The GLBO-Centered Film List
compiled by Frank Swilling
***** GLBO-Centered Domestic Documentaries *****
Alternative Conceptions - 1985 (Lesbian: Documentary concerning artificial
insemination for lesbians.)
American Fabulous - 1990 (Gay - 103 minutes of a gay man named Jeffrey
Strouth, who recently died of AIDS, sitting in the back seat of an
old car telling boring stories about his life.)
Before Stonewall - 1984 (GLBO - Documentary: Gay and lesbian culture before
the Stonewall uprising.)
A Bigger Splash - 1974 (Gay - Documentary: 4 years with David Hockney and
friends.)
A Celebration of Lesbian and Gay Life and Love - 1990 (Gay/Lesbian - Music
Video celebrating the ubiquity and strength of the gay and lesbian
experience.)
Choosing Children - 1985 (Lesbian - Documentary concerning the issues
surrounding lesbians who became parents after coming out.)
Common Threads - Stories From the Quilt - 1991 (Gay/Bisexual - Several random
stories of people represented by squares on the AIDS memorial quilt.)
A Conversation with Brian McNaught on Being Gay [On Being Gay] - 1986 (Gay -
Documentary: Activist, lecturer counselor, and author McNaught
discusses being gay in a straight world.)
Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon - 1975 (Lesbian - Documentary wherein the
founders of "The Daughters of Bilitis" speak their minds.)
Dry Kisses Only - 1990 (Lesbian - Documentary: Lesbian subtexts of Hollywood
movies are revealed through inventive editing, hilarious commentaries
and interviews.)
The Families We Choose - 1985 (Lesbian - Documentary: 4 lesbian families and
other women talk about their lives.)
For Love and For Life: The 1987 March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay
Rights - 1988 (GLBO - Documents the March on Washington.)
Framing Lesbian Fashion - 1992 (Lesbian - A look at the evolution of lesbian
attire and identity, featuring interviews with Sally Gearhart, JoAnn
Loulan, Arlene Stein, Kitty Tsui, and others.)
Gay for a Day/Costumes on Review - 1976 (GLBO - "Gay for a Day" documents the
1976 Gay Pride Parade, & Costumes on Review" is a funny look at a gay
Halloween party.)
Gay Games II: Highlights - 1986 (GLBO - Documentary)
Gay Games II: Women's Physique - 1986 (Lesbian - Documentary of the women's
bodybuilding competition.)
Gay, Proud, and Sober - 1978 (Gay - Documentary about alcoholism and its
treatment in the gay community.)
Gay Voices, Gay Legends - 1988 (Gay - Famous and lesser known gay men talk
about their lives.)
Gay Youth - 1992 (Gay/Lesbian - The stories of two teens: Bobby Griffith,
who killed himself at the age of twenty, and Gina Gutierrez, a
17-year-old high school senior who received acceptance and support
for her sexual identity.)
Greetings from Washington, D.C. - 1981 (GLBO - Documentary about the 1987
March on Washington.)
The Historic March on Washington: The Largest Gay Rights Demonstration
Ever - 1987 (GLBO - Documentary about the March on Washington.)
Honored by the Moon - 1990 (Gay/Lesbian - Documentary about homosexuality
among Native Americans.)
If She Grows up Gay - 1983 (Lesbian - Documentary about the life of a
19-year-old black lesbian who talks her pregnancy and about raising
her daughter with her new lover.)
In the Best Interests of the Children - 1977 (Lesbian - Documentary with
8 diverse lesbian mothers talking about parenting and child custody.
Also gives the children's views.)
Just Because of Who We Are - 1986 (Lesbian - Documentary about physical
and psychological violence and harassment directed against lesbians.)
Kim - 1988 (Lesbian - Documentary about the coming out process of a young
Puerto Rican lesbian in New York.)
Labor More Than Once - 1983 (Lesbian - Documentary about Marianne MacQueen,
a lesbian mother who's trying to regain custody of her son.)
Last Call at Maud's - 1992 (Lesbian - Billed as a "work-in-progress", this
film focuses on the closing of the world's oldest lesbian bar in the
world, Maud's in San Francisco. Tracking lesbian history from the
WWII lesbian bar scene, to the boirth of The Daughters of Bilitis, to
the closing of Amelia's in 1991, Last Call at Maud's documents the
lives and histories of some of the major figures in San Francisco's
lesbian community.)
Lesbian Mothers - 1979 (Lesbian - Documentary about the social stigma of
lesbian motherhood.)
Lesbian Tongues - 1989 (Lesbian - Documentary: Prominent lesbians talk about
love, sex, and coming out.)
Lifetime Commitment: A Portrait of Karen Thompson - 1988 (Lesbian -
Documentary about the legal struggles between Ms. Thompson and her
lover's family over visitation rights after Sharon Kowalski is
critically injured in a 1983 auto accident.)
Males Couples: How Relationships Develop - 1985 (Gay - Documentary:
discussion of the stages of a male couple's relationship, using
dramatized vignettes of a male couple's life.)
The Male Escorts of San Francisco - 1992 (Gay - Thoughtful, unsensational,
this tape answers almost all the questions you might ever have about
male escorts.)
Meet Bradley Harrison Picklesimer- 1987 (Gay Transvestite - Documentary:
The profile of a Kentucky drag queen.)
Nitrate Kisses - 1992 (GLBO - Lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer's "experi-
mental" (read:non-traditional filmic styles) film explores the history
of lesbian and gay culture. Part oral history, part collage, part
film montage, the film might sometimes get unwieldy, but it remains
interesting throughout.)
No Need to Repent: The Ballad of Rev. Jan Griesinger - 1989 (Lesbian -
Documentary: Reverend Jan Griesinger is an "out" minister in the
United Church of Christ who has integrated her ministry, her politics
and her personal life. The story of a courageous contemporary
feminist, this film reveals some of the many levels of her activism.)
Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien - 1992 (Gay - Through music, poetry, and, at times,
chilling self-disclosure, five serio-positive black gay men speak of
their individual confrontation with AIDS.)
Not All Parents are Straight - 198? (Gay/Lesbian - Documents parent-child
relationships in several gay or lesbian-parent households.)
Paris Is Burning - 1991 (GLBO - A look at the drag balls of Harlem and
interviews with some of people who enter them, in which drag of every
description is featured.)
Part of the U.S.A.: The Official National March on Washington for Lesbian
and Gay Rights Video - 1987 (GLBO - The only video endorsed by the
organizers of the event.)
Pink Triangles: A Study of Prejudice against Lesbians and Gay Men - 1982
(Gay/Lesbian - Historical view of homophobia from the Nazi era
through the present.)
Portrait of Jason - 1967 (Gay - Interview with hustler Jason Holliday.)
Pride - 1989 (Gay/Lesbian - ACT-UP New York's DIVA TV [Damned Interfering
Video Activists] celebrates events of Lesbian and Gay Pride Weekend
1989.)
Pride and Prejudice - 1992 (Gay - A primer about homophobia, the closet,
and coming out today - nicely spliced together with visual jokes and
in-the-know references.)
The Queen - 1968 (Gay Transvestite - Outlandish documentary of the 1967
Drag Miss All American Beauty Queen Contest.)
Ray Navarro Memorial Tape - 1990 (Gay: A tribute to the AIDS activist and
videomaker, who died while making a work about Latino gay male assimi-
lation into white gay culture.)
Rights and Reactions: Lesbian and Gay Rights on Trial - 1988 (Gay/Lesbian -
Documents the passage of the 1986 Gay and Lesbian Rights bill in N.Y.)
