The Living End (1992)

Gentle film critic Jon (Craig Gilmore) hooks up with violent drifter Luke (Mike Dytri) in this HIV-positive road movie. Luke, a hunky gun-toting hitchhiker has just stolen a car from a pair lesbians and shot a trio of gay bashers. Jon lets Luke stay at his place and soon finds himself drawn into the stranger's world. Both are HIV-positive. Things get worse when Luke kills a homophobic policeman. The pair go on the lam, first to San Francisco, then all over the western United States. Their motto: "Fuck everything." Jon keeps his best friend, Darcy (Darcy Marta), apprised of his situation with infrequent collect calls. But as the road trip continues, Jon becomes increasingly disillusioned with Luke's belief that since they're doomed to die, they should lead consequence-free lives. The film ends on a Californian beach with the sun setting, and the two lovers lie down together. Luke ties up Jon, pulls down his pants and rapes him while holding a cocked gun in his mouth. The idea being, he’ll blow himself up as he climaxes.

Many references to rock bands and their members are made throughout the film. Joy Division's Ian Curtis is mentioned, along with Dead Can Dance, Echo and the Bunnymen and others. A Nine Inch Nails sticker is on the dashboard of Jon's car. The film's title comes from a song by The Jesus and Mary Chain, and a cover version of the song is performed by Braindead Soundmachine during the film's credits. In the movie, Luke is seen wearing a JAMC shirt. Braindead Soundmachine guitarist Cole Coonce is credited with scoring the film's original music. The many cameos include performance artist Johanna Went, director Paul Bartel, Warhol associate Mary Woronov, and Peter Grame, star of the obscure European film "Das Gluck Beim Haendewaschen". Gregg Araki wrote the script and directed.

Swoon (1992)

This film is the most homo-erotic version of the Leopold/Loeb case, a true story of gay lovers Richard Loeb (Daniel Schlachet) and Nathan Leopold Jr. (Craig Chester), who kidnapped and murdered a child in the early 1920s for kicks. Why did the two well-off 18-year-olds kill a 13 year-old boy by the name of Bobby Franks? "Swoon" answers that question in detail, using a style that is impressive but brings little emotion to the film's story. Shot in black and white, with some narration in the sequence of events, the movie provides us a look at the duo that is intriguing, but is tedious and dismal for some viewers. It starts out with a surrealistic reading of Leopold van Sacher-Masoch's "Venus in Furs." This sets the tone for the rest of the film. Told first through the journal entries of the two main characters and then with narration, "Swoon" presents the story of the murderers in a way that is accurate and cinematic. The film shows the relationship of Loeb and Leopold, whose sexual relationship serves as the drive for their crimes against others. Their murder of the Franks child was little more than a promise kept by Loeb to Leopold. In one scene, Leopold tells a psychiatrist of a slave/master fantasy, which describes his relationship with Loeb, who is a calculating intellectual. Leopold , an amateur ornithologist, is the emotional and weak one. In love with Loeb, Leopold is willing to do anything for him, and when Leob withholds sex, Leopold is even willing to commit murder to have sex. "Swoon" lacks energy. In the second half of the film, after their arrest and imprisonment, the movie loses what momentum it had and becomes somewhat boring. Leopold and Loebe escape execution due to a lack of understanding of homosexuality. They were declared mentally deficient according to phrenology and old Freudian neurosis theories. If the establishment of the 1920's understood homosexuality, Leopold and Loeb would surely have hanged, for they were certainly guilty. Scripted by Hilton Als and Tom Kalin, who also directed.

