Author Topic: Other gay-themed movies  (Read 162603 times)

Offline Impish

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Other gay-themed movies
« on: March 01, 2006, 06:59:11 pm »
I collect films, and after seeing BBM, I've turned my attention to acquiring more movies about gay men....  or about straight men in a  relationship with  gay men.  (an apology to my lesbian friends; I have very few movies yet about lesbians).

My collection of gay-themed movies is pretty small.  So far, I have (in alphabetical order):

The 24th Day
A Home at the End of the World (with Colin Farrel)
Adam & Steve
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Andre's Mother
Angels in America
Another Gay Movie
Apartment Zero
Before Night Falls
Bent
Big Eden
Chuck and Buck
The Children's Hour (with Audrey Hepburn)
Dog Day Afternoon
Eating Out
Fellini's Satyricon
The Fluffer
Girls Will Be Girls
Gone But Not Forgotten
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Jeffrey
Just a Question of Love
Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang
Km.0
La Cage aux Folles (the original French version)
Latter Days
Locked Up
Longtime Companion
Making Love
The Man I Love
My Beautiful Laundrette
Mysterious Skin
Prick Up Your Ears (the biopic about Joe Orton)
Querelle (with Brad Davis)
Six Degrees of Separation
The Sum of Us (with a very young Russel Crowe)
Trick
The Trip
Walk on Water
The Wedding Banquet (by director Ang Lee)
Y Tu Mama TambiƩn (not sure this belongs on this list)
Yossi and Jagger

Anyone seen any of these?  I'm not claiming these are the good ones, in fact, some are downright terrible ("Locked Up" for example). 

These are the ones I have.  I'm looking to buy more.  Any suggestions?

PS: as new films are added to my library, I'll add them to the list above.  Last updated November 24, 2006

Note: this topic was moved from the Safe Haven forum on June 26, 2006.
« Last Edit: November 24, 2006, 11:18:51 am by Impish »
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Offline Phillip Dampier

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #1 on: March 02, 2006, 08:07:32 pm »
The 24th Day
A Home at the End of the World (with Colin Farrel)
Angels in America
Apartment Zero
Eating Out
The Fluffer
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Jeffrey
Km.0
Latter Days
Locked Up
The Man I Love
Mysterious Skin
Querelle (with Brad Davis)
The Sum of Us (with a very young Russel Crowe)
The Trip
The Wedding Banquet (by director Ang Lee)
Yossi and Jagger

It's amazing that outside of Apartment Zero, I don't think I've seen any of these.  Again, usually gay cinema turns out to be like a soap opera and I don't usually like those kinds of movies regardless of who is in them.  I think the worst mainstream gay film out there was that awful Al Pacino piece of garbage from the 1970s whose name escapes me.  It was one of those films that would make people nail the closet door shut with them in it.

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Offline Impish

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #2 on: March 03, 2006, 11:22:39 am »
I think the worst mainstream gay film out there was that awful Al Pacino piece of garbage from the 1970s whose name escapes me.

That was "Cruising."   I've never seen it, but I remember people telling me how negative it was.

Another film from that period was "Making Love," which interestingly has just been released on DVD.  I hated it at the time, but wonder how I would react now.  The only two things I remember about it now are 1) how beautiful Michael Ontkean was; and 2) that Kate Jackson turned in one of the worst performances I've ever seen.  That pretty much killed her career, and deservedly so.
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Offline John Passaniti

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #3 on: March 03, 2006, 11:45:24 am »
I collect films, and after seeing BBM, I've turned my attention to acquiring more movies about gay men....  or about straight men in a  relationship with  gay men.  (an apology to my lesbian friends; I don't have any movies yet about lesbians).

Two films that I really enjoyed are Parting Glances and Desert Hearts.  But for some reason, they don't get much mention.

Parting Glances: http://imdb.com/title/tt0091725/
Desert Hearts: http://imdb.com/title/tt0089015/

Parting Glances is the story of a gay couple, one of who is leaving for an assignment in Africa, the other who is rediscovering his love for a former partner.  That partner incidentally is the first major role for Steve Buscemi.

Desert Hearts is in a way a kind of lesbian Brokeback Mountain in the sense that it shows a gay relationship (this time between two women), set in a different time and place (1950's Nevada). 
« Last Edit: March 03, 2006, 04:15:03 pm by John Passaniti »

Offline Denyys

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #4 on: March 04, 2006, 03:11:40 pm »
I think you'll be surprised by the number of gay theme flicks "out" there.

 For a wonderful film historical resource guide on G/L/B/T films check out the book "THE CELLULOID CLOSET" Homosexulaity in the Movies, Revised Edition by Vito Russo. Title is also available on VHS/DVD.

