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The Celluloid Closet (Special Edition) | |||||||||||||||||||
 
| 80% Recommended by our customers. Studio: Sony Catalog: DVD Release date: 2001-05-29 Media: DVD released in theatres: 1996-03-15 Running time in minutes: 101 DVD aspect ratio: 1.33:1 Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC DVD Region code: 99 released in theatres: 1996-03-15 Ean: 9780767849005 Book Isbn: 0767849000 Upc: 043396821071  Tip: compare prices with similar DVDsDirector:
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Written on September 16, 2006 Summary: An interesting and informative on the history of the portrayal of gays in the movies I had been intending to see this documentary pretty much from the time it first came out until recently when I finally did see it. I was both pleased and surprised that it completely restricted itself to an analysis of the images that appeared onscreen and disappointed that in the end not much was really said of any depth. So, I was in the odd state of being relieved that it was not a bad film like it had the chance to be (by delving into speculations about the sex lives of famous Hollywood personalities) but that it wasn't quite as good as I hope it would be. I had wondered beforehand if the film would cover such topics as the frequent speculation about Cary Grant and Randolph Scott (for which there is amazingly little evidence; the basis for their having been lovers seems to rest almost exclusively on their having roomed together for many years); the rivalries between the Cole Porter set in Hollywood and the Noel Coward set; efforts to hide the bi-, homo-, or pansexuality of actors such as Errol Flynn, Robert Taylor, Laurence Olivier, Danny Kaye, Tyrone Power (all of whom were in fact one of the three); or the proclivities of various actresses. In fact, there was astonishingly little comment on the sexual orientations of the various people in Hollywood. Instead, the entire film deals almost exclusively with images on the screen and only on the screen. This, however, turns out to be far more interesting than a voyeuristic plumbing of the sex lives of the stars. Being a movie buff I had, of course, seen a number of obviously gay characters in the movies. Joel Cairo in THE MALTESE FALCON is merely one of the better known. The documentary is at its finest when it unearths many gay and lesbian images from films of the twenties, thirties, forties, and fifties, decades in which self-censorship limited what could be shown in the movies. Some of these images will be familiar to anyone who has seen many films, such as Mrs. Danvers in REBECCA (those it should be pointed out that even as it is the movie tremendously mutes the lesbianism that is far more blatant in the novel). Many others will be far less familiar. The number of scenes with unmistakable homosexual scenes will, I believe, surprise most people who have seen a lot of movies. The most interesting moment may have been when Gore Vidal admits that he and William Wyler decided that Ben-Hur and Messala had been lovers. Stephen Boyd was informed of this and he acted his half of the relationship with this in mind, while Wyler and Vidal decided not to tell the rather conservative Heston of any of this. In the end, limiting the discussion of homosexuality to the images on the screen somewhat limited the scope of the documentary. I'm not quite sure what ultimate point they were trying to make, unless it is the somewhat trivial one that gays have been treated negatively in the movies, though that has improved somewhat in recent years. Not knowing what their ultimate goal in the film was, I can't say whether they achieved it. Still, despite an ambiguity at the heart of the film about what they were trying to accomplish, this remains a very interesting film. It is narrated by Lily Tomlin. At the time of its first presentation on HBO the story was widely circulated that she had informally agreed to come out of the closet at the time the film was first shown. At the last minute she seems to have a change of heart. She remains to this day the most poorly closeted person in the United States. To me this points to a perhaps even more interesting story: the way that actors and actresses and directors have stayed closeted over the decades. For every Rupert Everett and Ian McKellan there have been forty actors to stay closeted. That ongoing struggle between maintaining a public image while living a very different life privately is one I find fascinating. All in all, this is a very good documentary. I definitely recommend it. Written on August 14, 2006 Summary: Above average movie This movie is about how homosexuals has been portrayed in movies over time. In the early years they were made fun of. Mostly men being sissies. But that didn't seem as bad as when the '50s and early '60s when they were shown as pathetic creatures who lived a miserable existence and deserved to die. How hard it must have been if you were gay or lesbian growing up in those times! Then the '70s and early '80s they were mostly villains. Finally we are starting to make realistic films of gay life. And I for one sees that as a good thing. It's a good movie for historical information and for open minded people.  