Pride Week: Most LGBT-Proud Film
To celebrate Pride Week, which, depending on the country and city, is held in June or the first week of July, which of the films below do you think best embodies the spirit of LGBT Pride?
After voting, discuss here.
To view or vote in Part 2 of this poll, go here.
To vote in other Pride polls, go here.
If you're interested in a bit of background: As the 1995 documentary, The Celluloid Closet, illustrates, for a long time in cinema, most LGBT characters were portrayed to evoke laughter, pity, or fear. Movies like those, whether in early cinema or later (as in Basic Instinct), are obviously not represented in this poll. Relatively early on, there were screenwriters, such as Gore Vidal (Ben-Hur) and Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause), who did write in positive messages but they had to be so subtle, or be left on the editing room floor, that the films, although they should be appreciated for widening the lens, don't really qualify as proud. Cinema evolved as society did and more realistic and diverse LGBT characters appeared on screen. All of these films don't necessarily have perfect messages but are noteworthy in some way; which of them do you think best captures the spirit of LGBT Pride?
After voting, discuss here.
To view or vote in Part 2 of this poll, go here.
To vote in other Pride polls, go here.
If you're interested in a bit of background: As the 1995 documentary, The Celluloid Closet, illustrates, for a long time in cinema, most LGBT characters were portrayed to evoke laughter, pity, or fear. Movies like those, whether in early cinema or later (as in Basic Instinct), are obviously not represented in this poll. Relatively early on, there were screenwriters, such as Gore Vidal (Ben-Hur) and Stewart Stern (Rebel Without a Cause), who did write in positive messages but they had to be so subtle, or be left on the editing room floor, that the films, although they should be appreciated for widening the lens, don't really qualify as proud. Cinema evolved as society did and more realistic and diverse LGBT characters appeared on screen. All of these films don't necessarily have perfect messages but are noteworthy in some way; which of them do you think best captures the spirit of LGBT Pride?
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- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence StampTwo drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
- StarsAl PacinoMeryl StreepEmma ThompsonSeveral disparate but connected individuals go through the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980s.
- DirectorMike MillsStarsEwan McGregorChristopher PlummerMélanie LaurentA young man is rocked by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer and that he has a young male lover.
- DirectorSean MathiasStarsLothaire BluteauClive OwenMick JaggerIn 1930s Berlin, a gay Jew is sent to a concentration camp under the Nazi regime.
- DirectorAbdellatif KechicheStarsLéa SeydouxAdèle ExarchopoulosSalim KechioucheAdèle's life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire and to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adèle grows, seeks herself, loses herself, and ultimately finds herself through love and loss.
- DirectorKimberly PeirceStarsHilary SwankChloë SevignyPeter SarsgaardA young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsCillian MurphyMorgan JonesEva BirthistleIn the 1970s, a young trans woman, Patrick "Kitten" Braden, comes of age by leaving her Irish town for London, in part to look for her mother and in part because her gender identity is beyond the town's understanding.
- DirectorAng LeeStarsJake GyllenhaalHeath LedgerMichelle WilliamsEnnis and Jack are two shepherds who develop a sexual and emotional relationship. Their relationship becomes complicated when both of them get married to their respective girlfriends.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsLily TomlinTony CurtisSusie BrightA documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
- DirectorHeiner CarowStarsMatthias FreihofDagmar ManzelDirk KummerA young teacher in East Berlin struggles with accepting his homosexuality.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsStephen ReaJaye DavidsonForest WhitakerA British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.
- DirectorSusan MuskaGréta OlafsdóttirStarsThea SpyerEdie WindsorAfter 42 years, feisty and delightful lesbian couple Edie and Thea are finally getting married. From the early '60s to the present day, the tireless community activists persevere through many battles, both personal and political. As Edie says, We just went on with this talent we have for wrestling joy from the shit. Susan Muska and Greta Olafsdottir (THE BRANDON TEENA STORY) return with a love story of two remarkable women whose commitment to each other is an inspiration to us all.
- DirectorDiane KurysStarsMiou-MiouIsabelle HuppertGuy MarchandA Jewish refugee marries a soldier to escape deportation to Germany. Meanwhile a wealthy art student loses her first husband to a stray Resistance bullet; at the Liberation she meets an actor, gets pregnant, and marries him.
