Goingbegging Before writing this, I briefly scanned the other IMDb reviews, to see how many of them had earned a yes/no reaction from the readers, and how many were left blank. It scored an incredible 44 out of 45, revealing an intense, and perhaps secretive curiosity about the shadows of gay Hollywood.If you're looking for landmarks, there's one from 1895 in an experimental clip by Edison showing two men in a slow, embracing dance. This startling scene, from the very pre-dawn of the movies, carries no explanation, but it confirms how little you and I know about the sheer persistence of the gay theme in the story of film.For most of that time, gay messages had to be made in code, just as they did in real life, 'lavender' and 'artistic' being among the more regular codewords. But inevitably, the government hit back with its own code (the Production Code of 1930), banning any narratives that threatened the sanctity of hearth and home. This, of course, was when the talkies were starting-up, the silent medium having provided its own discreet opportunities for slipping homo-eroticism into the story.For about the next thirty years, you could feature a more-or-less openly gay character, as long as he was seen to be distinctly evil, something to be feared and excoriated, preferably killed-off. Or it might not even be a 'he'. One early example of code-busting was Gloria Holden as a predatory lesbian, only permitted as long as she was cast as Dracula's Daughter! But the codes had to be rather more subtle when the man in question was not the campy one but the masculine hero with the Achilles heel - on which point Spartacus, Ben-Hur and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof come in for well-earned psycho-analysis. According to Ben-Hur scriptwriter Gore Vidal, they never revealed the gay subtext to the assertively normal Charlton Heston, for fear that he would walk out.By now, the industry was heading for another landmark. Just before the 60's became the 60's, the secretly-gay British filmstar Dirk Bogarde risked his career in a film called Victim, about a decent and responsible man confessing all - though he too is made to suffer for his sins. Not till 1970 and The Boys in the Band is the gay scene allowed to appear harmless and wholesome. One critic makes an interesting point about judging other eras: "There was a time when men were free to express tenderness on the screen." Ironically, in supposedly enlightened times, it may be our own generation who have become cynical, always ready to believe the worst.Narration is supposed to be by Lily Tomlin, but so many other commentators join in the debate that she is largely lost. We assume that Secret Love, sung by Doris Day, is supposed to be a lesbian coming-out song, but we aren't told. And there's a great irony in the clip from Pillow Talk, showing Rock Hudson acting a straight man pretending to be gay. News of Hudson's secret gaiety and death from AIDS was surely another landmark in the long, tortured history of the celluloid closet.

n_col13 The Celluloid Closet is a documentary that offers a comprehensive overview of portrayal of LGBTQ characters in Hollywood, from the time of first motion pictures up to the early 1990s. The documentary explores the various stereotypes that persisted in Hollywood when portraying queer characters and how they gradually gave way to a more realistic portrayal. The Celluloid Closet manages to include a substantial amount of footage from various films, and points out the subtext, for example, in films like Ben-Hur. It was especially interesting to see how, even when censorship was in effect, some film-makers still managed to include subtle hints, encouraging the viewer to see between the lines. The interviews with writers, actors and film-makers help to connect the documentary to the real world and to understand what real people who are closely connected to the industry think about the way the representation of queer characters on screen evolved with time. The Celluloid Closet is a fascinating look at the history of queer film, and it can be a great starting point for someone who is unfamiliar with the subject, as this documentary is both highly entertaining and very informative, with the amount of information not being too overwhelming.

natwon93 The Celluloid Closet was a film that documented the use of homosexual characters in the world of Hollywood. Clips from films with LGBTQ characters, actors and writers of those movies, and current actors and actresses were all used to help display the history of the progression of homosexual characters in movies. The documentary was shown in chronological order, from the 1930s to the early 1990s, emphasizing the stereotypical and sometimes unfair to normal ways in which homosexuals were portrayed. The commentary from the actors, actresses, and actors provided an entertainment and informative factor that kept the audience attentive to the subject of the documentary. It was interesting to see how in the films, LGBTQ had transitioned from light hearted humorous characters, to stereotypical sissies, to villainous individuals suffering from some sort of mental illness. Hollywood has such an effect to the everyday life that many individuals in Presbyterian Church called for a reform on the homosexual exposure in films. The Hays Codes being enforced and the amount of censorship that had to be enforced in movies made directing a film with a homosexual character in it much more difficult. The coded language and subtle movements by the actors portraying the LGBTQ characters made it clear to audiences that there was homosexual exposure in the film, just not so obvious. This film is highly recommended for it brings new knowledge of the film world to light, in regards to the issue of homosexuality. It also depicts a clear representation of how the values of different eras change drastically throughout time. Because the documentary was made in the early 1990s, it would be interesting to see how the commentators view LGBTQ characters in film today.

taylorlandis "The Celluloid Closet" is a very informative, interesting documentary that evaluates the way Hollywood has presented homosexual relationships beginning in the 1930s. From the very beginning when homosexual relationships began to appear in films, Hollywood has always had an influence on the audience of what to think about gays, as well as how gays should feel about themselves. In early appearances, the homosexual hints in films was not discussed publicly after being viewed, it was sort of ignored and thought of as comedy. After homosexual scenes became more and more prevalent and common, the Catholic and Protestant churches grew very angry, starting boycotts of any film that hinted even the smallest bit of homosexuality. Film writers and directors began finding other ways to project homosexuals, by making it harder to catch the gay hints or even making the homosexual character a "villain" in a sense. This homosexual "villain" character was very common in films until the British film "Victim." This particular film was the first to actually use the word "homosexual," therefore beginning another era of homosexuality in films. Although the "homosexual" word was not used openly in films, gays seemed to perceived as having a "mental illness" now. In addition, audiences were applauding villains, killers, or the killed if they were homosexual. They seemed to enjoy the homosexual characters' pain while watching these films. Overall, "The Celluloid Closet" takes its audience on the journey through the evolution of homosexuality in Hollywood films. Clearly this film is wonderful in itself as it explores other very famous films throughout history, discussing how homosexual scenes were presented in many of them.