 "I consider this a collectors item." | 2009-05-31 |
| - Reviewed By grsaz77 |
| Very well done special, narrated by Lilly Tomlin. Eye opening look at how the gay issue has been handled in films & media, years ago, and now. |
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| "An Entertaining, Enlightening Documentary" | 2009-04-27 |
| - Reviewed By joshmiller34 |
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
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| "Fabulous" | 2009-03-04 |
| - Reviewed By User: A3OQQOSXIUA825 |
| I'm a sucker for documentaries, but I absolutely adore this film! The interviews bring so much life to it, and I want to go see all the movies they talked about now! |
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| "Fascinating look at a not-so-hidden thing" | 2008-12-04 |
| - Reviewed By vivalostwages |
| The GLBT world was said to have been hidden, but it was right there out in the open all along, even in cinema, and many people just didn't realize it or did not wish to acknowledge the reality of what was in front of them. From Edison's film of two men dancing in 1895 to Philadelphia, released in the 1990s, cinema has taken some twists and turns over the past century or so in this regard. Writers, activists, actors, and producers discuss various films and their experiences in seeing them or working on them. Done with compassion but without beating us over the head with a message, this documentary is a real eye-opener. |
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 "watch out..." | 2008-07-04 |
| - Reviewed By tony@cs.cornell.edu |
| documentary gets 4 stars, but DVD gets 3, because I naturally thought it would be widescreen...(it's not) :-( |
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| "first rate review" | 2008-06-20 |
| - Reviewed By debi832 |
| This affected me so much I thanked LT in person when I met her. Movie buffs, those coming out, fans of any interviewed would love it. LT is actually serious in this film which blew me away. Everyone's sincere. |
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