The Celluloid Closet (Special Edition)
by Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
List Price:
Our Price: $17.99
You Save: $6.97 (28%)
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Buy Used: from $10.99 (click here)
Category: DVD
See more DVD releases
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
DVD Cover Information
Actor: Armistead Maupin, Arthur Laurents, Lily Tomlin, Susie Bright, Tony CurtisDirector: Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
Brand: Sony
Writer: Armistead Maupin
Writer: Jeffrey Friedman
Writer: Rob Epstein
Producer: Bernie Brillstein
Writer: Sharon Wood
Writer: Vito Russo
DVD: Region Code 99
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); French (Dubbed)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 102 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-05-29
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Sony Pictures
Movie Reviews of The Celluloid Closet (Special Edition)
Movie Review: An Entertaining, Enlightening Documentary
Summary: 5 Stars
The Celluloid Closet takes its name from a book by Vito Russo and tells us that in 100 years of movies, homosexuality has only rarely been portrayed on screen except to create humor, pity, and/or fear. Besides examining the subtle gay subtext of films as far back as the late 1920s, it also discusses the censorship practices of the Hollywood Production Code.
Narrated by Lily Tomlin, the documentary features a whole array of filmmakers, film historians, and studio heads both straight and gay. Some familiar faces include Tony Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg, Harvey Fierstein, Tom Hanks, and Susan Sarandon.
The film covers Hollywood's depiction of homosexuality from the `20s to the early `90s. There's the "Sissy," Hollywood's first stock gay character and the subtle way filmmakers would imply homosexuality in cinema. Most know that Peter Lorre's character in The Maltese Falcon Three-Disc Special Edition (1941 & 1931 versions / Satan Met a Lady) was gay, but this film shows the subtle hinting (particularly, the musical score) and the obvious (the novel explaining he's "queer").
When Hollywood introduced the Production Code, scripts were frequently changed to remove "unsuitable" material. This didn't erase homosexuality from film, but made it even harder to find.
In one of my favorite parts of this doc, Gore Vidal (the screenwriter of Ben-Hur) talks about his discussion with director William Wyler about introducing a homosexual element into the film. By making Ben-Hur and Messala former lovers, there was a reason for their hatred of one another. Wyler agreed, but only told Steven Boyd, who played Messala, for fear of Charlton Heston's reaction. Vidal gleefully compares the performances of the two, one knowing his character is gay and the other unaware.
It wasn't until the 1960s that Hollywood became more willing to pull the subject from between the lines and shuffle it to the forefront. But, it wasn't until the 1970s (particularly with The Boys in the Band) that doors were opened for how homosexuals were portrayed onscreen. Of course the film also covers the `80s and `90s, but it's my goal to get you to see it rather than just explain it all to you.
One thing I found interesting was some of the films from the late `20s and early `30s, as the gay stereotype from that era greatly parallels the modern stereotype.
The documentary succeeds on several key levels. It is rather enlightening, although covering more obvious films like Rebel Without a Cause (Two-Disc Special Edition) and Cabaret. However, I wasn't aware of the elements in Ben-Hur and tracing elements of homosexuality to a Charlie Chaplin short were pretty enlightening. Also, letting us hear from both straight and gay filmmakers allows the doc to avoid much bias.
With films like Brokeback Mountain (Widescreen Edition) and Milk achieving acceptance in the mainstream, the subject of this documentary is not as profound as it may have been in even 1995. Despite this it is still an entertaining, funny, and enlightening history lesson on homosexuality and censorship in cinema.
