 9 would stop "special rights" to gays, but in reality, Measure 9 ensured that civil rights of gays would be stripped away by prohibiting and revoking laws that protected gays from discrimination.
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"Death and dying followed us through filming."
"Silence=Death" is one part of a trilogy of films on the subject of AIDS from German director Rosa von Praunheim. Von Praunheim, a prominent Gay Rights activist in Germany creates a film that focuses on the impact of AIDS on the artistic community of New York. According to von Praunheim--continued silence about the devastating effects of the virus results in ignorance and more deaths--hence the film's title: "Silence=Death."
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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. International    3. Movie    4. Special Interest   

Editorial Review

Author Armistead Maupin (Read more

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Reviews (27)

An interesting and informative on the history of the portrayal of gays in the movies
I had been intending to see this documentary pretty much from the time it first came out until recently when I finally did see it.I was both pleased and surprised that it completely restricted itself to an analysis of the images that appeared onscreen and disappointed that in the end not much was really said of any depth.So, I was in the odd state of being relieved that it was not a bad film like it had the chance to be (by delving into speculations about the sex lives of famous Hollywood personalities) but that it wasn't quite as good as I hope it would be.
Above average movie
This movie is about how homosexuals has been portrayed in movies over time. In the early years they were made fun of. Mostly men being sissies. But that didn't seem as bad as when the '50s and early '60s when they were shown as pathetic creatures who lived a miserable existence and deserved to die. How hard it must have been if you were gay or lesbian growing up in those times! Then the '70s and early '80s they were mostly villains. Finally we are starting to make realistic films of gay life. And I for one sees that as a good thing.
a valuable documentary
To me, this film is worth owning, not just renting to see once. One only wishes it could be updated continually, especially to include 2005's Brokeback Mountain. However, it has so many gems that I recommend it for gathering so much history together. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie   

Editorial Review

Tim Kirkman's plainspoken documentary Read more

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From the eyes of a FIGHT-er.
For awhile now, I've been involved in FIGHT (Free Inspire Guide Help Teach), which is a club against any type of discrimination (it just wouldn't all fit into the title.)And, one person I've been researching to the point of almost obsession, was Matthew Shepard.He was a 21 year old student at U of Wyoming, and was beaten to death by Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, just because he was gay.I was searching sites about him, and I found that he was in this movie.So, I instantly became obsessed with getting a copy.I watched this film, which is basically a video-letter from a gay film maker to homophobic Senator, Jesse Helms.There are interviews and other interesting footage from around both his and Jesse's hometown, and you really learn a lot about how people viewed Jesse Helms.I found it all interesting, but didn't see anything of Matty Shepard.At the end, in a 'PS', he interviews students who attended lecture given by Senator Helms.The two students were Matthew Shepard, and his boyfriend.While watching this boy, who was only nineteen or twenty at the time, my blood ran cold, because this was the boy I had been fighting for.Who was shot down before he even got a chance to test his wings.As Tim said, all he had was those few minutes of footage of Matty.It's not enough.It's not fair.Only a few minutes of a boy who had hopes and dreams of helping people, and making a difference.I know that this review is more of Matty Shepard than 'Dear Jesse', but he played an incredibly important part, even if it was only less than ten minutes at the end of the film.Tim, the maker of this documentary seemed to be moved by his story, as am I.But, remember, this is coming from a fifteen year old, who still has the passion to keep FIGHT-ing.I haven't let myself become accustomed to going unheard.Tim Kirkman also wanted to be heard, he wanted Jesse Helms to understand that they were really the same, both men under the same god, from the same town, from similar families...and they both were thought to be 'evil, dangerous, and immoral.'Jesse Helms never replied.

