*** Gay-Friendly DVDs, version 4.0 (1 Viewer)

[Mark-W]

Barry-
Boys Life 3 is still making the rounds.
It will be in Portland, Oregon within in the next
few weeks.
As for I Think I Do I do really
like that film, but I also understand that the
director was trying to make a film in the
style of The Philadelphia Story,
and the things that held Katherine Hepburn
back in that film do NOT work in
I Think I Do with Alexis Arquette's
character.
That said, I have the PAL, region 2 DVD from
England, I do enjoy it. The commentary track
is nice, and I hope that when it gets released
on DVD here, that that is included.
Mark

 

[Alan Light]

I'm glad to hear that I THINK I DO may be coming out on DVD in America this year. It's one of my favorite feel-good movies. I've watched it many times and am always in the mood to watch it again with someone new.
The film has been shown on the Sundance Channel quite often, particularly every June when the channel celebrates gay pride month.
I, too, have the Region 2 DVD and agree that the commentary track with the director and Alexis Arquette is very entertaining.

 

[John Berggren]

Not sure that this is the place for this. I feel it may be good to have an after hours forum for non-DVD gay discussion, however, please take a chance to look at this thread from the TV Shows forum:
The Anti-Hate Campaign: Another Post Downing MTV (LONG)
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Rationality is not a commodity which is evenly distributed.
View SpaceDog's DVD Collection

 

[Rob V]

I gotta wonder.And sorry in advance for sounding like an assh**e, but why is everyone so concerned with gay this and gay that in our society in regards to every friggin' aspect of our lives ?? Why are homosexual people so concerned with "Gay Friendly". Just go and watch movies! I don't look for hetero movies for christs sake!!

 

[Rich_McCracken]

I know that the DVDs of the British TV Show Queer as Folk have already been discussed, but I just saw them last night and had to make this post.
Wow! Easily one of the best shows I have ever seen. I can't even find the words to express how highly I regard the series. I wish american television execs had the balls to create something so entertaining, intelligent and honest.
I haven't seen the Showtime series, but for now, I'll watch this brilliant show. I've only seen the first set of episodes (1-4). Are there any others in region 1?
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Butchare Blanche, yare in the chair!
http://www.microtheater.com

 

[Rich_McCracken]

Damn, I just found out from C1TV that QAF episodes 5-8 aren't out in region 1 yet.
Rob, you pose several questions that need answering:
Question 1. "but why is everyone so concerned with gay this and gay that in our society in regards to every friggin' aspect of our lives ??"
IMO, we live in a post-Victorian age where homosexuality is misunderstood and feared. We humans are curious creatures and we seek/need knowledge and understanding to overcome fear. Without knowledge and understanding we tend to resort to violence to stop feeling fearful.
Also, the concept of "gay" as a positive thing is relatively new in modern times. As recently as the late 1970's, pre-frontal lobotomys were performed on homosexuals in an attempt to cure them. Matt Shepard and many other have been killed in recent years because they were gay. The majority of this world is not "Gay Friendly". By comparison to where I live, most everywhere else is "Gay Unfriendly", and yet Gay-bashing and Gay Hate killings occur here too. Last year, my partner and I were bashed in my neighborhood. Actually I bashed BACK so hard, I got arrested (Great job Officer Perillo -- they retired her!).
So, this thread celebrates the small amount of paradise that we find in a few DVDs. Where we see ourselves reflected back. Where we can truly relate to the images we see, and bask in the warm glow reflected on us. Try going to a Gay Lesbian Film Festival. The first time I went, the joy I felt was overwhelming.
I long for the day when we find out that the lead character just happens to be lesbian or gay, and that the sexual preference of that character isn't the central point or theme of the film.
As for your point: "just go and watch movies", we are, we do. Most of our posts don't ever touch the subject of this thread. This is only my second post to this thread, yet I have made a hundred other posts.
You say "you don't look for hetero-movies for christ's sake". But that's because you don't need to. 99.9% of movies only show heterosexual characters. They're everywhere.
Haven't you ever felt like this: "I want to watch a road-trip movie, or a sci-fi flick tonight? Sometime you want to watch a film of a certain genre. Isn't a Gay-Friendly film a genre? What's wrong with that?
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Butchare Blanche, yare in the chair!
http://www.microtheater.com

 

[Mark-W]

