Rope (1948)

Brandon Shaw (John Dall) and Philip Morgan (Farley Granger) are two young men who share a New York apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley (Dick Hogan) and decide to murder him as an intellectual challenge. Together they strangle David with a rope, stuff his body into an antique chest, and throw a dinner party serving their guests from the tabletop of the man's grave. In attendance are: Mr. Henry Kentley (Cedric Hardwicke) and Mrs. Anita Atwater (Constance Collier), the victim's father and aunt; Kenneth Turner (Christopher Tremain), the victim's rival for the hand of Janet Walker (Joan Chandler), David's fiancée, who also attends; Mrs. Wilson (Edith Evanson), the servant; and Rupert Cadell (James Stewart), the murderers' former teacher. Brandon's feelings of superiority swell to reckless levels throughout the evening as he makes a game out of dropping his guests hints about the crime. Meanwhile, Phillip grows increasingly afraid and guilt-ridden as Rupert inches ever closer to discovering why David hasn't yet arrived at the party. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect.

Alfred Hitchcock's version of the Leopold/Loeb murder case features two obviously gay characters played by two gay actors (John Dall and Farley Granger) and was written by gay playwright Arthur Laurents. It is Hitchcock's first Technicolor film and has been largely ignored since its release. But it's a nail-biter with homosexual overtones. They don't call him the "Master of Suspense" for nothing. David Buttolph composed the music. "Rope" is based on the play of the same name by Patrick Hamilton, which was based on a real murder case in 1924. Hitchcock wanted it as close to a stage play as possible, and the entire movie has only nine breaks, taking place in real time and being edited so as to appear as a single continuous shot through the use of long takes. The real genius in "Rope" comes from the acting and direction.

Trembling before G-d (2001)

Shot in six countries, this documentary shatters assumptions about faith, sexuality, and religious fundamentalism in Judaism. It took the director six years to get enough people to speak out on film about the topic. Some of them are out of the closet, but a number of them are not. Built around personal stories of Hasidic and Orthodox Jews who are gay or lesbian, the film portrays a group of people who face a dilemma--how to reconcile their Judaism with the Biblical prohibitions that forbid homosexuality. The advice given to homosexual men by their rabbis is to overcome their "affliction". Strict interpretation of biblical texts holds that certain types of sexual intercourse are an abomination. Therfore, homosexual men are encouraged to marry women despite their sexual orientation. As the film unfolds, we meet a range of complex individuals, some closeted, some out: from the world's first openly gay Orthodox rabbi, to closeted, married Hasidic gays and lesbians, to those abandoned by religious families, to Orthodox lesbian high-school sweethearts. Many have been rejected, yet with irony, humor and resilience, they love, care, struggle, and question their old traditions. Ultimately, they are forced to question how they can pursue truth and faith in their lives, while upholding the struggle to belong. Some remain sympathetic to their faith, but some have all but abandoned it.

Israel is a 58-year-old New Yorker who decided he couldn't be gay and Orthodox, and turned his back on his religion, though not before his family forced him into electroshock therapy to try to "cure" him. Rabbi Steven Greenberg is the first openly gay Orthodox rabbi, and discusses parents' reactions to their children coming out, as well as traditional interpretations of the prohibitions on homosexual acts in the Torah. Shlomo Ashkenazy is a gay psychotherapist who has run a confidential support group for Orthodox gay men for nearly 20 years. Mark is the English son of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi. Coming out at 15, he was expelled from seven yeshivas for homosexual activity before becoming a drag queen, and is now dying of AIDS-related illness.

Directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski, the documentary features a soundtrack by John Zorn. There is no narration, and the film may be considered to be an example of cinéma vérité. The title refers to the word Haredi (חֲרֵדִי‎), which can be interpreted as "one who trembles" in awe of God, and the spelling of the word "G-d" in the film's title reflects the Jewish practice of avoiding writing the name of God. The DVD has the usual commentary and theatrical trailers, plus one disc devoted to special features. It explains the medieval rite of atonement for homosexual acts, and a panel of prominent rabbis discuss their thoughts on the issues raised by the film.