Brokeback Mountain: Our Community's Common Bond > Brokeback Mountain Open Forum
Other gay-themed movies
milomorris:
--- Quote from: x-man on September 16, 2013, 09:05:55 am ---Milk would be sad, but are there any happy operas? Don't we have to turn to operetta for that?
--- End quote ---
Oh yes. And although operetta is primarily a comic genre, there are happy operas in the standard repertoire of grand operas. Magic Flute, Don Pasquale, Elixir of Love, Marriage of Figaro, and the Barber of Seville are all comic operas that are constantly being produced by opera companies large and small all over the world.
--- Quote from: x-man on September 16, 2013, 09:05:55 am ---Maybe the DADT story could be the first happy opera. I would insist on a film version. Let's face it, love scenes viewed from the distance between theatre stage and audience are not what they are in movie closeups.
--- End quote ---
There are a relatively small number of operas that have been made into movies. I don't mean filmed version of a staged production, but rather actual motion pictures shot on sound stages, on location, in back-lots, etc. There is one chamber opera that was written specifically for the purpose of being aired on television, and this Gian-Carlo Menotti's (another famous sexual minority) Amahl & the Night Visitors. But I am not aware of any operas out there created to be feature films. This could constitute yet another "first" for such a project.
Naturally, such a film would really only find its way into art-house movie theatres. But that is still a larger audience than an opera house would tender. Funding such a project would be a tricky and difficult prospect. But nowadays there are some production companies that will take on risky, cutting-edge projects. Focus Features is just one of them. Of course there is also the independent film production sphere, but those have distribution issues.
x-man:
THE DL CHRONICLES The Complete First Season, Kiss But Don't Tell (Here! 2008)
I haven't seen this movie on anyone's list so far. The DL stands for "down low," and the 4 episodes in the film describe the lives of 4 Black men who are "living on the down low, that is, pretending to be straight but having sex with men. The film presents this as a phenomenon of the Black community due to a higher degree of homophobia in Black culture (at least Black American culture) than in society at large. I can't comment on the authenticity of this because I am a white Canadian and unfamiliar with Black culture. I have had only one Black friend (straight), and have only slept with two Black men in my life (we didn't talk about this subject, in fact we didn't talk much at all). So, I will leave it up to African Americans to tell us how real it is.
Each episode is a separate story. The men range from very much in the closet to out. There is humour in each episode, especially the last, and watching them in order (you don't have to) you see it moving from less to more out. Beneath the humour is the recognition that men living on the down low are not in an enviable position. They have a lot to deal with, and there seems to be the idea that more out is a better place to be.
This TV mini-series is pretty good, the acting and production values fine, and the music quite good. Now to what some of you are wondering: The guys look great--some nice eye candy--but the sex is quite restrained (not like QAF at all). There is one scene of a guy with a fluffer that I am surprised got passed the censors. I recommend this movie, and it bears watching more than once; there is more to it than you first think.
x-man:
I haven't seen these movies on anybody's list here in BetterMost, so I thought I would bring them to your attention.
The Donald Strachey Mysteries:
THIRD MAN OUT (Here! 2005)
SHOCK TO THE SYSTEM (Here! 2006)
ICE BLUES (Here! 2008)
ON THE OTHER HAND DEATH (Here 2008)
These are the films that made me aware that the genre of gay movies even existed. Before, I had thought gay movie meant porn movie, and I had gotten enough of that in Amsterdam in the 70's. The films follow the career of Donald Strachey, a street-smart, tough private detective in Albany, NY, and his spouse Timothy. The films are patterned after the film noir mysteries of the 1940's, particularly the Thin Man series with Nick and Nora Charles, now Donald and Timothy. These two men play off of each other so well that people ask them if they are lovers in real life.
Chad Allen (Donald) is the boy character from Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, now grown up. He is openly gay, and does a lot of work with LGBT agencies and causes. Sebastian Spence is straight, but makes a great gay man, and says he enjoys the part very much.
The 1st, 2nd, and 4th films have specifically gay themes in their plot-lines; the 3rd is more a regular detective story with lots of gay characters. On the Commentary in Bonus Features on each film, we hear from the Director, Ron Oliver, who is very funny, very Out, and makes a lot of campy remarks about the actors. Some of the series have been released for general distribution, and occasionally show up on TV. The acting is very professional, the cinematography great--especially the lighting--capturing the film noir quality. They have lots of humour, very Chandleresque snappy dialogue, and the guys look wonderful. Oliver makes a point of trying to find male actors with great faces and bodies. After all, he says, they are gay movies.
I highly recommend all four films, but the first two are probably the best. Each film stands on its own, but the characters do develop from one film to the next, so it is better to watch them in order, especially for the first two.
BTW, when you check out Shock To The System, make sure it is the Donald Strachey Mystery. There is another movie, a 1990 film with Michael Caine called A Shock to the System.
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