Being at Home with Claude (1992)

This French Canadian psychological drama begins as 27 year-old gay hustler Yves (Roy Dupuis) is having sex with his lover Claude (Jean-François Pichette). During the climactic moment, he grabs a knife and cuts the throat of his partner, then flees to the streets of Montreal where he pauses only long enough to make a phone call. Yves is captured and an Inspector (Jacques Godin) badgers him in search of a conventional motive. The dialogue, delivered in gutter Canadian French, ricochets between the two. Tempers flare, old ground is covered and recovered, yet still Yves refuses to cooperate. Next he is in a judge's chamber undergoing interrogation. He freely admits the crime but refuses to explain why he did it. Nor does he explain why he is in the judge's chamber or why he called the press. There’s not much of a plot, but it has several black and white flashbacks to illustrate Yves’ story. Then suddenly the pace changes, with a flashback of the night Yves and Claude met. Starting in a gay club, it progresses to a park where a sexually confused Claude tries to pick up Yves, then they go to Claude’s apartment. The experienced Yves guides Claude gently through the process with sensitivity and tenderness . It finally resolves into a half-hour monologue by Yves explaining himself, to make them understand the reason for his crime, resulting in a startling explanation--a mixture of horror and poignancy. Based on the play by René-Daniel Dubois, this very good film was directed by Jean Beaudin. In French with English sub-titles, the title is identical in English and French.

Le Temps qui Reste (2006)

Romain (Melvil Poupaud), a cocky 31-year-old fashion photographer, finds out he is terminally ill with a metastized brain tumor and has only three months to live. Keeping his illness secret, he breaks up with his boyfriend Sasha (Christian Sengewald), antagonizes his sister Sophie (Louise-Anne Hippeau), and goes against his doctor's (Henri de Lorme) advice to give chemotherapy a chance because it only offers him a slim (less than 5%) chance of survival. Staring in the mirror, he remembers the sea and himself as a child. Cruel facing death, Romain pushes people away, knowing his good looks give him the freedom to test the people who care for him. He visits his grandmother Laura (Jeanne Moreau) to tell her, and on the way he chats briefly with a waitress. He looks at old photos, visits a childhood tree house, and takes pictures. Returning from his grandmother's, he stops for food and sees the waitress Jany (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi) again. She makes a request. Romain travels around with a small digital camera, capturing moments that are very different from the fashion shoots he is used to. Nearly everywhere he goes, Romain sees himself as a child (Ugo Soussan Trabelsi), as the past invades his temporary present. Wonderfully acted and intelligently written and directed by François Ozon, this is a challenging, compelling work with a great ending. In French with English sub-titles, the English title is "Time to Leave".

Fun Down There (1988)

Buddy Fields (Michael Waite), a shy young homosexual leaves his small-town home in upstate New York and moves to NYC for some "Fun down there". He settles into a hedonistic life in Greenwich Village where he aimlessly rambles through his journey of self-fulfillment with gay sex and love, but is baffled by the whole gay scene. The film is unrated due to some semi-explicit masturbation and full frontal nudity scenes. Humour is almost totally deadpan, and the brainless conversations between Buddy and his family are quite hilarious. Buddy's parent's are played by Waite's real-life parents, Harold Waite as Mr. Fields and Betty Waite as Mrs. Fields. This is a strange, unconventional, and funny gay movie made on a shoestring. It's not a slick Hollywood production. There are long takes that may try your patience, except they do set a very individual tone and style. It isn't glib, full of histrionics, loaded with messages, and does not try to shock. In short, it doesn't portray gays the usual way. The film quality and sound are mediocre at best. It may be a bit too boring and lacking in drama for some. There are scenes with no dialogue and no music, not even background sound. "Fun Down There" is a real homemade project from the days when "independent" meant something. Maybe it's not for everyone, but worth a look for those interested in the evolution of gay subject matter in films. The script was written by Michael Waite and Roger Stigliano, who also directed.

De Vierde Man (1983)