The Salt Mines - 1990, (Transvestite - A group of homeless, urban, Hispanic
drag queen prostitutes on crack live in a junk yard in a secluded
area alongside the Hudson River known as the Salt Mines. Powerful
and grim.)
Silent Pioneers - 1984 (Gay/Lesbian - Interviews and profiles of six gay
and lesbian senior citizens. Also examines services available to gay
seniors around the U.S.)
The Sluts and Goddesses Video Workshop, or How To Be A Sex Goddess In 101
Easy Steps - 1992 (Lesbian - Learn how to have more sensual and sexual
pleasure in your life. Follow along as Annie Sprinkle catalogs the joys
of sex, along with her "Transformation Facilitators", which include
Diviana Ingravallo, Jocelyn Taylor, and Carol [Scarlot Harlot] Leigh.)
Sonia Johnson: Going Farther Out of Our Minds - 198? (Lesbian - Author
Sonia Johnson explores how women can leave patriarchy behind and
begin living in a new world right now.)
The Times of Harvey Milk - 1984 (Gay - The life and death, by assassination,
of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk.)
Tiny and Ruby: Hell Divin' Women - 1988 (Lesbian - Biography of jazz
trumpeter Ernestine "Tiny" Davis and her lover/partner of over 40
years, drummer Ruby Lucas, aka Renee Phelan.)
Tongues Untied - 1989 (Gay - Documentary using poetry, rap, interviews and
dramatic situations to express the oppression faced by black gay men
in America today.)
Voices of Life - 1991 (Gay - A clever deconstruction of conventional AIDS
documentaries, which alerts us to how appearances can be deceiving.)
War on Lesbians - 1992 (Lesbian - Drawing on various pop culture conventions
and referents, director Jane Cottis poses as a gallery of characters
and incorporates the subject of lesbianism into every imaginable
area.)
We Are Ourselves - 1976 (Lesbian - Tee A. Corinne and Honey Lee Cottrell
discuss their relationship and sexual orientation. Explicit sex
scenes show them making love.)
We Are Family - 1987 (Gay/Lesbian - Examines daily life of parents and
children in gay and lesbian families.)
Who Happen to Be Gay - 1979 (Gay - 6 openly gay professional men talk about
their lifestyle and its impact on them, family, friends, and
colleagues.)
Wild Life - 1985 (Gay - Examines the social milieu of two 15-year-old Latinos
in L.A., mixing documentary-style interviews with vignettes about their
fantasy lives.)
A Woman's Place Is in the House - 1976 (Lesbian - Portrait of Elaine Noble,
first woman and self-avowed lesbian elected to the Massachusetts
legislature.)
World of Light: A Portrait of May Sarton - 1979 (Lesbian - Interviews with
and readings from the works of 70-year-old author May Sarton.)
Word Is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives - Conversations with 16 Gay Men
and Women - 1977 (Gay/Lesbian - Interviews gays and lesbians from
different backgrounds and discusses how they deal with their sexuality
and with society's attitude towards them.)
You Can Fight City Hall - 1986 (GLBO - Details the struggle of the Columbus,
Ohio gay community to add the words "sexual orientation to existing
job protection legislation.)
***** GLBO-Centered Foreign Documentaries *****
Absence of Us - 1986, Canada (Lesbian - Examines the public and private
realities of being a lesbian in Canada today.)
All Out Dancing in Dulais - 198?, Great Britain (Gay/Lesbian - Recounts
the formation of an unusual alliance between a group of young gays
and lesbians from London and a group of miners from Wales during a
Welsh miner's strike in 1984-85.)
Armisted Maupin is a Man I Dreamed Up - 1992 (Gay - A Made-for-BBC look
at San Francisco, and the man whose "Tales of the City" series have
inspired thousands to move there.)
Army of Lovers, or Revolt of the Perverts - 1978, West Germany (Gay - Rosa
von Praunheim's highly subjective, heavy-handed view of the gay movement
in America, telling its story through a series of interviews
interspersed
with newsreel footage, still photo montages, snippets of marches and
rallies, and agitprop gay theatre.)
Bright Eyes - 1986, Great Britain (Made-for-British-TV 3-part video which
examines the historical and social factors influencing current reactions
to homosexuality and AIDS.)
Corps de Parole - 1989, Canada (Lesbian - Documentary centering on French
writer Michele Causse.)
Cover Comrades in Arms - 1990, Great Britain (Gay/Lesbian - Documentary: Six
lesbians and gay men recall living, loving and serving in the British
armed services in World War II.)
Daddy and the Muscle Academy - 1992, Finland (Gay - Combines interview
material with Tom of Finland, and hundreds of his drawings, with
testifying "Tom's men", from Drummer Daddies to fellow artists. This
controversial film also includes some steamy invented sequences - a
sort of "journey to the center of Tom's psyche".)
Derek Jarman, Know What I Mean - 1988, Great Britain (Gay - An overview of
the controversial artist's life and work.)
Desire - 1989, Great Britain (Gay - A view of gay life in Germany before the
Holocaust.)
Every Conceivable Position: Inside Gay Porn - 1992, Great Britain (Gay/
Lesbian: A fresh and thoughtful look at the modern gay and lesbian
porn industry, including behind-the-scenes interviews with stars,
producers, and commentators. This documentary was commissioned by
the BBC, who allowed the filmmakers to include clips, so long as
genitals weren't visible.)
Eunuchs: India's Third Gender - 1991, Great Britain (Gay - A made-for-BBC
look at some of the more than half a million eunuchs - or hijiras -
in India today. This film captures the pleasures and contradictions
of a living alternative to Western ideas about gender.)
Flesh & Paper - 1990, Great Britain (Lesbian - Documentary: The life and
writings of the lesbian writer and poet Suniti Namjoshi who is from
an Indian royal family and resides in England. Includes interviews
with her friends and with the young Indian women who take her as a
role model.)
Flowing Hearts: Thailand Fights AIDS - 1992 (The White Line Dance Troupe
uses Thai and modern dance to enact AIDS awareness. Thai gay/AIDS
activists are interviewed.)
Framed Youth - 198?, Great Britain (British teens confront straights in
London about their views on homosexuality with amusing, revealing,
results.)
In the Out Tray - 198?, Great Britain (Gay/Lesbian - Examines the issue of
lesbian and gay employment rights.)
Handel und Wandel - 1983, West Germany (Lesbian - Loving docudrama about the
filmmaker's girlfriend, a vital, energetic lesbian.)
Improper Conduct [Mauvaise Conduite] - 1984, France (Gay - Documents all
persecution in Castro's Cuba, including that of gays.)
A Kind of Family - 1992, Canada (Gay: Documentary profiling the relationship
and family life of a gay city counselor and his street kid foster son.)
Legal Memory - 1992, Canada (Gay: Plodding but still interesting docu-drama
about the last man hanged in British Columbia, for the 1958 murder of
his sailor boyfriend.)
Lesbians Against the Right - 1981, Canada (Lesbian - Addresses the attempts
by the New Right to blame society's ills on gays, immigrants, and
the women's movement.)
Looking for Langston - 1988, Great Britain (Gay - Documents the life and
times of gay black poet Langston Hughes.)
Macho Dancer - 19??, The Philippines (Gay - Documentary: About the lives of
boy prostitutes in Manila.)
The Making of "Monsters" - 1991, Canada (Gay - George Lukacs is a Marxist
literary critic and has made films such as Star Wars, about American
Imperialism in the space age. Berthold Brecht is a catfish and
renowned playwright. They team up to film the musical "Monsters",
about 4 Toronto schoolboys who killed a gay highschool teacher.
Indescribable, absurd, and hilarious.)
Memoire de notre hystoire 1972-1987 - 1987, Canada (Lesbian - Depicts lesbian
history in Canada through the years 1972-1987 as seen by two lesbian
feminists.)
