| The Celluloid Closet (Special Edition) | 
 enlarge | Directors: Jeffrey Friedman, Rob Epstein
Actors: Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Susie Bright, Arthur Laurents, Armistead Maupin
Studio: Sony Pictures
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.96
Buy New: $14.24
You Save: $10.72 (43%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 11204
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Dvd-video, Special Edition, Subtitled, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), French (Dubbed)
Rating: R (Restricted)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 101
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5 x 0.6
MPN: 82107
ISBN: 0767849000
UPC: 043396821071
EAN: 9780767849005
ASIN: B00005AWR9
Theatrical Release Date: March 15, 1996
Release Date: May 29, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New & Factory Sealed - US Region 1 DVD - We Ship Fast!
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Product Description
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: 82107
Amazon.com essential video
Author 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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 watch out... July 4, 2008
documentary gets 4 stars, but DVD gets 3, because I naturally thought it would be widescreen...(it's not) :-(
 first rate review June 20, 2008
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.
A must see for all gay folk! February 29, 2008
This DVD is essential for anybody to have in there gay movie library. There is so much to learn from the previous depiction of gays in cinema. Ive watched this movie several times and never get tired of seeing the love scene in BEN HUR. If nothing else watch it and take notes as to what movies you need to see to further educate your knowledge of gay history.
Gay Cinema January 23, 2008
Julie M. Vognar wrote:
"the tender exchange between David and Jack in "Wings," (1927). The men were straight, the characters they played were straight, and the plot was straight--and David was dying! Yet, somehow, in those days before the Hayes Code, the tenderness between these two World War 1 flyers became--the hottest scene in the whole film"
Even though they were straight the chracters who obviously had plutonic love for one another shared a kiss and it was completely innocent. I don't think there was anything homoerotic or 'gay' about that kiss. If you were dying too and your BEST friend was right there, one of the only things you can do is to show a form of affection for that person as they part this world knowing they were loved in any manner wether gay, straight, whatever.
I think this film is very educational and well put together.
It's also sad that Television has had so much more success as far as gay characters go than mainstream cinema today.
Ah, what if it had been made in 2007? December 1, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
But then, people in 2015 would say, "Ah, if only it had been made this year!" (Would they have mentioned, in the waning days of 2007, the two outstanding TV shows, "Queer as Folk," which ran on Showtime for 5 years? "Angels in America," the magnificent production from HBO in 2003, which swept all the Emmys ("Did you know Streep played three parts?" "THREE?" "Yeah--she was the old rabbi, too..."); what would they have said about "Brokeback Mountain" (2005)? "Mysterious Skin" (2004) (it's director makes several brief appearances in the film, but before he really got down to work, as far as I'm concerned...
In spite of what got missed (I think "The Crying Game" and "The Wedding Banquet" are the latest films mentioned--and very briefly), this is a marvellous film. Most touching is the hunger expressed by gay commentators who for so many years longed to see thremselves presented, in any at least partially realistic way, on the screen. I was so glad that the film left Hollywood (one of its brief trips away) to give Britain's "Victim," (1961!) and its star, Dirk Bogarde, a lot of credit. "Parting Glances" got a good deal of play, too. How apologetic Crowley was for writing "The Boys in the Band," (1970--the film) with so much bitterness, self-rexcrimination and self-hatred in it. That's the way, he said, the world seemed to me, at the time. And yet, there were people who say "The Boys in the Band" who rejoyced that there were places in this favored land where gay men could get togather for a party, and dance.
It's a long story, full of humor, tragedy, and triumph, 1895-1995.
A scene that knocked my socks off (obviously--I posted six stills from it), was the tender exchange between David and Jack in "Wings," (1927). The men were straight, the characters they played were straight, and the plot was straight--and David was dying! Yet, somehow, in those days before the Hayes Code, the tenderness between these two World War 1 flyers became--the hottest scene in the whole film (the film makers--the makers of "The Celluloid Closet"-- seem to have thoght so too, because they etched it on the disc itself).
The film is a must for any film buff, gay, straight, or plaid (There's a 1947 joke about Jackie Robinson which ends "I don't care if he's plaid if he can't hit!)
Oh..there's one little problem. This DVD only costs 15 1/2 dollars--not bad! But if the subject matter interests you, you may, as I did, buy $200 or more worth of additional films, suggested by this one. "Tough knobs!" as my friend Richard Pollack used to say when I was 5. Enjoy...them all.
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