This Dutch murder mystery/horror film is about Gerard Reve (Jeroen Krabbé), a gay alcoholic writer who begins having visions warning him of impending danger. In his bedroom, a spider catches flies from its web affixed to a crucifix. He travels from Amsterdam to Vlissingen for a public lecture. His stories, he says, "lie the truth." A listener, Christine Halsslag (Renée Soutendijk), a seductive beautician, invites him to stay the night. When he sleeps with the petite Christine, he flattens her breasts with his hands and exclaims "You look like a boy in his glory, so slim, tender!" Next day, he sees a photo of her boyfriend Herman (Thom Hoffman), a plumber from Köln. He convinces her to bring Herman to town and sets out to seduce him. When Gerard flirts with Herman, he puts his hand on his thigh and says, "I could tell you stories. There's one bigwig bastard, when he throws a do all the neighbors lock their kids up behind locks so thick. Children of six or seven years old, girls and boys, no difference. Find that fun? Little boys!" He seduces the heterosexual Herman by a surprise fondling of him from behind. His visions intensify and begin to threaten his relationship with Christine, since it may be her the visions are warning against. Mary, the mother of Jesus, appears to him in visions to show that he is targeted as her fourth victim. Mary says, "Anyone given a warning must listen to it." Gradually, aided by visions and nightmares, he's sure Christine is a murderer who has killed three husbands. He or Herman will be the fourth man. Gerard believes his vision of Mary and his life is spared. He passes on the warning to Herman, who ignores it, thinking that Gerard is trying to scare him off so that he can have Christine for himself. The movie ends in a bloody climax with Herman's death. Scripted by Gerard Soeteman from Gerard Reve's novel of the same name, this movie was directed by Paul Verhoeven. The English title is "The Fourth Man".

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)

A narrator introduces himself as Harry Lockhart (Robert Downey, Jr.), a petty thief from NYC. He is self-aware and talks to the audience at various times through the movie. Running from the police after a botched robbery, he runs into a movie audition to escape and impresses the producers. He is brought to Hollywood and meets "Gay" Perry van Shrike (Val Kilmer), a flashy homosexual private eye who has to train him for his role as a detective in a movie. Lockhart and Perry get involved in a genuine intricate murder case with many leads. At a cocktail party Lockhart meets Harlan Dexter (Corbin Bernsen), once a B-movie actor and now a very rich enterpreneur whose daughter has only recently returned from a long sojourn to Paris. Harry also meets his high school sweetheart, aspiring actress Harmony Faith Lane (Michelle Monaghan), a girl who never cared much for him, but now she's seeing him with new eyes. The two leave for Harry's apartment, but budding romance is squelched when Harry proceeds to have sex with Harmony's friend. Harmony, Harry, and Gay team up to solve the mystery and encounter a series of seemingly nonsensical problems. They stake out a house to take photographs for a client, but they find a corpse. From there, twists and connections abound and bodies pile up. Then they uncover the sordid truth of the case.

Many critics admire this film for its clever comedy and Downey's and Kilmer's screen chemistry and performances. Mike Russell of the Portland Oregonian wrote: "This is one of Downey's most enjoyable performances, and one of Kilmer's funniest. It's a relationship comedy wrapped in sharp talk and gunplay, a triumphant comeback for Black, and one of the year's best movies." Jeff Otto, an IGN critic, wrote that, "It takes a bunch of genres and twists them into a blender, a pop relic that still feels current...one of the best times I've had at the movies this year." The title is a reference to Pauline Kael's 1968 book, which in turn was named after a translation of an Italian poster of a James Bond movie. The screenplay was written by Shane Black who also directed.

Third Man Out (2005)

Gay detective Donald Strachey (Chad Allen) has the responsibility of protecting John Rutka (Jack Wetherall) , a controversial gay activist who outs prominent homosexual citizens. But when Strachey feels Rutka may be planning to out him, he quits the job. However, after Rutka is killed, Strachey decides to solve the murder. He asks Rutka's partner Eddie Santin (Woody Jeffreys) who the next target might have been, but Santin only knows that it might have been one of three people: Bruno Slinger (David Palffy), local children's show host Ronnie Linkletter (Sean Carey), and a mysterious third possibility identified only in Rutka's records as "Ultimate Hypocritical Asshole". Rutka finds initials for three persons who received substantial payments from Rutka: N.Z., H.G., and D.R. Through local sex worker Dik Steel (Mathew Rush), he obtains the identity of the first--Nathan Zenck (Kevin Blatch), who runs a fancy hotel, in which rooms are monitored by video cameras. Strachey confronts Zenck, who mentions that Bruno Slinger is sexually connected to Ronnie Linkletter and reveals that the second initials are undoubtedly those of Howie Glade (Richard Cox), who owns a cheap motel. The third initials remain unknown, but after interrogating Glade, Strachey finds out that Linkletter was previously involved in sexual liaisons every Wednesday night with an unknown man who was injured and possibly killed by a falling ceiling mirror weeks ago. The story goes on and on and on. Rutka is alive and reveals he has a file on Strachey, a former Sergeant in the U.S. military, who had to leave the service with an honorable discharge when his sexual orientation was revealed--at the expense of the lieutenant he was caught in bed with, who received a much more severe punishment as the scapegoat. In the end Rutka's file on Strachey is destroyed.