Michael, A Gay Son - 1981, Canada (Gay - Explores the feelings and
experiences of gays coming out to their families by following one
man through the process.)
Minoru and Me - 1992, Great Britain (A brutally honest real-life-while-it-
happens drama of a man with cerebral palsy trying to come out to the
filmmaker, his friend. As the filmmaker becomes increasing obsessed
with portraying the physically challenged man as disabled and dependent,
the man with cerebral palsy becomes increasingly disgusted and unable to
state what he's traveled all the way from Japan to say.)
Montgomery Clift - 1985, Italy (Gay - Biography which deals extensively with
the actor's homosexuality.)
Over Our Dead Bodies - 1991, Great Britain (GLBO: Documentary examining the
direct action gay movement, including ACT-UP, Queer Nation and OUTrage
in the United States and the United Kingdom).
A Place of Rage - 1991, Great Britain (Lesbian - documentary: Lesbian
filmmaker Pratibha Parmar directs this tribute and celebration of
African-American women and their accomplishments.)
Positive - 198?, West Germany, USA (Gay/Lesbian - A documentary about the
rise of the AIDS activist movement in the US. The focus is on New York
City. Footage of GMHC, ACT-UP etc.)
Prison for Women [P4W, Pan Canadian Prison for Women] - 1981, Canada
(Lesbian - A film about a woman's prison in which lesbians, among
others, are jailed.)
Saturday Night Out: the Gay Rock'n Roll Years, 1954-1991 - 1992, Great
Britain (GLBO: A history of the gay/lesbian movement from 1954-1991
as seen from clips from the BBC archives and set to the rock'n roll
music of those years.)
Sharing the Secret - 1981, Canada (Gay - The lives and feelings of several
gay men are explored as they go through their day to day lives.)
Silence=Death - 198?, West Germany,USA (Gay/Lesbian - A documentary about
several New York-based performance artists, including Diamanda Galas,
David Wojnarowicz, and Emilio Cubeiro, whose work discusses issues
related to AIDS.)
Susana - 1980, Argentina, United States (Lesbian - Autobiographical sketch
of a young Argentine lesbian who has to deal with her family's
disapproval as well as her emerging lesbian identity.)
That's Masculinity - 1991, Great Britain (Gay - Documentary: Campy and
erotic answers to the ever pervasive questions about sex and gender.)
Trojans - 1990, Great Britain (Gay - Documentary: A look at nineteenth
century Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, whose work is loaded with
homoeroticism and motifs from Greek history. The film reflects the
same heady ambience using sexy Derek Jarmanesque super-8 visuals and
the poet's work on the soundtrack.)
Veronica 4 Rose - 1985, Great Britain (Lesbian - Made-for-British-TV
documentary about teenage lesbians growing up in several diverse
English cities.)
We've Been Framed - 1991, Great Britain (Lesbian - Documentary: Lesbians
talk about the best, worst, and first lesbian film they've seen.)
What Shall We Do Without Death - 1980, West Germany (Lesbian - A female
couple who have vowed to spend the rest of their lives together are
the focus of this film about a retirement home in Hamburg.)
Whoever Says the Truth Shall Die - 1981, Netherlands (Gay - Made-for-Dutch-TV
film about the life and murder of filmmaker/poet Pier Paolo Pasolini.)
Witches, Dykes, Faggots, and Poofters - 1979, Australia (Gay/Lesbian -
Documents the oppression of gays and lesbians throughout history,
focussing on Sydney and New South Wales.)
A Woman of My Platoon - 1989, Canada (Lesbian - Juxtaposes the experiences
of lesbians serving in the Canadian armed services during WWII
against a modern debate in the Canadian parliament concerning a
bill which would prevent discrimination against lesbians and gays
in the armed services.)
***** Gay-Centered Domestic Films *****
Abuse - 1983 (Gay - Drama: A young boy, abused at home, finds love with a
gay filmmaker.)
As Is - 1986 (Gay - Drama: A man who has contracted AIDS from a lover who
then abandoned him moves in with his caring ex-lover.)
The Boys in the Band - 1970 (Gay - Drama: The first Hollywood movie to
feature male homosexuality, in which a straight man is the accidental
guest at a birthday party with one of each of the major gay male
subgroups except for leather.)
Buddies - 1985 (Gay - Drama: A gay activist who has AIDS starts out hating
the yuppie volunteer who comes to take care of him out of a sense of
duty, but their brief relationship is both poignant and intense.)
The Christine Jorgensen Story - 1970 (Transsexual - Biography: the world's
most famous male-to-female sex change story.)
Citizen Cohn - 1992 (Gay - Biographical Drama: Made-for-HBO movie about
infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, a Jew who prosecuted the Rosenbergs, a
queer-hating homosexual who was the prime shaker behind Senator Joe
McCarthy's anti-ommunist & homosexual witch-hunt in the 1950's.
Includes such delightful scenes as Cohn being entertained after
dinner at J. Edgar Hoover's home by Hoover's true love, Deputy FBI
Director Clyde Tolson, at the piano, and a restaurant scene with
Cohn eating from the plate of one the other most influential right-
wing closet-cases of the day: renowned chicken-hawk Francis Cardinal
Spellman.)
Consenting Adult - 1985 (Gay - Drama: Made-for-TV movie about a teenage boy
who comes out to his parents. Mom eventually comes around, but Dad
would rather die, and does.)
Cruising - 1980 (Gay - Drama: Extremely negative film about gay murders and
the undercover cop trying to solve them, but who turns into a killer
faggot himself from exposure to the New York leather scene.)
The Disco Years - 1992 (Gay - Drama: Set in the times of pet rocks, gas lines,
and macrame, a high school student's sexual passions are stirred in his
gym class.)
Dog Day Afternoon - 1975 (Gay - Drama/Biography: Gay man robs bank to pay
for his male lover's sex-change operation.)
Doing Time on Maple Drive - 1992 (Gay - Drama: A teenager comes to grips with
his gay identity and tries to come out to his dysfunctional suburban
family in this made-for-TV movie.)
Drum - 1976 (Gay - Drama: A white plantation owner and his gay pal rape black
men.)
An Early Frost - 1985 (Gay - Drama: Made-for-TV movie about a family having
to deal with their son's AIDS.)
Fortune and Men's Eyes - 1971 (Gay - Drama: A tough, tragic story involving
violence, sex roles, and epic bitchiness in a men's prison.)
Fun Down There - 1988 (Gay - Drama: The life and loves of a guy who leaves
his home in upstate New York for Manhattan.)
The Genesis Children - 1972, USA, Italy (Gay? - Drama: A joyous celebration
of innocent youths on a journey of self-discovery. Controversial even
today because of its uninhibited naturist sentiments.)
Horror Vacuii - 1984 (Gay - Drama: A gay man tries to save his lover from a
religious cult.)
Kiss of the Spider Woman - 1985 (Gay Transvestite - Drama: A gay prisoner
falls in love with the revolutionary he's supposed to be spying on
for the prison authorities.)
The Living End - 1991 (Gay - Drama: Two fatalistic L.A. boys - one an
impulsive, on-the-edge psycho cutie, the other a lover of Godard
movies who listens to the Smiths a lot - discover they're HIV
positive and set off on an unplanned, unhinged cross-country spree
of violence and abandon.)
Longtime Companion - 1990 (Gay - Drama: In 1970s New York, a bunch of gay
friends are having wonderful lives, until one by one, most of them
start getting sick with AIDS.)
Making Love - 1982 (Bisexual/Gay - Drama: A handsome young doctor leaves his
beautiful young wife for a handsome young writer.)