For and extensive list of movie titles search on the "Earths Biggest Movie Data Base" at  www.imdb.com search under the genre: Gay/Lesbian. I also highly recommend you check out the various G/L/B/T film festivals. Here in Phoenix every March the community comes out by the thousands in support of the "OutFar" film festival. www.outfar.org 

Food for thought/Commentary: Until recently, commercially distributed gay themed feature films the U.S. has lagged behind the more enlightened, sophisticated producers/directors and audiences across the Big Pond and at the BBC.

A few of the titles in my collection: My Beautiful Launderet, Another Country, Eating Out, Doing Time on Maple Drive (Originially aired on FOX TV Network) Eban and Charley, It's in the Water and Jeffery.

As an *Aussiewannabe I higly recommend:
Priscilla Queen of the Desert, The Sum of Us, and Beautiful Thing.

Enjoy,
Denyys
(* anagram for SYDNEY) 

Offline Impish

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #5 on: March 04, 2006, 07:59:26 pm »
I saw "Eating Out" last night for the first time.  Not a very a good movie, except you get to see  the weenies of Scott Lunsford and Ryan Carnes (now on Desparate Housewives as the gay gardener) if you can obtain the uncut version.  Unfortunately, those two brief shots are about the only redeeming "features" in the movie!   ;D

Another film just arrived to add to my collection, "Just a Question of Love." I do my DVD shopping online, and more are on the way, so I'll keep yawl updated on my collection as it grows.
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Offline rightstar

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #6 on: March 04, 2006, 09:14:01 pm »
Here are 2 more I've seen: Longtime Companion, which was OK, and "Fun down there" which was truly awful! I notice too that the dreadful "bird cage" is missing from the list, along with the European "Cage aux Folles" 1,2,3 versions, a bit better than the American. And going way back, there are two with gay elements: Teorum and Something for Everyone. If you want stray further off stream Archangel, by Guy Madden has a gay scene (and is one of my favorite movies of all time).

Offline Impish

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #7 on: March 05, 2006, 12:29:42 pm »
Here are 2 more I've seen: Longtime Companion, which was OK, and "Fun down there" which was truly awful! I notice too that the dreadful "bird cage" is missing from the list, along with the European "Cage aux Folles" 1,2,3 versions, a bit better than the American. And going way back, there are two with gay elements: Teorum and Something for Everyone. If you want stray further off stream Archangel, by Guy Madden has a gay scene (and is one of my favorite movies of all time).

I've ordered the original French "La Cage aux Folles" just yesterday.  I saw it when it was first released, and loved it.  I didn't like the sequels nearly as much, and don't plan on buying them. 

I never saw "The Bird Cage," and never will.

Same for "In and Out."  I went to this one with a lesbian friend, and after only 10 minutes, look at each other at the same instant and rose to leave without having to say a word.  We demanded our money back, and got it.
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Offline Br. Patrick

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #8 on: March 07, 2006, 07:21:09 am »
There was a made for TV movie called "That Certain Summer" in the early 1970's.  It starred Hal Holbrock (sp?) and Martin Sheen (who is a long time friend of a friend of mine).  I can't remember the plot.   I sure would like to see that again.  It made me know I "wasn't alone".   Now that I've remembered that, I will ask my friend to ask Martin Sheen if it has, or could, be released.
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Feel strength from the hands that have held you so long.
Who cares where we go on this rugged old road
In a world that may say that we're wrong.

...Cause I know - A love that will never grow old.

Gustavo Santaolalla & Bernie Taupin

Offline Impish

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Re: Other gay-themed movies
« Reply #9 on: March 09, 2006, 06:15:54 pm »
I saw "Walk on Water" last night, by Israeli director Eytan Fox, who also made "Yossi and Jagger."

This is the story of an assassin in the Mossad who gets to know the grandchildren of a Nazi war criminal, one of whom is gay.  The assassin is played by Lior Ashkenazi, who has the rugged-and-unstudied good looks that attract me most. 

The story is really about him and how by spending time with a gay man overcomes not only his homophobia but his  hatred of Muslims and Arabs as well.  No, he doesn't have a gay sexual experience, nor is he revealed to be closeted.  He's a decidedly straight man who learns to trust and respect a gay man.

Some good performances here, but the script is on the weak side.  I didn't believe the climatic scene of the film , when he cries in the arms of his gay friend, even though I've had that happen to me.  So the scene was in the realm of possibility to me, but the script up to that point hadn't convinced me that this would happen with this particular character. 

However, that last scene got me thinking about the need to be held once in a while, and I'm going to post those thoughts in a separate thread.
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