This made for cable TV movie is an adaptation of Richard Stevenson's book of the same name about the gay private eye, Donald Strachey. He's a detective who shares waltzes and martinis with his hubby, drives an old Toyota Tercel and can knock bad guys flat with a fast right hook. The plot is very complicated, and production values are outstanding for a TV film. Bill Buckingham and Ronnie Way composed the original music. Mark Saltzman wrote the screenplay, and Ron Oliver directed.

Defying Gravity (1997)

College student John "Griff" Griffith (Daniel Chilson) is active in his fraternity and lives in the frat house. He shares a bunk in the same room with his best friend Todd Bentley (Niklaus Lange), Mathew "Doogie" McDougal (Seabass Diamond), and his pledge Stewart "Stewy" Hanson (Matt Steveley). Another of his fraternity brothers, Pete Bradley (Don Handfield), has moved out of the house into a house he shares with other students. Griff and Pete have a secret sexual relationship, but Griff's close-knit fraternity life puts a strain on it. Griff is satisfied with the arrangement, but Pete is not. Pete wants them to date as a romantic couple, and one night he gets Griff to agree to go on a date with him. The date at a gay coffeehouse bothers Griff, who leaves. The next day Griff and his fraternity brothers are shocked to learn that Pete has been viciously attacked and is comatose in the local hospital. Griff is in a daze, ignoring his friends, classwork, and fraternity responsibilities. Eventually Griff learns that Doogie and Stewy are the culprits, and they are taken away in handcuffs by the police. Griff moves into Pete's place, who fully recovers. In the final scene, which follows during the credits, Pete is seen reading in bed with Griff. This independent gay-themed romantic drama was filmed in 13 days, mostly with a cast of first-time actors. It is John Keitel's first film as writer and director.

The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

This documentary is about the political career of Harvey Milk, who was San Francisco's first openly gay Supervisor. The film was produced after Milk's death on November 27, 1978 using interviews, documentary footage, news reports, and archival footage. Milk is posthumously credited as the lead. Other politicians including San Francisco mayor George Moscone (who was assassinated with Milk), and Moscone's successor and now United States Senator Dianne Feinstein appear in archival footage. The movie opens with Feinstein announcing to the media that Moscone and Milk had been assassinated by Dan White. The film, sometimes humorous, at times tragic, documents the rise of Milk from a neighborhood activist to becoming a symbol of gay political achievement with his successful efforts to represent San Francisco's gay community, through to his assassination at San Francisco's city hall, the city's reaction to the assassinations, and the Dan White trial and aftermath. Everything is documented with extensive news film and personal recollections. Ironically, the same election that brought Milk to the Board of City Supervisors of San Francisco also elected the man who killed him, former police officer and fireman Supervisor Dan White. His lawyers convinced the jury that White's judgment was impaired by depression and junk food, resulting in a conviction for manslaughter instead of murder--a verdict that prompted riots. Also featured in the film is then-schoolteacher Tom Ammiano, who has been a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since 1994, and was recently elected to the California State Assembly. Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in the USA.

An informative, stylish, and compelling documentary, this film on DVD looks rich and new, due to UCLA's preservation processes. In addition to the film, the DVD brings you a second disc with special features, from interviews with the film makers, to a 25th anniversary update of the Milk legacy by those who knew him best. The film won an Oscar for best documentary film in 1985, and was awarded Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, among other awards. It was directed by Rob Epstein and Richard Schmiechen, who died from AIDS several years after the completion of this film.