Mala Noche - 1985 (Gay - Drama: A well-adjusted young gay grocery clerk falls
in love with a 16-year-old Mexican illegal alien who doesn't return
his feelings.)
Mountains of the Moon - 1990 (Gay - Biographical Drama: Epic about explorers
Richard Burton and John Hanning Speke. The film makes it quite clear
that Speke is homosexual, and, in fact quite taken with Burton. This
storyline is not the main thrust of the film however.)
My Own Private Idaho - 1991 (Gay - Drama: A narcoleptic hustler looking for
some love in his life and a bisexual hustler who'd do anything to
outrage his father go on a search for their own identities.)
Nocturne - 1989 (Gay - Drama: Mark Harris's contemplative coming of age story
about Martin, a shy pianist new to New York, who meets the handsome
Gino. Martin thinks he's found his match, but Gino only wants a
casual sexual liaison. As Martin slides into obsession he is forced
to deal with a terrible secret from his past.)
Norman, Is That You? - 1976 (Gay - Comedy: A butch gay black youth is in
love with a nelly white youth, and his parents are both about to have
a heart attack over it.)
Parting Glances - 1986 (Gay - Drama: Lovers find their relationship is
falling apart because one is getting ready to take a job in Africa;
the other has to also cope with his ex-lover and dear friend, who
has contracted the AIDS virus.)
Partners - 1982 (Gay - Comedy: Insulting, homophobic, and crude story of a
straight cop posing as a gay man along with a real gay man in order
to solve some murders in the gay community.)
Pink Narcissus - 1970 (Gay - Drama: Caballeros and bike boys, striptease
and tearoom sex. This film delves beneath the surface of gay sex
fantasies.)
Rock Hudson's Home Movies - 1992 (Gay - Comic pseudo-documentary: A Rock
Hudson look-alike impersonates the star as he takes us through an
array of cleverly-edited clips of Hudson's films and confesses to
all the homosexual connotations.)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show - 1975 (Gay Transvestite - Horror/Comedy/
Musical: An innocent young couple take refuge in the castle of
Dr. Frank 'n' Furter, that sweet transvestite from Transsexual,
Transylvania.)
The Sergeant - 1968 (Gay - Drama: A deeply repressed Sergeant Major falls in
love with a company clerk, and is unable to deal with his homosexual
desires.)
Sergeant Matlovich vs. U.S. Air Force - 1978 (Gay - Drama: Made-for-TV movie
about Matlovich's fight to stay in the Air Force despite his revealed
homosexuality.)
Some of My Best Friends Are... [The Bar] - 1971 (Gay - Drama: One night in
the life of a pre-Stonewall bar in Greenwich Village.)
Swoon - 1991 (Gay - Drama: A reexamination of the infamous Leopold and Loeb
murder case, focusing on their homosexuality and its relevance to
their crime.)
That Certain Summer - 1973 (Gay - Drama: Made-for-TV movie about a father
trying to establish a relationship with his son after leaving the
boy's mother for another man.)
Tidy Endings - 1988 (Gay - Drama: Made-for-TV movie about the aftermath of
a man dying of AIDS: his male lover and his ex-wife have to come to
legal and emotional terms.)
Thundercrack - 1976 (GLBO - Comedy: A bizarre black comedy wherein the
visitors to an "old dark house" are terrorized by a bunch of perverts
who sexually assault them.)
Torch Song Trilogy - 1988 (Gay/Gay Transvestite - Comedy/Drama: Harvey
Fierstein wrote and stars as a professional drag queen looking for
love and respect all through the '70s in New York.)
A Very Natural Thing - 1973 (Gay - Drama: This film tries to explore gay male
relationships first from the point of view of trying to maintain a
monogamous relationship and when that fails, from the POV of having
a lot of empty, meaningless sex.)
Victor, Victoria - 1982 (Gay - Comedy: Female to male cross-dressing is
featured in this farce about a woman pretending to be a man
pretending to be a woman in 1920s Paris, but there's male-to-female
cross-dressing too.)
***** Gay-Centered Foreign Films *****
The Affairs of Love - 1990, Spain (Gay - Drama: The life of a gay man in the
1940s and the power of music are the intertwined themes of this film
which follows the lives of three vaudeville performers; a gay man,
a straight man, and a straight woman.)
Angel [Angelos] - 1982, Greece (Gay - Biographical Drama: This violent but
moving account of a handsome young gay man accused of murder is based
on a true story and contains explicit love scenes.)
Another Country - 1984, Great Britain (Gay - Biographical Drama: Romanticized
version of the Guy Burgess and Donald MacLean story, in which homo-
sexual love among upper-crust English schoolboys causes them to grow
up to be notorious traitors to their country.)
Apartment Zero - 1989, Great Britain/Argentina (Gay/Bisexual - Drama:
Politics, murder, and sexual repression ignite the screen when a gay
cinema owner picks a mysterious stranger to be his roommate in Buenos
Aires. Lots of sexual tensions develop between the two, but the plot
centers around the mystery of recent news headlines and the new
tenant's relationship to them.)
Behind Glass - 1981, Netherlands (Gay - Drama: Two lovers from different
backgrounds fight about class, money, education, and sex.)
The Best Way [La Meilleure Facon de Marcher, The Best Way to Walk] - 1982,
France (Gay Transvestite - Drama: Butch athletic coach scorns the
advances of the transvestite drama teacher, but an eventual con-
frontation causes the jock to look at his own suppressed sexuality.)
Beyond Gravity - 1988, New Zealand (Gay - Drama: Flamboyant rebel Johnny
meets shy glass technician Richard in this offbeat lovestory.)
Black and White [Noir et Blanc] - 1986, France (Gay - Drama: A shy accountant
gradually enters into a bizarre sado-masochistic relationship with a
black masseur.)
Blue Jeans - 1982, France (Gay - Drama: A young boy suffers from an
unrequited love for an older teen.)
La Cage Aux Folles [Birds of a Feather] - 1981, France (Gay/Gay Trans-
vestite - Comedy: Renato's son is bringing his fiance's conservative
parents home to meet the family: Renato, his gay father, and Albin,
Renato's lover, an aging female impersonator who raised the boy as
"her" son.)
La Cage Aux Folles II - 1983, France (Gay/Gay Transvestite - Comedy: Renato
sets out to prove to Albin that he still has sex appeal, and they
accidentally get involved in espionage.)
La Cage Aux Folles III - 1985, France (Gay/Gay Transvestite - Comedy: Albin
has to get married and father a son within 18 months if he is to
inherit a family fortune and save his and Renato's nightclub.)
Caravaggio - 1986, Great Britain (Gay - Biographical Drama: Life and times of
the famous Renaissance painter.)
Caught Looking - 1991, Great Britain (Gay - Comedy: A new virtual reality
home computer game soon becomes a sex toy for use in gay men's
stereotypical sexual fantasies.)
The Clinic - 1985, Australia (Gay - Comedy: A gay doctor at an Australian
VD clinic has to cope with a lot of wild goings on.)
Colonel Redl - 1985, Hungary (Gay - Drama: The head of the Austrian imperial
secret service gets outed as a homosexual and a spy.)
Coming Out - 1989, East Germany (Gay - Drama: The story of a young school
teacher who is confronted with his sexuality after a chance encounter
with an old friend.)
The Consequence - 1977, West Germany (Gay - Drama: The world is unkind to two
gay lovers.)
Death in Venice [Morte a Venezia] - 1971, Italy (Gay - Drama: In turn-of-the-
twentieth-century Venice, an aging artist falls obsessively in love
with a beautiful young boy but never tells him, and ends up dead of
cholera.)
