GLBT Documentaries - DVD and Video Page 6

Page 6

Arguably the most harrowing vision of death and dying ever recorded, this emotionally devastating video diary of two lovers living with and dying from AIDS is far from a morbid recording of one's own death. Rather, it's a celebration of life and of the enduring love the two men had for each other. Joslin, a film teacher, and his lover of 22 years, Mark Massi, decided to record their lives after the onslaught of AIDS-related illnesses. The camera follows them as they visit the doctor, buy medicine and herbal "cures" and other activities, but stays primarily in their apartment in the Silverlake section of Los Angeles. The two men attempt to continue leading productive lives despite the frustration of their physical incapacities. One's immediate feeling -- after the sadness of their story -- is an acknowledgement of their overriding commitment to each other, making this personal diary an astonishing love story.

The Celluloid Closet’s evil twin! A thought-provoking and entertaining documentary that questions how Hollywood coyly depicted homosexuality at a time when it was forbidden to show gay or lesbian characters. Through the eyes of the devilishly resourceful Rappaport, we see how many filmmakers and stars sent coded messages about male homosexuality during the 30s, 40s and 50s. Like Rappaport’s previous propaganda scrapbooks (Rock Hudson’s Home Movies, The Journals of Jean Seberg), this foray entwines narration (by Dan Butler of Frasier) to take funny, sometimes rude and often admittedly far-fetched analysis of gay subtexts found in a series of film clips. He shows that comedians such as Bob Hope, Jerry Lewis and Danny Kaye were able to spend much of the time in drag, or acting sissy for easy "fag gags." Also scrutinized are the Clifton Webb and Walter Brennan "syndromes" in which these character actors hinted at their homosexuality by playing, respectively, a bitchy, urbane snob and a hero-worshipping western sidekick.
The film’s best sequence is the eye-opening analysis of My Favorite Wife, a comedy starring then roommates (and presumed lovers) Cary Grant and Randolph Scott. What may have been a harmless farce in 1940 is now a very obvious in-joke about the true nature of their relationship. Despite the stilted narration, this is a must-see for anyone who ever wanted to find subversion beneath the surface of puritanical Golden Age Hollywood films.
Also included on the DVD is the terrific short film John Garfield which applies Rappaport's brilliant cinematic history technique to the tough-guy star of the 40s. Garfield was Jewish, but he kept it a secret so as not to affect his image - all dissected by the outstanding Mark Rappaport. 

The fascinating yet tragic "rags-to-riches-and-fabulous frocks" story of International Chrysis, a glamorous beauty who ran away from the poverty of his Brooklyn boyhood to become a charismatic drag artist, friend of Salvador Dali and underground celebrity, is recounted in this intriguing documentary. Through interviews with Chrysis, her fellow drag queen friends and archival and home movie footage, we learn of her inspiring rise to showgirl stardom only to succumb to cancer in 1990 at the age of 39, her death caused by the seepage of wax and silicone from her artificial breasts. Looking like a cross between Raquel Welch and Joan Collins, Chrysis' struggles and witty, fanciful tales are told in this tender and entertaining portrait of an unforgettable "chick with a dick."

Monumental in scope yet thoroughly engaging in execution, Stolen Moments contributes a vital chapter to lesbian culture and history. Director Westcott utilizes interviews, archival footage and dramatic re-creations to weave together the lost threads of history and make a sweeping exploration of lesbian identity in the past one hundred years. The historical dramas takes us to Janet Benet’s 19th-century Barbary Coast adventures; to the 1920s Parisian literary salons; pre-war Berlin and Amsterdam; 1950s New York where repression was in full force; to the much more open, but still repressed present. We also rediscover some lesser known historical figures including the Dutch Maria Van Antwerpen, a soldier, tailor and physician who was married for three years before the bride discovered Maria wasn’t a male; and Natalie Barney, the "wild girl from Cincinnati" who made a name for herself in 1920s Paris. Offering commentary are Audre Lorde, Jean Nestle, Nicole Brossard, Leslie Feinberg, Georgia Ragsdale and Judy Graham who comment on the contemporary struggles surrounding sexual politics and feminism, life and love. An epic chronicle that seeks to uncover what one interviewee calls "A story that hasn’t been told." Narrated by Kate Nelligan.

A very personal account of the gay liberation movement in the 70's and 80's in London, from the time homosexuality was against the law till the high days of AIDS deaths. It's a very convincing film about coming out and the meaning of being gay in a world that has not yet figured out what to do about gay people.

When a Kid Is Gay sounds like a self-help guide for stressed-out parents of gay kids, a step-by-step program on what to do ("(1) do not panic, (2) stop panicking"). In actuality, this sensitively but realistically made special is a testament to the strength and determination of teens and young adults who are slowly but surely finding their way out of the closet. Profiling a gay and lesbian youth group in Worcester, Massachusetts, the program offers different looks at various group members who are all dealing with different aspects of coming out.

Campy documentary record of Wigstock, the drag ball held in N.Y.C. each Labor Day weekend. While famous drag queens like RuPaul appear, the focus is just as much on lesser-known characters such as The Lady Bunny (Wigstock's M.C.), Mistress Formica, and, best of all, the Dueling (Tallulah) Bankheads.

It begins with a woman sitting on a bed with her dog, saying nothing, barely moving, and ends with a raucous gay pride parade. In between: candid opinions, hesitations, tears, songs, chainsaws, a lot of cigarettes, and a meal or two. And we learn that Barbie and Ken wear the same size.
Funny, articulate, and occasionally troubling, the testimonies offered by the 26 subjects of Word Is Out entertain, inform, and inspire for the duration of its 130 minutes. Made in 1977 by the Mariposa Film Group, the documentary--a montage of interviews in which the crew often foregrounds its own participation (by responding verbally, retaining mistakes, and shooting into mirrors, for example)--divides into three parts. The first focuses on the closet, and various attempts to pry open the door; the second on coming-out experiences--initial physical contact and emotional involvement; and the third on present and future concerns, including the consequences of visibility, which, as several of these people make clear, could be more dire then than now. Likewise, the film is definitely a period piece, wide lapels, frizzy perms, handlebar mustaches, overstuffed furniture, towering table lamps, pot plants, and all. But it also remains an important artifact of its time, in terms of these individuals, such as Radical Faerie Harry Hay and his partner, Bob, as well as the history of gay liberation. From the comical (one woman's psychiatrist attempts to treat her lesbianism with a diet of green salads) to the painful (one man's parents consider castrating him, while more than one interviewee had to witness or undergo shock treatment in mental institutions), and ethnically varied, Word Is Out offers telling tales of the city, town, and country: an act of remembrance on par with Coming Out Under Fire and The Celluloid Closet. - Robert Burns Neveldine (Amazon)