Mr. Kirkman's courageous road trip
Here, now, a gay man addresses Senator No.And one might justifiably expect a hatchet job instead of Mr. Kirkman's elegant and restrained documentary.This piece makes its points quietly, allowing thoseinterviewed by the director to examine what Jesse Helms has come to mean tothem.The resulting portrait is all the more damning for the filmmaker'sM.O.Helms, arguably one of the most powerful U.S. senators ever, isexposed, finally and conclusively, as a man whose political career has beenmarked by the most odious forms of scapegoating, and very little else: eachof his campaigns has been driven by racist innuendo and overt homophobia,and his political stands are notable more for their brutality andcondescension than for any meaningful legislation. Incalculably crafty andevil, Helms has spent his public life hiding behind a crude, jingoisticpatriotism which is itself girded by a foul and decidedly cruel OldTestament religiosity.This Kirkman allows to unfold before us with a deftand singular craftsmanship. I recommend this film to anyone, but especiallyto those who know young, besieged gays and lesbians.Dear Jesse will tellthem that, yes, there are forces (political, religious, etc.) that fearthem; and, no, they are not, and never will be, alone.

very funny and sweet
I don't normally watch documentaries, but I saw this on HBO earlier this year and it was really good.It's a portrait of different people in North Carolina and how they all feel about Jesse Helms.It was very interestingand moving. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Drama    3. Feature Film-drama    4. Movie   

Editorial Review

Artists often invoke a past that never existed, but this offbeat documentary focuses on a pair of artists who don't merely create a fictitious past but try to live in it. David McDermott and Peter McGough, a gay couple living in New York's East Village, choose to wear the fashions of a hundred years ago, and their anachronistic flourishes are an embodiment of their art. Their paintings generally resemble illustrations from the early years of the 20th century, but with a markedly gay theme. And as one of them says on camera, "We create our own homoerotic past." Visits to their urban home show them shaving with antique razors and living without electricity, although they claim they are not using their forays into the past as a gimmick to attract attention. Art critics and a staff member of the Whitney Museum appear on camera to discuss the art of McDermott and McGough, and while the verbiage may slide perilously close to oblique "artspeak," some cogent points are made. Even neighbors in the East Village appear on camera to talk about their neighbors who stroll about in top hats and stiff collars. This is an entertaining, thoughtful, and beautifully photographed film about artists whose steps backward in time make them stand out in the world of modern art. Read more

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Subjects:  1. Alternative Lifestyle    2. Documentary    3. Movie   

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Reviews (2)

Fantastic! Even if you think you don't like poetry.
Amazing. Moving. And the range is astounding. There are poems about having sex at 40, and having cocoa after killing a child.About misplaced belongings, and blind grandfathers. I love it.

An engaging way to experience performance poetry!
Produced by Bob Holman from the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, this video brings poetry to life in an accessible way. It is able to live up to its name by presenting self-performed works, categorized in themes, by cowboy poets,immigrant poets, urban poets, celebrity poets (Alan Ginsburg, Lou Reed,Jimmy Carter and more), published poets and even child poets. The stagingof the performances is fabulous, and the poems themselves range frominspiring to funny to poignant. I especially liked Paul Beatty, MaggieEstep, Pedro Pietri and Jimmy Carter. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Performing Arts - Theater   

Editorial Review

It's a familiar story. Boy meets boy. Boy and boy start an organizationto help gays "convert" to straightdom. Boy realizes he's in love with boy, andthey leave their group to become outspoken denouncers of the movement.Read more

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An Interesting Look at How Ignorance and Hate Can Be a Cancer
I agree with this reviewer..."To say that *all* homosexuality is wrong and bad and *never* okay is presumptuous and ignorant."A lot of thought was put into this documentary.Exodus is pushy and wants their way and they are sure, like Hitler was, that God was on their side. They are homophobic and want to hand lead us into the June Cleaver age.I felt sorry for the male couple in the film who were originally spokespeople for Exodus saying "Praise God we are cured. Praise the Lord." But wait....maybe we shouldn't be afraid to be like we are deep inside.Maybe it's OK to be ourselves without any short-sighted judgement from the outside. What we are deeply inside we cannot change. Michael and his partner made it crystal clear."Why should we try being something that we are not?" I agree that life is too short for that.
1 starfor theDVD & VHSquality, but 5for the original film
I was appalled by the very poor physical quality of the DVD of this movie - which I have seen many times since recording a television broadcast about 8 years ago. I bought the DVD especially because I was hoping for improved video quality - however the DVD video has significant problems with dropouts and pixilisation, and the audio is just plain shocking with very many dropouts. So I then bought the VHS version, being prepared to sacrifice some video quality in the hope of improved audio. Sadly the VHS has exactly the same errors as the DVD plus the added annoyance of a severely overloaded HiFi audio track which causes lots of clipping throughout.
Great film for some LGTB folk, Good film for everyone else
I suppose some people will accuse me of traking a seperate but equal way of thinking about this film, but tough beans.I would say that for gay people, especially gay Christians, especially gay Christians who have felt alienated from God, this is a wonderful and moving, powerful and important film.For those of the rest of us who are straight or gay but non-Christian, it is just good.
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Subjects:  1. Documentary    2. Movie    3. Special Interest   