The Deputy [El Diputado, Confessions of a Congressman] - 1983, Spain (Gay -
Drama: A rising young gay politician is the target of blackmail, and
gets romantically involved with the hustler his enemies send to do
the job.)
Different from the Others [Anders als die Anderen] - 1919, Germany (Gay -
Drama: A silent film about a concert violinist being blackmailed
because of his sexual orientation.)
Dona Herlinda and Her Son [Dona Herlinda y Su Hijo] - 1985, Mexico (Gay/
Bisexual - Comedy: A doctor has a male lover, but to please his
mother, he marries a woman, and everyone ends up living happily
together under one roof.)
Drifting - 1982, Israel (Gay - Drama: An aspiring Israeli filmmaker works
in his grandmother's store while dreaming of making gay films.)
Edward II - 1992, Great Britain (Gay - Historical Drama: Derek Jarman
retells the story of Edward II and his despised low-born lover using
Christopher Marlowe's language, sparse sets, and modern dress and
imagery.)
Ernesto - 1983, Italy (Gay - Drama: A middle-class Italian Jewish teenager
has an affair with a dock worker and then falls in love with a fellow
violin student.)
Forbidden Passion: Oscar Wilde - 1976, Great Britain (Gay - Biography: The
whole tragic story of the famous wit's life and ruinous love affair
with Lord Alfred Douglas.)
Forever Mary - 1991, Italy (Gay Transvestite - Drama: A young gay reform
school student teaches a straight teacher something about dignity.)
The Fourth Man [De Vierde Man] - 1983, Netherlands (Bisexual - Drama: A
bisexual novelist finds out that the thrice-widowed hairdresser who
seduces him is engaged to a fourth man, and together the men
discover her deadly secret.)
Fox and His Friends - 1975, West Germany (Gay - Drama: A working class gay
man is victimized for both his sexual and social status.)
Friends Forever - 1986, Denmark (Gay - Drama: A charming, exuberant story of
friendship and sexuality between three 16-year-old schoolboys. It's
sexy, funny, and guiltless.)
The Heart Exposed - 1986, Canada (Gay - Drama: A middle-aged teacher starts a
relationship with an actor fifteen years younger who also has a young
son.)
The Hours and the Times - 1992, Great Britain (Gay - Biographical Drama: This
is more or less a fantasy dealing with Beatle manager Brian Epstein's
unrequited love for John Lennon, centering on a week-end they spent
together in Barcelona.)
It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse But the Society in Which He Lives -
1971, West Germany (Gay - Drama: A gay man in the process of coming
out examines all the options. Political, dogmatic, and anti-bourgois,
this film assails media-created romantic illusions, capitalist
principles,
and sexist role playing.)
The Last of England - 19??, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: A post-nuclear
fantasy about England with many bootboys and other luscious types.)
Law of Desire - 1987, Spain (Gay/Transsexual - Comedy/Drama: Screwball
tragicomedy centering on a gay film director, his transsexual
brother [now a sister, who is played by a born-female actress], and
two of his young lovers.)
Lawrence of Arabia - 1962, Great Britain (Gay - Biographical Drama: Epic
story of T. E. Lawrence, the flamboyant British officer who helped
to weld together disparate Arab tribes and then led them in
successful guerrilla warfare against the Turks who were allied with
the Germans in WWI. There isn't much overt gay content in this
film -- Lawrence gets raped by a Turk, and he has a very chummy
relationship with two Arab boys who attach themselves to him -- but
historically, Lawrence is said to have been homosexual, and this
film is a masterpiece, so here it is.)
The Leather Boys - 1964, Great Britain (Bisexual/Gay - Drama: Against his
better judgment, a gay man marries a girl who is bored with her life.
The marriage falls apart and the gay man goes to bed with a buddy
whom he doesn't know is also gay. Complications ensue.)
The Lost Language of Cranes - 1992, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: A properly
reserved middle-class British family is thrown into turmoil when the
son announces he's gay. Mother doesn't want to know about it, and
Father starts coming apart because he's been hiding his gay double-
life for years, and the guilt and self-loathing finally catch up to
him. Adapted from David Leavitt's novel about an American family.)
A Man Like Eva [Ein Mann wie Eva] - 1983, Germany (Gay Transvestite: During
the shooting of a Fassbinder movie, gender-bending star Eva ditches
an ex-lover, marries the leading lady, and seduces the leading man.)
Maurice - 1987, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: Two upper-crust English boys are
drawn to one another, but one insists on keeping the relationship
platonic, while the other one wants someone he can go to bed with.)
My Beautiful Launderette - 1985, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: Race, social
class, and sex are some of the issues that need to be dealt with
when a British street punk and a young Pakistani entrepreneur fall
in love.)
The Naked Civil Servant: The Autobiography of Quentin Crisp - 1975, Great
Britain (Gay - Biography: Quentin Crisp is *way* ahead of his time
when he outs himself in a era where ostracism and intolerance were
rampant.)
Night Out - 1989, Australia (Gay - Drama: When Steve leaves town for a few
days, his lover Tony decides to cruise the beach one night, and is
brutalized by a gang of thugs. The event triggers an examination of
the couple's supposedly wonderful relationship.)
North of Vortex - 1991, Great Britain (Bisexual - Drama: A studied black and
white road movie about a bisexual poet, two hitchhikers, and the
American landscape.)
The Outcasts - 1986, Taiwan (Gay - Drama: An older photographer tries to make
a home for a group of gay teens who've been abandoned by their
families because of their sexual orientation.)
Outrageous! - 1977, Canada (Transvestite Drag - Comedy/Drama: A gay hair-
dresser has an interesting relationship with a schizophrenic girl on
his way to stardom as a drag queen who does impressions of all the
usual gay icons.)
Pink Ulysses - 1989, The Netherlands (Gay - Drama: The inner struggle of
"pink Ulysses" is entwined with a loose adaption of The Odyssey in
this sensual film featuring footage from a 1950s bodybuilding show,
Eisenstein, and a TV version of "Sleeping Beauty" by the Dutch
National Ballet.)
Prick Up Your Ears - 1987, Great Britain (Gay - Biographical Drama: The life
and death of playwright Joe Orton, who was murdered by his lover at
the height of his fame.)
Privates on Parade - 1982, Great Britain (Gay Transvestites - Comedy: The
bitterly satirical adventures of a theatrical troop of drag queens
during wartime.)
Querelle - 1982, West Germany/France (Gay - Querelle is a devastatingly
handsome gay sailor who is also a cold-hearted killer.)
Salome's Last Dance - 1988, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: A Ken Russell
extravaganza, wherein Oscar Wilde is invited to a bordello to view
a wildly decadent version of his banned play "Salome".)
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom - 1975, Italy (Gay S&M - Drama: Pasolini's
last film before his murder is powerfully anti-Fascist. During WWII,
a group of powerful Fascists play S&M games with a group of young
people, culminating in murder.)
Salut Victor! - 1988, Canada (Gay - Drama: Two elderly gay men who are
complete opposites befriend one another in an old age home.)
Sebastian [Sebastiane] - 1977, Great Britain (Gay - Biographical Drama: The
story of St. Sebastian, who was sent to be outreaches of the Roman
Empire after objecting to the murder of a young Christian page.
There he carries on an affair with his commanding officer, whereupon
he is brutally murdered by his fellow soldiers.)
Staircase - 1969, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: Rex Harrison and Richard Burton
are a couple of gay barbers trying to adjust to the onset of old age,
but they are both just walking stereotypes.)
Sunday, Bloody Sunday - 1971, Great Britain (Bisexual/Gay - Drama: A bisexual
man carries on an affair with a woman and man at the same time, and
claims to love them both.)