- DirectorDeepa MehtaStarsShabana AzmiNandita DasKarishma JhalaniTwo women who are abandoned by their husbands find love and solace in each other.
- DirectorRose TrocheStarsV.S. BrodieGuinevere TurnerT. Wendy McMillanA romantic tale about finding a soulmate. The only difference here is that both partners are women...in Chicago's lesbian community.
- DirectorOl ParkerStarsPiper PeraboLena HeadeyMatthew GoodeA newlywed bride becomes infatuated with another woman who questions her sexual orientation, promoting a stir among the bride's family and friends.
- DirectorLisa CholodenkoStarsAnnette BeningJulianne MooreMark RuffaloTwo children conceived by artificial insemination bring their biological father into their non-traditional family life.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsLinda GriffithsJane HallarenJon DeVriesA happily married woman comes to realize herself of being a repressed lesbian after she has an affair with a female college professor, and then tries to come to terms with her newfound lifestyle.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsMichael OntkeanKate JacksonHarry HamlinA successful young L.A. doctor and his equally successful television-producer wife find their happily-ever-after life torn assunder when he suddenly confronts his long-repressed attraction for other men. Zach and Claire live a comfortable life secure in their love for one another when Bart, a swinging L.A. novelist, walks into Zach's office and awakens unfamiliar feelings in him. In a move which leaves him wracked with guilt, Zach cancels dinner with his wife in order to go out with Bart. He is inexplicably drawn to this man who seems intent on keeping him at arms distance. Why can't Bart allow their relationship to grow? he wonders. Exasperated, he asks Bart, "Do you snore? Does anybody ever get a chance to find out?" As Zach's absences become more and more frequent, Claire's concern manifests itself in the suspicion that he is having an affair with another woman. Jilted by Bart and feeling alone for the first time in his married life, Zach resolves to tell Claire the truth about himself. Predictably, Claire is shocked that she could have known so little about the man she has loved for so many years and accuses him of deceiving her from the very start.
- DirectorJames IvoryStarsJames WilbyRupert GravesHugh GrantTwo English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up Maurice and marries. While staying with Clive and his wife, Maurice discovers romance in the arms of the gamekeeper Alec.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsSean PennJosh BrolinEmile HirschThe story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsSaeed JaffreyRoshan SethDaniel Day-LewisAn ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.
- DirectorRyan MurphyStarsMark RuffaloJonathan GroffFrank De JulioIn the early 1980s, the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York led to an emergence of homosexual activists. With support from the medical community, they try to raise awareness about the disease.
- DirectorKirby DickStarsBarney FrankJames McGreeveyKevin NaffAn indictment of closeted politicians who lobby for anti-gay legislation in the U.S.
- DirectorDee ReesStarsAdepero OduyeKim WayansAasha DavisA Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.
- DirectorJennie LivingstonStarsBrooke XtravaganzaAndré ChristianDorian CoreyA chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
- DirectorBill SherwoodStarsJohn BolgerRichard GanoungSteve BuscemiAs Michael and Robert, a gay couple in New York, prepare for Robert's departure for a two-year work assignment in Africa, Michael must face Robert's true motives for leaving while dealing with their circle of eccentric friends, including Nick, who is living with AIDS.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsTom HanksDenzel WashingtonRoberta MaxwellWhen a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic-small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
- DirectorAlice WuStarsJoan ChenMichelle KrusiecLynn ChenA gay Chinese-American and her traditionalist mother are reluctant to go public with secret loves that clash against cultural expectations.
- DirectorAvi NesherStarsFanny ArdantAnia BuksteinMichal ShtamlerTwo brilliant young women discover their own voices in a repressive orthodox culture where females are forbidden to sing, let alone speak out.
- DirectorCéline SciammaStarsZoé HéranMalonn LévanaJeanne DissonA family moves into a new neighborhood, and a 10-year-old named Laure deliberately presents as a boy named Mikhael to the neighborhood children.
- DirectorPaul BogartStarsAnne BancroftMatthew BroderickHarvey FiersteinArnold is a gay man working as drag queen in 1971 NYC. He meets a handsome bisexual man.
- DirectorDuncan TuckerStarsFelicity HuffmanKevin ZegersFionnula FlanaganA transgender woman takes an unexpected journey when she learns that she had a son, now a teenage runaway hustling on the streets of New York.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.