Editorial Review

Women directors don't have it easy and lesbian directors in particular face serious problems producing their work. The documentary Read more

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LESBIAN!!
i am a lesbian and damn proud of it..but yea..i haven't seen this one yet..but i sure like to..hehe..ok..well see you al whenever..and to any of you lesbians out there..please do...IM me at swtpnaiex143..or XxLiLPuRePnAyxX..which ever one is on..ok..bye!!

I'm a lesbian and I agree this how real lesbians are.
This movie really tell you how real lesbians are.Were justnot sex but we have a real life too.I actually love the sexualmoment.

my thoughts
I was disapionted in this video a lot of talk less action ... Read more

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Reviews (9)

A top notch viewpoint
This film is an excellent review of gay rights history.Highly recommended.

ONE OF THE BEST documentaries to parallel historical events!
I was absolutely amazed at the filmmaker for their genius in telling some of stories of the most important lesbian and gay historical figures with that of current issues.A truly rich documentary without overloading you with too many facts. Great historical record
This is a great documentary told in a manner to parallel the struggles of a high school student trying to organize a gay student union at her school.This documentary is not heavy-laden with tons of facts but is a highlight of many historical events showing the contributions of lesbians and gays in America's history.Read more

Subjects:  1. Alternative Lifestyle    2. Documentary    3. Movie   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (6)

a must buy...
for anyone who wants to understand better the real history of the GBLT movement.Great presentation, easy to watch and informative.A tool for educating anyone willing to sit and watch it!

StunningRivetingEmpoweringInspiring
The prior reviews on this movie hit most of the high points.The scene from Eisenhower's office during WWII is amazing - every time I see it I get goosebumps.
Lest We Forget......
Those of us who remember the closeted years before 1969, where the "love that dare not speak its name" remained silent, recognize the importance of documenting the hardships of gays and lesbians who lived in an era shrouded in secrecy and paranoia. This documentary does an adequate job of providing its viewers a brief glimpse into that era where there were no gay rights. I especially recommend this work to younger viewers who have little knowledge of what gay life was like before the Stonewall riots. In fact, dear reader, if you have never heard of the Stonewall riots, I implore you to purchase and view this documentary immediately!
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Subjects:  1. Alternative Lifestyle    2. Documentary    3. Mature    4. Movie   

Editorial Review

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Reviews (6)

a must buy...
for anyone who wants to understand better the real history of the GBLT movement.Great presentation, easy to watch and informative.A tool for educating anyone willing to sit and watch it!

StunningRivetingEmpoweringInspiring
The prior reviews on this movie hit most of the high points.The scene from Eisenhower's office during WWII is amazing - every time I see it I get goosebumps.
Lest We Forget......
Those of us who remember the closeted years before 1969, where the "love that dare not speak its name" remained silent, recognize the importance of documenting the hardships of gays and lesbians who lived in an era shrouded in secrecy and paranoia. This documentary does an adequate job of providing its viewers a brief glimpse into that era where there were no gay rights. I especially recommend this work to younger viewers who have little knowledge of what gay life was like before the Stonewall riots. In fact, dear reader, if you have never heard of the Stonewall riots, I implore you to purchase and view this documentary immediately!
Read more

Subjects:  1. Documentary   

Editorial Review

In this touching documentary, Margaret Wescott attempts to give voice to lesbian culture as it has existed throughout the Western world, from the time of Sappho to the present day. This is a daunting task, but one that is managed successfully by informed narration and the candid stories of lesbians from San Francisco, New York, Montreal, Vancouver, Berlin, Paris, and Amsterdam.