Taxi zum Klo [Taxi to the Toilet] - 1981, West Germany (Gay - Dramatic
Autobiography: Escapades of a gay man who wants as much sex as he
can get, while his lover just wants them both to stay home.)
Taxi to Cairo - 1987, West Germany (Gay - Comedy: Our hero stages a marriage
to a woman to remain in his mother's will, but he and his bride fall
in love with the same man.)
This Special Friendship [Les Amities Particuliers] - 1964, France (Gay -
Drama: A relationship between an older boy and a younger boy at a
strict Catholic boy's school ends in disaster when the priests keep
voicing their disapproval with heavy-handed tactics.)
Together Alone - 1991, Canada (Gay - Drama: Brian and Bryan talk after
sex, about honesty, safety, sexuality, fidelity, power, companionship
and more.)
Too Outrageous! - 1987, Canada (Gay Transvestite - Comedy/Drama, sequel to
"Outrageous!".)
To Play or Die - 1991, Netherlands (Gay- Drama: An introverted schoolboy,
bullied by his handsome schoolmates, invites the ringleader home
with plans of revenge, but the other boy gets the upper hand.)
Two of Us - 1986, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: Made-for-British-TV show about
two working class teens who become lovers.)
Un Chant D'Amour - 1950, France (Gay - Drama: Jean Genet's only film - a
notorious fantasy set in a French prison.)
Via Appia - 1992, Germany (Gay - Drama: A Lufthansa steward goes to Rio de
Janeiro, trying to find a hustler named Mario who purposefully
infected him with the AIDS virus during a one-night stand and left
behind the message, "Welcome to the AIDS club."
Victim! - 1961, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: A respected barrister gets
involved with a lonely young drifter and is forced to confront his
own homosexuality.)
A Virus Knows No Morals - 1986, West Germany (Gay - Comedy: A gay bathhouse
owner finds AIDS a drag on business in this funny, campy satire on
society's attitudes toward homosexuals and AIDS.)
You Are Not Alone [Du Er Ikke Alene] - 1982, Denmark (Gay - Drama: Coming of
age love story about two adolescent boys in a boys' school.)
Westler: East of the Wall - 1986, Germany (Gay - Drama: A West Berlin boy
falls in love with an East Berlin boy on a day trip. The border
guards start getting suspicious when the West Berliner starts making
frequent trips, and the boys plan an escape for the East Berliner.)
We Think The World of You - 1988, Great Britain (Gay/Bisexual - Drama: In
the 1950s, an uptight Londoner is pushed around by his bisexual
lover's family and wife.)
We Were One Man [Nous Etions un Seul Homme] - 1978, France (Gay - Drama:
In occupied France during WWII, an escaped mental patient nurses a
wounded German soldier back to health and they have a highly erotic
love affair.)
Where the Sun Beats Down - 1989, Portugal (Gay - Drama: A haunting film of
a young man determined to break the sexual and class taboos of his
culture, modern day Portugal. Nuno returns from the city to his
sister's farm where a relationship develops between him and Alberto,
a young farm worker, which threatens the stability of Nuno's
snobbish family.)
Wonderland [The Fruit Machine] - 1988, Great Britain (Gay - Drama: The
surrealistic adventures of two gay working class teens.)
The Wounded Man [L'Homme Blesse] - 1985, France (Gay - Drama: A teenage
boy stops an attack in a toilet, gets passionately kissed by the
attacker, finds he is drawn to homosexual sex, and becomes
infatuated with a sociopathic hustler.)
***** Lesbian-Centered Domestic Films *****
Because the Dawn - 1988 (Lesbian - Drama: An alluring, upbeat, modern day
vampire musical comedy set to swing tunes. Sax-playing Vampire
Marie seduces sports photographer Ariel from behind the camera.)
Born in Flames - 1983 (Lesbian - Drama: After the a socialist revolution
goes sour, a diverse group of women unite to spread the truth about
the government.)
A Certain Grace - 1992 (Lesbian - Drama: Zelda and Alice are working
together on a photography project, and as their relationship
develops, Zelda's boyfriend starts to think the women are spending
too much time together.)
Claire of the Moon - 1992 (Lesbian - Drama: This film hasn't been released
yet, and all I know of it is of a short clip I happened to catch on
one of the cable news channels which was doing a piece on "gay cinema".
Looks to be a romance, and the director, whom I believe is a lesbian but
whose name I don't recall called it "the Desert Hearts of the nineties",
by which she meant that it would become "the" lesbian movie of the
nineties. Anyway, as soon as I get an actual description of the movie,
I'll replace this info with it. In the meantime, watch for the film!)
Desert Hearts - 1985 (Lesbian - Drama: An English professor goes to Reno to
get a divorce, and falls in love with a young woman who works at a
dude ranch.)
Desperate Living - 1977 (Lesbian - Drama: John Waters's most outrageous
movie ever, in which a housewife and her maid enter the ficticious
kingdom of Mortville after the woman kills her husband. Enough
blood, guts, and camp acting/dialogue to make it a cult favorite.)
The Fox - 1968 (Lesbian/Bisexual - Drama: Two women running a remote chicken
farm in Canada are lovers until a man comes along; then one of them
discovers heterosexuality, and the other ends up dead.)
Fried Green Tomatoes - 1991 (Lesbian - Comedy/Drama: Some may quibble about
whether or not Idgie and Ruth count as lesbians, since it is never
spelled out, but *we* know, don't we? Straight, middle-aged, middle
class frump Evelyn Couch gets lessons in personal liberation from
elderly Ninny Threadgoode, who tells her the story of Idgie's and
Ruth's unconventional friendship.)
Illusions - 1982 (Lesbian - Drama: A black woman who passed as white in
Hollywood during the 1940s has a relationship with a black woman
singer who provides the voice for a white movie star.)
The Killing of Sister George - 1968 (Lesbian - Drama: An aging lesbian
actress loses everything, including her young lover, when the
character she plays on a BBC soap opera gets killed off.)
Lesbionage - 1988 (Lesbian - Drama: Two detectives who are also lovers
investigate a blackmail plot against a lesbian congresswoman.)
Lianna - 1983 (Lesbian - Drama: A young mother falls in love with her
psychology professor and slowly comes to terms with her sexuality
and independence.)
Long Awaited Pleasure - 1987 (Lesbian - Comedy/Drama: Two lesbians leave
their emotional baggage behind and start over.)
Love Game - 1990 (Lesbian - Comedy: A famous lesbian tennis player meets
a girl she wants to get to know.)
My Father is Coming - 1991, USA/Germany (Lesbian/Gay - Comedy: A lesbian
living in New York has to prepare for her father's sudden arrival
from Germany with the help of her gay male friend.)
Out of Our Time - 1989 (Lesbian - Drama: This film contrasts the personal
choices, experiences, and desires of a contemporary lesbian couple
named Valeri and Marilyn with those of Valeri's grandmother in the
1930s.)
Personal Best - 1982 (Lesbian/Bisexual - Drama: Two female jocks training
for the Olympics fall in love and have an affair, but at least for
one, lesbianism is just a phase she's going through.)
A Question of Love - 1978 (Lesbian - Drama: A made-for-TV movie about a
lesbian mother's fight for custody of her son. Her homophobic
ex-husband drags her through the mud and the courts.)
She Likes Girls - 1992 (Lesbian - Comedy: A few days in the life of a young
New York lesbian - without a cliche in sight!)
She Must Be Seeing Things - 1987 (Lesbian - Drama: A lawyer and a filmmaker
are lovers, and while the lawyer has a jealous fit over the film-
maker's diaries, which describe her past exploits with male lovers,
the movie juxtaposes scenes from the filmmaker's film, which is
about a nun fighting sexual repression in a 17th century convent.)