GRADE: A
Summary of The Celluloid Closet (Special Edition)
What "That's Entertainment" did for movie musicals THE CELLULOID CLOSET does for Hollywood homosexuality as this exuberant eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar?-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein (The Times of Harvey Milk and Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt) and Jeffrey Friedman assemble fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s. Tom Hanks Susan Sarandon Whoopi Goldberg Tony Curtis Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors writers and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?DOCUMENTARIES/MISC. UPC:?043396821071 Manufacturer No:?82107Author Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City) wrote Lily Tomlin's narration for this superb documentary, based on a book by the late Vito Russo, about Hollywood's treatment of homosexual characters in the 20th century. Never pointing a finger at anyone in the film community, The Celluloid Closet presents clips from more than 100 mainstream features (including The Children's Hour, Advise and Consent, The Boys in the Band, and The Hunger) that speak loudly in their respective images of gays and lesbians. The film makes a persuasive case for patterns of sexual mythology in Hollywood, such as presenting homosexuals repeatedly as tragic, helpless figures redeemed only through death or as back-street monsters cavorting in the shadows. Things change, of course, and clips from more recent films by gay and lesbian filmmakers suggest a more vital, diverse, autobiographical approach. There are lots of great interviews with screenwriters (Gore Vidal), filmmakers (John Schlesinger), actors (Tom Hanks, Whoopi Goldberg), and others to enunciate the major themes. --Tom Keogh
Action & Adventure DVD Video
DVD Video
- Action & Adventure
- African American Cinema
- Animation
- Anime & Manga
- Art House & International
- Classics
- Comedy
- Cult Movies
- Documentary
- Drama
- Educational
- Fitness & Yoga
- Gay & Lesbian
- Horror
- Kids & Family
- Military & War
- Music Video & Concerts
- Musicals & Performing Arts
- Mystery & Suspense
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Special Interests
- Sports
- Television
- Westerns
Movies most talked about in Provocative, Stimulating, Intriguing & Thought-Provoking Gay Movies
SocketTLA RELEASING; Release date: 2008-03-25; DVD
Best price: $10.60
Price in other shops:
Farm Family - in search of Gay life in Rural AmericaVictor; Release date: 2004-06-01; Published: 2004-06-01; DVD
Best price: $14.95
Price in other shops:
Small Town Gay BarRelease date: 2007-08-07; DVD
Best price: $14.85
Price in other shops:
Fabulous! The Story of Queer CinemaWolfe; Release date: 2006-09-19; DVD
Best price: $12.13
Price in other shops:
The 24th DayUniversal; Release date: 2004-08-31; DVD
Best price: $4.36
Price in other shops:
Love is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis BaconRelease date: 2000-04-04; DVD
Best price: $13.25
Price in other shops:
Back SoonTLA RELEASING; Release date: 2008-05-27; DVD
Best price: $11.06
Price in other shops:
Like It IsRelease date: 1999-08-07; DVD
Best price: $13.95
Price in other shops:
Apartment ZeroSTARZ HOME ENTERTAINMENT; Release date: 2007-02-20; DVD
Best price: $6.76
Price in other shops:
UrbaniaLions Gate; Release date: 2001-03-13; DVD
Best price: $9.97
Price in other shops:
Similar DVD Movies
For The Bible Tells Me SoRelease date: 2008-02-19; DVD
Best price: $14.99
Price in other shops:
Paris Is BurningParis; Release date: 2005-09-06; DVD
Best price: $20.22
Price in other shops:
The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Moviesby Vito Russo
Harper & Row; Published: 1987-04-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.69
Price in other shops:
Fabulous! The Story of Queer CinemaWOLFE VIDEO; Release date: 2006-09-19; DVD
Best price: $12.08
Price in other shops:
Out of the Past: The Struggle for Gay and Lesbian Rights in AmericaRelease date: 2005-04-26; DVD
Best price: $4.56
Price in other shops:
The Boys in the BandParamount; Release date: 2008-11-11; DVD
Best price: $18.93
Price in other shops:
The Times of Harvey Milk 1984Release date: 2004-06-08; DVD
Best price: $68.81
After StonewallRelease date: 2005-01-18; DVD
Best price: $17.62
Price in other shops:
Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian CommunityRelease date: 2004-05-18; DVD
Best price: $17.39
Price in other shops:
MilkUniversal; Release date: 2009-03-10; DVD
Best price: $12.93
Price in other shops: