Monday, January 29, 2024

The Celluloid Closet (1996)

 


 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Celluloid Closet is a documentary film which premiered in 1996.

 

The purpose of this film is to investigate a question which was and, to a certain degree, still is highly controversial in the USA:

 

How have American motion pictures, especially Hollywood movies, portrayed characters who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender?

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Directors: Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman

** Writers: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Sharon Wood, and Armistead Maupin

** Based on the 1981 book The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in Movies by Vito Russo and on lectures about the movie industry which Vito Russo gave from 1972 to 1982

** Narrator: Lily Tomlin

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Released on DVD in 2001

** Run time: 107 minutes

 

More than twenty persons who are in different ways connected with the movie industry are interviewed in this film, including the following:

 

** Susie Bright (born 1958) – author and journalist

** Quentin Crisp (1908-1999) – an English raconteur

** Tony Curtis (1925-2010) – an actor

** Whoopi Goldberg (born 1955) – an actress

** Harry Hamlin (born 1951) – an actor

** Tom Hanks (born 1956) – an actor

** Susan Sarandon (born 1946) – an actress

** Gore Vidal (1925-2012) – a writer

 

The participants are invited to comment on short clips from movies and to offer their personal experiences in connection with this clip and with the general topic.

 

Short clips from more than 100 movies are shown in the film. I am not going to mention all titles. The complete list is too long to be posted here.

 

The clips cover the history of the movie industry during 100 years: from 1895 until 1995.

 

What do reviewers say about this film?

 

Here are some results:

 

78 percent = IMDb

89 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the audience)

97 percent = Rotten Tomatoes (the critics)

 

On Amazon there are at the moment more than 600 global ratings; more than 130 with reviews.

 

The average rating is 4.6 stars, which corresponds to a rating of 92 percent.

 

As you can see, the ratings are very good. I understand the numerous positive reviews and I agree with them.

 

The topic explored here is important. The history of how American motion pictures, especially Hollywood movies, have covered LGTB characters deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS. If you like The Celluloid Closet, I think you will also like the following film which premiered in 2009:

 

Outrage

Here is some basic information about this film:

Writer and director: Kirby Dick

Producer: Amy Ziering

Run time: 89 minutes

 

This film is about politicians who live in the closet; about those who have escaped it; and about the people who work to end its tyranny.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Items available online

 

Reed Johnson

“Gore Vidal’s spat with Charlton Heston over gay Ben-Hur subtext,”

Los Angeles Times

01 August 2012

 

Michelle Garcia

Gore Vidal’s Defense of Ben-Hur’s Gay Subtext

Advocate

02 August 2012

 

The anonymous blog manager

“Gore Vidal on Ben Hur,”

Stephen Boyd Blog

20 July 2016

 

Ben Child

“Why has Hollywood put Ben-Hur back in the closet?”

The Guardian

17 August 2016

 

Mike Shutt

“Why Ben-Hur Sparked A Public feud Between Charlton Heston and Gore Vidal,”

Slashfilm

10 March 2022

 

# 2. Books

 

The Lavender Screen - The Gay and Lesbian Films:

Their Stars, Makers, Characters, and Critics

By Boze Hadleigh

(1993 = hardcover)

(2001 = paperback)

 

The Celluloid Closet:

Homosexuality in the Movies

By Vito Russo

(1981 = first edition)

(1987 = second edition)

 

Screened Out:

Playing Gay in Hollywood from Edison to Stonewall

By Richard Barrios

(2002 = hardcover)

(2005 = paperback)

 

Queer Images:

A History of Gay and Lesbian Film in America

By Harry M. Benshoff and Sean Griffin

(2005)

 

Gay Characters in Theater, Movies, and Television:

New Roles, New Attitudes

By Jaime A. Seba

(2009)

 

*****


The Celluloid Closet:

Homosexuality in the Movies

by Vito Russo

(First edition 1981)

(Second edition 1987)


*****



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