Two in Twenty: A Lesbian Soap Opera - 1988 (Lesbian - Comedy: A 5-part
lesbian soap opera which focuses on the day-to-day problems of two
lesbian households. Includes satirical commercials with a lesbian/
feminist slant and outtakes.)
Waiting for the Moon - 1983 (Lesbian - Biography: Beautifully filmed but
emotionally uninvolving exploration of the relationship between
Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas.)
Waking Up: A Love Story - 1988 (Lesbian - Drama: A young woman gets a taste
of lesbian love and soon becomes the town's number one lesbian.)
The War Widow - 1976 (Lesbian - Drama: Made-for-TV movie about a woman who
falls in love with another woman while her husband is off fighting
WWI. When he returns, she has to decide whether or not to leave
him and her child to be with her lover.)
***** Lesbian-Centered Foreign Films *****
Anna und Elisabeth - 1933, Germany (Lesbian - Drama: A peasant girl's touch
heals the paralysis of the lady of the manor, and the lady soon
discovers that she can't live without the girl.)
Anna und Edith - 1975, West Germany (Lesbian - Drama: Made-for-German-TV
movie about two clerical workers who fall in love while trying to
get better working conditions.)
Anne Trister - 1986, Canada (Lesbian - Drama: An Israeli artist goes to
Montreal, stays with a psychologist friend, and falls in love with
her.)
Another Way [Egymasra Nezve] - 1982, Hungary (Lesbian - Drama: Two
journalists fall in love against the backdrop of the 1956 Hungarian
uprising.)
The Banker [La Banquiere] - 1980, France (Lesbian - Drama: The rise and fall
of a masculine self-made bank president in the 1920s in Paris.)
The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant [Die Bitteren Tranen der Petra von Kant] -
1972, West Germany (Lesbian - Drama: A decadent fashion designer
plays the dominant role in a sado-masochistic relationship with one
of her employees, but she meets someone who turns the tables on her.)
By Design - 1981, Canada (Lesbian - Comedy: A lesbian couple who decide to
have a baby "the old-fashioned way" encounter humorous obstacles.)
Can't You Take a Joke? - 1989, Australia (Lesbian - Comedy: A woman
cartoonist, with the help of pet character Lady Dick, sets about
recovering her mysterious female client's lost sense of humor.)
Celine and Julie Go Boating [Celine et Julie en Bateau] - 1974, France
(Lesbian - Drama: A magician and a librarian meet in Montmartre.)
Daughters of Darkness [La Rouge aux Levres, Blud an den Lippen, Bloed and de
Lippen] - 1970, Belgium, West Germany, France (Lesbian - Horror:
Campy cult lesbian horror film which features a lesbian vampire as
its most sympathetic character and makes heterosexuality seem
abnormal.)
Depart to Arrive [Weggehen um Anzukommen] - 1981, West Germany (Lesbian -
Drama: The story of the separation of a photographer and a
journalist from the photographer's point of view.)
Domestic Bliss - 1984, Great Britain (Lesbian - Comedy: Made-for-British-TV
soap opera about a lesbian couple and their chaotic adventures.)
Entre Nous [Between Us, Coup de Foudre] - 1983, France (Lesbian - Drama: In
1950s Lyons, France, two married women meet, develop a friendship,
and leave their husbands for one another.)
Erika's Passions [Erikas Leidenschaften] - 1978, West Germany (Lesbian -
Drama: A butch lesbian and her femme lover are accidentally locked
in a room together after a long separation and are forced to confront
each other's differences and complaints.)
The Farewell [Jaahyvaiset] - 1982, Finland-Sweden (Lesbian - Drama: In the
1930s, a young Finnish woman defies her tyrannical father to have a
relationship with a young German woman.)
Flaming Ears - 1992, Austria (Lesbian - Drama: A fragmented and bizarre tale
of lust, jealousy, and revenge among three lesbians in the far, far
future. Technically innovative, staking out a new lesbian aesthetic
for the 90s.)
La Fuga - 1967, Italy (Lesbian - Drama: Well-to-do wife finds fulfillment
with a lesbian interior decorator.)
Full Moon in New York - 1989, Hong Kong (Lesbian - Drama: Three Chinese
women immigrants in New York, one from mainland China, one a
Taiwanese actress, and one a successful entrepreneur and
restaurateur from Hong Kong. The film can be taken as a symbol
of the struggles of the three Chinas to come together.)
The Getting of Wisdom - 1977, Australia (Lesbian - Drama: A gifted young
pianist becomes inseparable with a classmate in an oppressive
finishing school in turn-of-the-century Melbourne, Australia.)
Girls in Uniform [Madchen in Uniform] - 1931, Germany (Lesbian - Drama:
Considered by many to be the first radical lesbian-feminist film,
in which a student at a repressive authoritarian Prussian boarding
school finds comfort only in the companionship of a sympathetic
teacher. It was remade in 1958 in English. See the original
German version.)
The Gold Diggers - 1983, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama: An actress and a
mysterious woman on horseback come together while searching for
social roots.)
In This House of Brede - 1975, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama: A young nun
gets a crush on older one who wants to reciprocate but cannot.)
I've Heard The Mermaids Singing - 1987, Canada (Lesbian - Comedy: An
"organizationally-impaired person Friday falls in love with her
boss, the sophisticated Curator of an art gallery.)
I, You, He, She [Je, Tu, Il, Elle] - 1974, Belgium (Lesbian - Drama:
Conflict- ridden relationship between a woman and her lover and a
strange man. Features an 18-minute love scene between the two
women.)
Johanna, D'Arc of Mongolia - 1988, West Germany (Lesbian - Adventure: Our
heroine is invited on a trip by an affluent older woman. They
travel to Mongolia where they are kidnapped by Mongolian Amazons,
and the adventure begins.)
The Life that We Dreamt [Het Leven dat we Droomden] - 1981, Belgium
(Lesbian - Drama: Two women fall in love with the same man, but
soon discover that they love each other.)
Madame X - Eine Absolut Herrscherin - 1977, West Germany (Lesbian - Drama:
Women cannot resist the pirate Madame X, and board her ship in quest
of gold, love, and adventure.)
Mano Destra - 1985-86, West Germany (Lesbian - Drama: A relentless
physiological experience of cinematic bondage and sensory
manipulation. A European lesbian cult classic, *this* is S&M
cinema.)
Miss A and Miss M - 1987, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama: A young girl
slowly becomes aware of the true nature of the relationship between
two school teachers.)
Night Visions - 1989, Canada (Lesbian - Drama: Racism and homophobia are
explored in two overlapping stories, one about a Native American
single mother fighting social welfare authorities and her white
ex-husband for custody of her daughter, the other about a lesbian
photographer whose erotic photographs have been seized by the
police.)
Nocturne - 1990, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama: Joy Chamberlain's film of
a woman who returns home for her mother's funeral and meets memories
which are the key both to her self-repression and her desire.)
November Moon [Novembermond] - 1985, West Germany (Lesbian - Drama: During
WWII in France, a Frenchwoman hides her lover, a German Jew, from
the Nazis.)
Olivia [Pit of Loneliness] - 1951, France (Lesbian -Drama: Set in the latter
half of the 1800s, an English schoolgirl falls deeply in love with
one of her headmistresses in the French boarding school she attends.)
On Guard - 1983, Australia (Lesbian - Drama: An aerobics instructor, a
disillusioned nurse and two other lesbians conspire to sabotage a
reproductive engineering facility and alert the media to a Brave New
World bioproduction line. A heist movie which incorporates frank
portrayal of the characters' domestic and sexual, personal and
political struggles.)
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit - 1989, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama:
Coming of age story about a young woman who's been raised by a
strict evangelical mother.)
