Knight at HOME at the Movies
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Queer Themed DVDs
Three excellent GLBT related choices this week -- two docs and a terrific indie drama to hold you until Turkey Day next
week.
Three excellent GLBT related choices this week -- two docs and a terrific indie drama to hold you until Turkey Day next
week.
What’s left to say about the iconic 60s pop art master Andy Warhol? Plenty –
though the provocative queer artist seemed to record it all in his too short life (he
died under cloudy circumstances during a hospital stay in 1987). The films made by
his collective group of artists – including the fabulous Edie Sedgwick, the Paris Hilton
of her day (which actually does a disservice to Edie) – at his New York loft salon, the
Factory, are well known. As were the quips about Liza Minnelli, Calvin Klein and the
whole Studio 54 set during the 70s – which were exhaustively catalogued by Warhol
in his posthumously released diaries. There have been many other books,
documentaries, auctions, touring art exhibits – more and more Andy, Andy Andy it
seems. But though I’m a big fan of Chuck Workman’s Superstar, yet another
documentary about Warhol, it pales next to the three hour Andy Warhol – A
Documentary Film which is out on DVD from PBS Paramount. Here at last is a
full portrait of this true original.
The film gives a complete overview of Warhol’s life – from his poor but creative
beginnings to his rise as the anti-artist – the man who used others to create his work
– to his pleasure at how successful the formula seemed to work. Throughout, often
unspoken but at the forefront, was Andy’s gay sensibility (his one love relationship
ended with his lover’s death from AIDS). Warhol’s fascination with movie stars and
celebrities of any kind were finally eclipsed by his own fame though his attempted
assassination by a young rejected Factory fanatic, the lesbian inclined Valerie
Solanas, changed him from a passive voyeur at the stoned circus to an anxiety
ridden manipulator. A fascinating, exhaustive portrait of a queer icon.
Last July, the IFC documentary Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema ran on
the channel on my birthday and I was happy to celebrate with a screening of this
informative and excellent documentary. The movie sports the usual assortment of
insightful queer talking heads (John Waters, Todd Haynes, Jane Lynch, Angela
Robinson, etc.) and adds some unusual and enlightening ones to the mix (B. Ruby
Rich, Don Roos, Heather Matarazo). All talking about queer cinema, past, present
and future. The movie is packed with clips – everything from Kenneth Anger’s
Scorpio Rising to the masterful and sometimes overlooked Parting Glances, as well as
recent additions to the canon. This is the movie bookend to The Celluloid Closet –
and it’s long overdue. Now Wolfe Video has released the doc on DVD and added lots
of fun new stuff – our resident talkers reminisce about their Favorite Gay Movie
Memories, favorite love scenes, etc. – nice bonuses as if you didn’t already need to
have this in your collection. This one’s a must have, girls.
So's this one:
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Tommy Stoval’s Hate Crime, finally out on
DVD from Image Entertainment. The movie, which stars Seth Peterson, Bruce
Davison, Cindy Pickett, and a host of other fine character actors, took the GLBT film
festival circuit by storm and won rave reviews when it played mainstream houses.
When friends and relatives ask, “Um, now tell me why should we have special
protection for GLBT folks?” just pop this little ole disc in the player. The film, which
for entertainment purposes goes off in directions that wouldn’t be advisable in a real
life situation, is a vivid drama that focuses on a problem that has held free reign
under a conservative administration. It’s not preachy or overbearing about its
subject matter, either so rest assured. The disc offers new, interesting deleted
scenes, an insightful commentary from writer-director Stovall and a host of other
features.
though the provocative queer artist seemed to record it all in his too short life (he
died under cloudy circumstances during a hospital stay in 1987). The films made by
his collective group of artists – including the fabulous Edie Sedgwick, the Paris Hilton
of her day (which actually does a disservice to Edie) – at his New York loft salon, the
Factory, are well known. As were the quips about Liza Minnelli, Calvin Klein and the
whole Studio 54 set during the 70s – which were exhaustively catalogued by Warhol
in his posthumously released diaries. There have been many other books,
documentaries, auctions, touring art exhibits – more and more Andy, Andy Andy it
seems. But though I’m a big fan of Chuck Workman’s Superstar, yet another
documentary about Warhol, it pales next to the three hour Andy Warhol – A
Documentary Film which is out on DVD from PBS Paramount. Here at last is a
full portrait of this true original.
The film gives a complete overview of Warhol’s life – from his poor but creative
beginnings to his rise as the anti-artist – the man who used others to create his work
– to his pleasure at how successful the formula seemed to work. Throughout, often
unspoken but at the forefront, was Andy’s gay sensibility (his one love relationship
ended with his lover’s death from AIDS). Warhol’s fascination with movie stars and
celebrities of any kind were finally eclipsed by his own fame though his attempted
assassination by a young rejected Factory fanatic, the lesbian inclined Valerie
Solanas, changed him from a passive voyeur at the stoned circus to an anxiety
ridden manipulator. A fascinating, exhaustive portrait of a queer icon.
Last July, the IFC documentary Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema ran on
the channel on my birthday and I was happy to celebrate with a screening of this
informative and excellent documentary. The movie sports the usual assortment of
insightful queer talking heads (John Waters, Todd Haynes, Jane Lynch, Angela
Robinson, etc.) and adds some unusual and enlightening ones to the mix (B. Ruby
Rich, Don Roos, Heather Matarazo). All talking about queer cinema, past, present
and future. The movie is packed with clips – everything from Kenneth Anger’s
Scorpio Rising to the masterful and sometimes overlooked Parting Glances, as well as
recent additions to the canon. This is the movie bookend to The Celluloid Closet –
and it’s long overdue. Now Wolfe Video has released the doc on DVD and added lots
of fun new stuff – our resident talkers reminisce about their Favorite Gay Movie
Memories, favorite love scenes, etc. – nice bonuses as if you didn’t already need to
have this in your collection. This one’s a must have, girls.
So's this one:
It’s no secret that I’m a huge fan of Tommy Stoval’s Hate Crime, finally out on
DVD from Image Entertainment. The movie, which stars Seth Peterson, Bruce
Davison, Cindy Pickett, and a host of other fine character actors, took the GLBT film
festival circuit by storm and won rave reviews when it played mainstream houses.
When friends and relatives ask, “Um, now tell me why should we have special
protection for GLBT folks?” just pop this little ole disc in the player. The film, which
for entertainment purposes goes off in directions that wouldn’t be advisable in a real
life situation, is a vivid drama that focuses on a problem that has held free reign
under a conservative administration. It’s not preachy or overbearing about its
subject matter, either so rest assured. The disc offers new, interesting deleted
scenes, an insightful commentary from writer-director Stovall and a host of other
features.
