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The Celluloid Closet documentary

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Original title

The Celluloid Closet

Year

1995

Running time

102 min.

Country

United States

Director

Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Screenwriter

Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, Sharon Wood

Cast

Music

Carter Burwell

Cinematography

Nancy Schreiber

Producer

ARTE, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, Film4 Productions, Columbia Pictures Television, HBO, Sony Pictures Classics, Telling Pictures, ZDF Studios

Genre

Documentary | Movie Documentary. Gay & Lesbian

Synopsis

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 this 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 Celluloid Closet 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.

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Rankings Position

#53 Best LGTBIQ+ Productions
#55 Best Documentaries about Films and History of Cinema

Awards: 1996: Sundance: Freedom of Expression Award

1996: 4 nominations for Emmy award

1996: Independent Spirit Awards: Nominated for Truer Than Fiction Award

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Critics' reviews

"Lively and absorbing."

Jonathan Rosenbaum: Chicago Reader
"[It] goes all the way back to the birth of cinema, to an experimental Thomas Edison short of two men dancing, to trace the odd, funny, sad and disgraceful history of homosexual iconography on film

Edward Guthmann: SFgate
"An immensely entertaining, galloping reflection on screen perceptions of lesbians and gay men, from the humorous to the heinous to the heartening."

David Rooney: The Hollywood Reporter
"A witty, touching study of Hollywood's (mostly on screen) treatment of homosexuality."

Tom Charity: Time Out

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The Celluloid Closet documentary

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