Rob V-
I don't want to beat a dead horse,
but it seems to me you didn't read the ENTIRE
thread, or you wouldn't be asking the questions
that you are.
Frankly, while things are drastically improving,
the gay community is still looking for quality
films and television shows that represent our lives.
We are starved for quality, accurate representation
on the silver sceen.
This thread is NOT about exclusion
anymore than a thread that could be titled
(and has been), Good Anime Films on DVD
or Good Foreign Films on DVD.
Would you tell those people to "just go watch films!"? I seriously doubt it.
EVERYONE wants to see themselves up on the screen:
--Some women go to romance films to "be Julia Roberts"
for 95 minutes.
--Some men go to action films to "be Mel Gibson"
for a couple of hours.
Why does it seem like most men cringe at "chic flicks?"
Why does it seem like many women dread watching
watching films like Saving Private Ryan over
and over again?
Because, politically-correct or not,
many of us go to the movies to see ourselves
(even in a fastasy version) on the screen.
I am a 33 year old gay man.
The first time I EVER saw a film
where gay men kissed was a porno film.
That was the first time EVER I saw men
being sexually affectionate with eachother.
(And people wonder why many of us gay men idolize
our porn stars.)
Do you have any idea what it is like to NOT see
yourself (even in fastasy version) for 18 years?
Not in commercials on television. Until recently,
not widely on television (and even that is not
where it should be STILL) and not in movies?
Sure...I got to feel being a Dragonslayer
(in the film of the same name), I got
to "be Luke Skywalker" for 2 hours...
and all those sorts of things.
But in a sexual, romantic way,
I was starved for some kind of representation.
What you find in this thread is men searching
for GOOD films that represent, in some way,
them and their sexuality.
(We are still waiting for a gay romantic comedy as good
as When Harry Met Sally).
So that is why this tread exists.
That is why I rent and/or buy gay-themed DVDs,
and review them in this thread. (I also rent
and own a plethora of obstensibly "straight-centric"
films.) In fact, in my own DVD collection of roughly
500 films, not even 10 percent are "gay-centric.")
Does any of this make sense to you?
I hope so, 'cause I am getting a little sick
of having to defend the intentions of this thread
to people who do NOT know what it feels like to
be in a sexual-orientation minority or
under-represented in the larger world.
Peace.
Mark

 

[Mark-W]

My copy of Kiss Me, Guido arrived
in the mail yesturday, and I enjoyed it much more
than I did the first time (in theaters).
Here is my review:
Kiss Me, Guido
Rating: *** (out of 5 stars)
Specs:
Region 1, NTSC
Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation (aprox 1.85:1)
Studio: Paramount
Extras: Director's Commentary
The plot (without major spoilers):
A hunky, straight Italian "Guido" named Frankie
(played by Nick Scotti) wants to move out of his
family's apartment. Warren (a gay man and
occaisional actor in films like Mafia Ninja 3)
needs to find a means of paying his rent.
Warren's best gay pal, Terry (played by the
perfectly cast, Craig Chester) places an ad
in a local rag about Warren needing a "GWM roomate."
A very ignorant Frankie thinks it means,
"Guy With Money." Miscommunication and comedy ensues.
Before long, the worlds of gay men and
Guidos are colliding.
At the core of the film there is a message
about two sterotyped groups overcoming each other's
prejudice.
Well, first of all, I should mention that I have
not watched this film with the "normal" sound on;
I watched it with the director's commentary on,
as I remembered the story well enough, that the
commentary was what I was most curious about.
Tony Vitale, the director, states that the film
arose from his relationships with gay men in NY City.
Tony is a self-confessed "Guido"...and heterosexual.
He states that he used to go to clubs that were
heavily populated by two distinct groups: gays and
quidos. Apparently, they all got along splendidly.
Also, Tony mentions a gay pal who one easily senses
was very important to him and instrumental in Vitale's
development as a person. So, while Vitale is straight, he is anything but narrow.
The reason I suspect men went in droves to this film,
was to see VERY hunky Nick Scotti.
As stated in the commentary track,
Nick Scotti was relativily unknown when Vitale cast him.
Vitale states that Nick's resume was absent
of anything other than a head shot and mission statement.
(I beg to differ, as I bought Nick's CD,
and the maxi-single of Get Over,
which features Scotti's former patron,
(non other than Madonna) loong before
Kiss Me, Guido was in production.)
Anyway, soon after being cast, (and unrelatedly)
Scotti appeared on either Time or Newsweek magazine
as the physical-sexual ideal male.
(I remember that issue.)