Pepi, Luci, Bom - 1992, Spain (Lesbian - Drama: An angry lesbian declares
war on the Madrid police.)
Richard's Things - 1980, Great Britain (Lesbian- Drama: Made-for-British-TV
movie about a dead businessman's widow and mistress, who go from
open hostility to falling in love with each other.)
Salmonberries - 1991, Canada (Lesbian - Drama: A woman searches for meaning
in her life and makes contact with another woman in the bleak North.)
Simone - 1984, France (Lesbian - Drama: Simone, a mysterious stranger,
enters the life of Francoise, a suicidal woman, and the two explore
their fantasies.)
Therese and Isabelle - 1968, United States-West Germany-France (Lesbian -
Drama: A woman reminisces about a love affair she had with a girl
in boarding school.)
To Forget Venice [Dimenticare Venezia] - 1979, Italy (Lesbian/Gay - Drama:
In 1920s Italy, Anna and Claudia live in the country with Anna's Aunt
Marta. Anna and Claudia have become bored with each other, but one
day Aunt Marta's brother Nicky shows up with his young lover Picchio,
and things start to change.)
Twice a Woman - 1985, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama: A man becomes obsessed
with the young female lover of his ex-wife.)
The Twin Bracelets - 1990, Hong Kong,Taiwan (Lesbian - Drama: A young woman
in an oppressive Chinese fishing village seeks love and escape in
the arms of her childhood girlfriend against a backdrop of customs
and mores that treat women as property with no human rights.)
Vera - 1987, Brazil (Lesbian - Drama: A young woman believes she is a man
trapped in a woman's body in this intense investigation of sex roles.)
The Virgin Machine - 1988, West Germany (Lesbian - Drama: A naive German
journalist searches for love in San Francisco's lesbian underground.)
Wild Flowers - 1989, Great Britain (Lesbian - Drama: Two women discover love
for each other in a fairly repressed corner of Scotland.
A Woman in Transit [La Femme de l'Hotel] - 1984, Canada (Lesbian - Drama: A
director and her leading lady search for someone to play the central
figure in their movie and find her in the hotel where they are all
staying.)
A Woman Like Eve [Een Vrouw als Eva] 1979, Netherlands (Lesbian - Drama: On
vacation in France, a married Dutch woman falls in love with a French
lesbian. When she attempts to divorce her husband, a bitter custody
battle ensues.)
***** Directory of GLBO Film and Video Distributors *****
Back Porch Productions Cambridge Documentary Films
113 E. Whiteman St. P.O. Box 385
Yellow Springs, OH 45387 Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 354-3677
Charis Video Cinema Guild
P.O. Box 797 1697 Broadway, Suite 802
Brooklyn, NY 11231 New York, NY 10019
(718) 855-4458 (212) 246-5522
(Many Lesbian Videos)
Cinevista Direct Cinema Ltd.
353 W. 39th St. P.O. Box 69799
New York, NY 10018 Los Angeles, CA 90069
(212) 947-4373 (213) 652-8000
Exportfilm Bischoof & Co. Facets Multimedia, Inc.
Isabellastrasse 20 1517 West Fullerton Ave.
D-8000 Munich 40, West Germany Chicago, IL 60614
(800) 331-6297, (312) 281-9075 in IL
Filmmakers Library First Run Features
124 East 40th, #901
New York, NY 10025
(212) 355-6545 (800) 229-8575
Frameline Insider Video Club
P.O. Box 14792 P.O. Box 93399
San Francisco, CA 94114 Hollywood, CA 90093
(415) 861-5245 (800) 634-2242
International Film Exchange Ishtar Films (West Coast)
201 W. 52nd St. 6253 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 623
New York, NY 10019 Hollywood, CA 90028
(212) 582-4318 (213) 461-1560
Ishtar Films (East Coast) Kartes Video Communications
P.O. Box 51 P.O. Box 68881, 7225 Woodland Dr.
Patterson, NY 12563 Indianapolis, IN 46278
(914) 878-3561 (800) 582-2000, (317) 297-1888
Ladyslipper Lambda Rising
P.O. Box 3130 1625 Connecticut Ave., NW
Durham, NC 27705 Washington, DC 20009-1013
(919) 683-1570 (202) 462-6969
Maya Vision Moonforce Media
43 New Oxford St. P.O. Box 2934
London, WC1 A1BH, England Washington, DC 20012
ATTN: Joan Biren
(202) 526-0049
Moonlight Productions New Yorker Films
2243 Old Middlefield Way 16 W. 61st St.
Mountain View, CA 94043 New York, NY 10023
(415) 948-0199 (212) 247-6110
Polyglot Productions Pop Video
136 Brattle St. P.O. Box 60862
Cambridge, MA 02138 Washington, DC 20039
(617) 491-3541 (202) 726-1650
La Reseau Vide-Elle Tapestry Productions
4013 Rue des Erables 924 Broadway
Montreal, Quebec H2K 3V7, Canada New York, NY 10010
(514) 525-8456 (212) 677-6007
Third World Newsreel Water Bearer Films
335 W. 38th St., 5th Floor 205 West End Avenue, Suite 24H
New York, NY 10018 New York, New York 10023
Winds of Change Productions Wolfe Video
12 Grove Ave. P.O. Box 64
Toronto, Ontario M6J 3B6, Canada New Almaden, CA 95042
(408) 268-6782
Womankind Books, Inc. Women in Focus
5 Kivy St. 849 Beatty St.
Huntington Station, NY 11746 Vancouver, BC V6B 2M6 Canada
(800) 648-5333, (516) 427-1289 (604) 682-5848
Women Make Movies, Inc. Yoyo Film, Video & Theatre Productions
225 Lafayette St., #212 108 Grove Park
New York, NY 10012 London SE5, England
(212) 925-0606
Please note that I have arbitrarily established a 30-minute minimum length
requirement for films to be included on this list. There are literally
hundreds of film shorts from 1 minute in length to 29 minutes in length
which do not appear on this list, although if a film is, say, 25 minutes
long it just might find its way onto the list. Many, if not all, of the
distributors above will provide you with a catalog of their films, including
film shorts.
For more information regarding these and other GLBO-centered materials,
notably books, periodicals, music, and some film shorts get yourself a copy
of this outstanding reference book:
Gay and Lesbian Library Service
edited by Cal Gough and Ellen Greenblatt
MacFarland and Company, Inc., Publishers
Many thanks to Ellen Greenblatt for giving me access to the film lists from
this excellent resource book.
Another book I used to compile this list is "The Celluloid Closet",
by Vito Russo. Russo's book is mostly about Hollywood's mistreatment of
gay characters in films, but by the last chapter, films featuring accurate,
sensitive, or at least interesting portrayals start showing up with more
regularity.
Thanks for the contributions from Sim David Aberson, Hector Bellmann,
Vince Cavasin, David Peter Coster, Jeff Dauber, Mike Drayton, James Drew,
David Edelsohn, Michelle Elliott, William Tsun-Yuk Hsu, Curtis Johnson,
Robert Marshall, Valerie Mead, Steve Misek, Tim Pierce, Jeff Shaumeyer,
Glenn Slayden, Mike Shepherd, Tane' Tachyon, Max Meredith Vasilatos, and
David Wyatt.
Thanks for e-mailing any GLBO-centered films that you don't find on this
list, folks, and don't forget to sign your name to your letters so that I
can acknowledge your contribution.)
Frank Swilling
[log in to unmask]
Mark Ritchie | Tel: (519) 888-4070
Media Librarian | Fax: (519) 888-6197
Audio-Visual Centre |
University of Waterloo | Internet: [log in to unmask]
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