Written on July 9, 2006 Summary: a valuable documentary To me, this film is worth owning, not just renting to see once. One only wishes it could be updated continually, especially to include 2005's Brokeback Mountain. However, it has so many gems that I recommend it for gathering so much history together. Written on September 24, 2005 Summary: "Can we just not hate ourselves as much?" This remarkable 1966 documentary addresses the portrayal of homosexuals in film, from the silent movies to the 1990"s, narrated by Lily Tomlin, with commentary by Whoopi Goldberg, Armistead Maupin (Tales of the City),Antonio Fargas, Barry Sandler and others. Many of the early black and white films, silent or talkie, featured comic scenes, two men or women spinning out onto the dance floor, a cowboy kissing his best friend, or partner, goodbye before he expires, the little woman looking on with approbation. There is a somewhat tacit agreement that all is not what it may appear on film. Some of the first films to deal directly with the issue of sexual preference, did so with fear and loathing, a shame that is palpable in Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour" (1961) and "Advise and Consent" (1962). "The Boys in the Band" (1971) was one of the first films to openly discuss the lifestyle, an all male cast uttering scathing remarks about the realities of their world and the sources of their discontent. In contrast, "Cabaret" (1972) allowed acceptance and a degree of comfort with different preferences, Liza Minelli perfectly content in her role as foil. Screenwriter Barry Sandler, speaks about the acceptable negative language used in film when dealing with homosexuality, the phrases spoken with a sardonic twist, as well as the acceptable slang. There is one hitchhiking scene in "The Vanishing Point" (1971), where two men wait for a ride from a passing driver. The men exhibit all the stereotypes, language, dress and affectations and are quickly dispensed with by a macho hero. 1981 brought Pacino's "Cruising", turning the homosexual from victim to victimizer. In 1982's "Making Love", a story of two men, David Melnick says the audience left in droves during the love scene, unwilling to watch the scene play out. But "Personal Best" (1982) showed that romance between two women was more palatable to American audiences. Susan Sarandon and Catherine Deneuve played female lovers in "The Hunger" (1983), with soft-focus lenses and drifting veils; Sarandon doesn't think the film was ever taken seriously by the public. By the late 80's we had "The Color Purple" (1985) and "Torch Song Trilogy" (1988), followed by 1993's "The Wedding Singer", all featuring same sex romances. One groundbreaking film is highlighted, "Philadelphia", which truly humanizes the plight of a gay lawyer with AIDS. This character (played by high box office draw Tom Hanks) exemplifies good citizenship, a man in a committed relationship, a functioning part of society, but taken down by an epidemic too long ignored because of the original population it affected. Ron Nyswanger hoped "Philadelphia" would broaden the public's perspective of the disease and its cost to all of society. And Tom Hanks remarks, "Love is spelled with the same four letters." Armistead Maupin believes that there is still a censorship of "real images", as movie characters are forced from the real and heroic to the "bizarre, guilt-ridden and angry". Produced and directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, this film is a thought-provoking examination of sexual identity in American film, reflecting the cultural attitudes of each decade, the positive dialog still defined by the language of the bottom line. Luan Gaines/ 2005. Written on July 1, 2005 Summary: A bit outdated but good "The Celluloid Closet" is based on the Vito Russell book. The documentary discusses the roles of gays and lesbians in Hollywood. Lily Tomlin narrates the documentary. I came across this film by accident and thought it was interesting to check out. Overall, I was fascinated by they way Hollywood has treated homosexuality in their films going all the way back to the 1930s. Originally Hollywood couldn't even mention the word 'gay' without the film being censored but through out the years, little by little, gay and lesbian characters became more prominent in films. A lot of it not necessarily good with films like "Crusing" or even "Basic Instinct" which gives gays and lesbians that horrible image of being serial killers or that tragic characters that weren't meant to lead a long life on earth. The film clips were my favorite. I loved seeing and hearing about the homosexual undertones in films such as "Spartacus" and "Some Like It Hot". I always thought that the gym scene in "Gentleman Always Prefers Blonde" was a bit on the homoerotic side, I was glad to see that was mentioned in the documentary. After ten years, "The Celluloid Closet" is a bit dated because now gay and lesbian characaters have become more predominant in Hollywood and in a good way with shows like "Ellen", "Will and Grace", "Queer As Folk", and "The L Word". Also at the time of this documentary Lily Tomlin had yet to come out of the proverbial closet. Nevertheless the documentary still holds up pretty well because gays and lesbians still have a long way to go in Hollywood whether as characters or as actors. |
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| Our price | $19.99 | $26.99 | $26.99 | $7.98 | $24.99 | $26.99 |
| List price | $24.96 | $29.95 | $29.95 | $7.98 | $29.95 | $29.95 |
| Lowest used price | $14.95 | $15.95 | $19.41 | $3.99 | - | $23.22 |
| Lowest new price | $15.74 | $16.90 | $16.87 | $4.74 | $24.97 | $23.48 |
| Catalog | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| Release date | 2001-05-29 | 2004-05-18 | 2005-01-18 | 2005-04-26 | 2004-06-08 | 2002-07-23 |
| Media | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD | DVD |
| released in theatres | 1996-03-15 | 1985-06-27 | 1999 | 1998-07-31 | 1983 | 2000 |
| Running time in minutes | 101 | 87 | 88 | 70 | 90 | 81 |
| DVD aspect ratio | 1.33:1 | 1.33:1 | 1.33:1 | 1.33:1 | 1.33:1 | 1.33:1 |
| Audience Rating | R (Restricted) | NR (Not Rated) | Unrated | R (Restricted) | NR (Not Rated) | NR (Not Rated) |
| Format | Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Special Edition, Subtitled, NTSC | Black & White, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC | Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC | Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC | Color, DVD-Video, Letterboxed, NTSC | Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC |
| DVD Region code | 99 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Ean | 9780767849005 | 0720229911030 | 0720229911337 | 0783722710722 | 9781567303506 | 9781567302547 |
| Book Isbn | 0767849000 | - | - | - | 1567303501 | 1567302548 |
| Upc | 043396821071 | 720229911030 | 720229911337 | 783722710722 | 717119922443 | 717119782245 |
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