(Also, just as an FYI:
Scotti is or was a regular on some daytime soap,
but I do not watch those, nor have I really kept
tabs on this man's career.)
Anyway, what everyone waited to see, was Scotti
kiss another man...or get nekked. Take your pick.
You get a little of both in the film,
but not in the way that will make gay men thrilled.
(One friend commented,Stupid film, but Nick Scotti
was nice to look at!")
The film ends up being light, frothy entertainment.
A bit like a Twinkie: sweet, but not truly satisfying.
The commentary improved my appreciation of the film,
if only because the director seems to be fully at
ease with gay people and UNDERSTANDS
what being gay is like.
(As much as I like The Wedding Banquet
it is clear to me that Ang Lee, the director,
had no idea how to make a gay relationship have
any heat or sexual tension. The desire Warren
intially feels for Frankie, is very belieable.
Now Kiss Me, Guido is so frothy,
that it is hard to get too excited about it.
I suspect that it is the kind of film, that when people
are finished watching it, remark,"Well, that was kinda
fun...what do we do now?"
So, watching the DVD with lowered expectations (knowing
that I wasn't going to see Nick Scotti nude or making
out SERIOUSLY with another man), it just made me think,
"What a sweet little film."
The DVD is anamorphic, and for "bare-bones" Paramount
to include a commentary track with the director is
wonderful!
Still, for most, I would say this DVD is a rental only.
Warm regards,
Mark

 

[Steve Tannehill]

Rob V,
The "Gay Friendly" threads predate your participation in this forum by several months. If you do not have anything positive to add here, I would suggest that you refrain from posting in it.
- Steve

 

[Alan Light]

I agree, Steve. I'm skeptical of Rob V's intentions here since if he took 2 minutes to scan the posts he would not have asked his question. Some people just like to come into discussions, whatever they are about, lob a statement they know will be controversial among that group and then sit back and watch what unfolds and chuckle at the result. This has been a repeated problem on past gay threads in Home Theater Forum. Some have been more blatant than others, calling names and being offensive but they find they're kicked out of the forum so now the tack is softened to sound "sincere," but the result is the same - to disrupt and distract and take a discussion off track. Frankly if it isn't obvious to Rob why people with similar interests like to talk with each other about them then it's really not worth explaining it to him. Sorry to sound skeptical but I've seen this all before. The best way to treat these is to ignore them completely and stay on topic. Or if you want to give Rob the benefit of the doubt, explain the obvious to him quickly and move on.
Which I will now proceed to do.
Rich, regarding the original British QUEER AS FOLK yes, it is absolutely brilliant. It is amazing in so many ways - writing, directing, acting, lighting, even the music.
You say you saw episodes #1-4 but have been told that #5-8 are not out in NTSC format yet. I think C1TV's packaging has caused the confusion. C1TV's 2-DVD set is episodes #1-8 but C1TV has re-edited the eight 30-minute episodes into four 60-minute episodes and labeled those episodes #1-4. They are in fact #1-8.
What is NOT out over here in America yet is the sequel, QAF2, which is 87 minutes long. Negotiations are underway for C1TV to bring this out on DVD here in March or April. The sound track has to be altered, as it was on the first episodes, because the contractual rights to use the popular music songs only cover Britain, not the United States.
Mark, thanks for the review of Kiss Me, Guido. I decided to pass on that one. I didn't find it offensive just bland and I am not interesting in watching it a second time. I'll usually keep any gay-themed movie at least on videotape but I can't even muster any interest to do that for this title.

 

[Rich_McCracken]

Mark, Steve, & Alan:
I agree that it's frustrating to listen to remarks like RobV's again and again. I sat looking at my screen dumfounded, because I was so excited about sharing my experience with Queer As Folk. And I thought, "Oh here we go again. My post will now get ignored because the smelly bait has been laid out yet again, and it seems that often here at the HTF, negative posts get more responses than positive ones."
Thank you, Alan for prooving me wrong with your informative response to my query (no pun intended)

. I think I'll just have to satisfy my QAF2 urge by watching the first set a few more times...
But back to my point re: RobV. He IS a newbie, and policy here states that lead them onto the right path, but also that we be forgiving. I don't think that we're just talking about the Pan & Scan V. Wide Screen Issue either. As Gay and/or Gay-Friendly-Straight-Folk, we can choose to breathe deeply, and patiently explain again and again and again (that cross is a bitch, ain't it?) or we can ignore the ignorant, or come back at them with anger.
I don't know, maybe I was wasting my time answering Rob, but as a hopeful romantic, I'm still hoping for a better world, and I'd like to think that Rob, while venting, genuinely wanted to know. Enough said. Sorry for being so preachy, bros.

 

[Rich_McCracken]

Mark, I KNOW you don't believe everything that you hear from a director or actors regarding their sexual orientation. Let me just leave it at that. I don't want to get anyone pissed off at me, but just remember this: Actors are STILL afraid to admit to being gay. I get quite a kick out of Nick Scotti's performance in Kiss Me Guido as I find him surprisingly convincing

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Butchare Blanche, yare in the chair!
http://www.microtheater.com

 

[Alan Light]

>>Mark, I KNOW you don't believe everything that you hear from a director or actors regarding their sexual orientation. Let me just leave it at that. I don't want to get anyone pissed off at me, but just remember this: Actors are STILL afraid to admit to being gay.

 

[Mark-W]

Alan-
With comments like that, I am glad I bought the
"rental" DVD.
Mark

 

[Mark-W]

Micheal Mora-
If you read the ENTIRE thread, from
page 1, there is plenty of discussion
about both versions of Queer As Folk.
Also, you can read about it in the
TV SHOWS Thread, if you use
the search function, ask for "Queer As Folk"
and go back a few days.
All I will say about the owners of this forum
is this: They have my HIGHEST regards.
Mark

 

[Parker Clack]

The person called Parker dude is one of the owners of this forum. I emailed you because that is how it is done on this forum. You DID get personal with naming Ron AND and if you read back further in the thread Steve Tannehill already talked to Rob about his comments.
I asked you to remove your comments about Rob from your posts and you didn't then you come in to this thread to slam me. Your comments to me in email and on this board are out of line.
I suggest that you know who you are talking to in the future if you want to continue to have a membership here.
Parker Clack

 

[Mark-W]

Well, I would like to thank the people
who read and post to this thread.
I just got my copy of Bishonen,
(which I never would've heard of otherwise),
and I really like it. It was even better upon
second viewing. That film could easily be translated
into US gay club culture, and how we pretend to be
things we are not to get people we are attracted to
to fall in love with us....
Brilliant.
Also, my $0.02 on But, I'm a Cheerleader:
Entertaining, but it walks an awkward tightrope between
camp and then trying to be sincere. Just when I was
getting a bit bored, Eddie Cibrian would have a scene,
and I would "perk" right...up.

The film also made me appreiciate John Waters more,
because this film shows how hard it is to be campy,
and still get us to care about the characters.
Hairspray and Serial Mom
both do this quite well.
Regards,
Mark

 

[Alan Light]

I'm glad you enjoyed Bishonen, Mark. It is such a pleasure to run across a hidden gem like that. I have seen it three times now and I've enjoyed it even more each time. I took a chance and showed it to a group of gay friends who usually enjoy more mainstream movies. I was concerned that they may be put off by the English subtitles and relatively slow pace (slower than American movies) of the romance but I underestimated them. They rated it very highly.

 

[Mark-W]

Thanks, Alan.
I also ordered Iron Ladies since
I have a DVD player that can handle PAL, non-region 1
DVDs.
I was checking, and found that Daniel Wu,
who played "Sam" in Bishonen graduated
from the University of Oregon with a BA in architecture!
(Ah to think that hottie was in my state!)
He has the MOST expressive eyes....
I also ordered City of Glass since
the DVD is only $15.00, and stars Daniel.
In other news, Link Removed
Mark

 

[Alan Light]

I bought Iron Ladies from yesasia.com also. As you note, it is a PAL non-region 1 release, so it's only playable on specialized DVD players like the Apex. It's an odd little film which is, frankly, full of gay stereotypes that would be offensive if we saw them in an American film today. I enjoyed it but I'm not sure I'd watch it again. I think you have to keep in mind that it was made in Thailand and for that country and culture I'm sure it was quite groundbreaking.
The movie, as you probably know (but others may not) is about a gay volleyball team and is apparantly based upon a true story. The gay people are portrayed as silly, lovable buffoons. They are the heroes of the film, people who straight people find as funny as if there were pink elephants in their midst but who root for them to win anyway.
By the way, I received notice today that my order for the DVD of Longtime Companion has shipped (from DVD Empire), so that title is now out (so to speak).