Gay-Friendly Blu-rays (4 Viewers)

[Will Krupp]

all that's lacking is a musical number).

Wendell Corey singing "Can't Help Lovin' That Man of Mine!"

 

[Joel Arndt]

So glad you guys love this film. As Will knows well, I love it, also. It's bonkers!

And Will, I wish there was a LOL response for what you wrote above. That's a perfect choice!

 

[Danny Burk]

I hadn't even heard of it before. Onto the list it goes...

 

[bujaki]

My wife saw the trailer for Desert Fury and immediately told me that those two men were lovers. Just from the trailer! How it could have escaped the Code people or the audiences at the time!
Waiting on the disc to arrive. Mary Astor in color, Mary Astor in anything!

 

[lark144]

My wife saw the trailer for Desert Fury and immediately told me that those two men were lovers. Just from the trailer! How it could have escaped the Code people or the audiences at the time!
Waiting on the disc to arrive. Mary Astor in color, Mary Astor in anything!

Aside from the explicitly coded gay aspects which seemed to elude the Guardians of the Code, what's most distinctive about DESERT FURY is Mary Astor, who completely dominates the film.

 

[Kenneth_C]

I watched an excellent French film on Blu-ray last night: Sauvage (aka Wild), the debut feature of director Camille Vidal-Naquet, starring Félix Maritaud (BPM, Knife+Heart). Though not as explicit as Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo, there is still quite a bit of nudity (including full-frontal) and sex (one scene apparently prompted walk-outs at Cannes). Despite this, I didn't feel it was exploitative. Instead, it's an edgy, intimate, and at times even beautiful character study of a homeless Parisian hustler, elevated further by the stunning lead performance of Maritaud. Openly gay, he won both the Rising Star Award at Cannes and the Lumière Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Sauvage.



The Blu-ray was produced by Peccadillo Pictures in the UK and, despite being labeled Region B, was playable in both my Region A and my Region Free players. Extras include interviews with the director & Félix Maritaud and several deleted scenes.

 

[Mark-W]

Thanks, Kenneth!

I had ordered the US released DVD, but based on your comments will order to UK Peccadillo Pictures Blu-ray.

I watched an excellent French film on Blu-ray last night: Sauvage (aka Wild), the debut feature of director Camille Vidal-Naquet, starring Félix Maritaud (BPM, Knife+Heart). Though not as explicit as Paris 05:59: Théo & Hugo, there is still quite a bit of nudity (including full-frontal) and sex (one scene apparently prompted walk-outs at Cannes). Despite this, I didn't feel it was exploitative. Instead, it's an edgy, intimate, and at times even beautiful character study of a homeless Parisian hustler, elevated further by the stunning lead performance of Maritaud. Openly gay, he won both the Rising Star Award at Cannes and the Lumière Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Sauvage.



The Blu-ray was produced by Peccadillo Pictures in the UK and, despite being labeled Region B, was playable in both my Region A and my Region Free players. Extras include interviews with the director & Félix Maritaud and several deleted scenes.

 

[DWH]

I was really impressed with Felix Maritaud's performance in Sauvage, having previously seen him in BPM and Knife+Heart. I look forward to his future projects.

I don't want to get banned from here but (for anyone interested) before his breakout performances in the above-mentioned films, Maritaud had a less "legitimate" acting career that can be easily researched online.

 

[Joel Arndt]

I was really impressed with Felix Maritaud's performance in Sauvage, having previously seen him in BPM and Knife+Heart. I look forward to his future projects.

I don't want to get banned from here but (for anyone interested) before his breakout performances in the above-mentioned films, Maritaud had a less "legitimate" acting career that can be easily researched online.

LOL! I think it would take more than this to be banned from here. And, hey, everyone has to learn their profession somewhere. Sauvage looks very good. I noticed it's streaming on Amazon Prime for $5.99, also.

 

[Jason_V]

Just finished Scenes from a Gay Marriage on Amazon Prime...and yeesh.

I think I understand the storytelling device being used and why it's happening-jumping around in time and not following every beat of the story-but that frustrated me more than anything else. If I can't follow the story in a linear fashion without filling in massive story holes on my own, the result for me is a miss.

It's just a muddled mess with competing plot lines ranging from main character Darren and his ex Greg to listening to the upstairs neighbors, some petty burglary, a new female friend and, oh yeah, a love interest (Joe). Pretty blah characters all around aside from Joe the handyman/quasi-love interest, though I could just be cutting him a ton of slack being stuck in this turkey. I just couldn't help but yell at him (in my head) "Dude, you can do so much better than the guy you're interested in."

I've got nothing else for this. And heaven help me, there's a sequel...

 

[Will Krupp]

And heaven help me, there's a sequel...

Scenes from a Gay Divorce?

(I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself)

 

[cinemiracle]

Just finished Scenes from a Gay Marriage on Amazon Prime...and yeesh.

I think I understand the storytelling device being used and why it's happening-jumping around in time and not following every beat of the story-but that frustrated me more than anything else. If I can't follow the story in a linear fashion without filling in massive story holes on my own, the result for me is a miss.

It's just a muddled mess with competing plot lines ranging from main character Darren and his ex Greg to listening to the upstairs neighbors, some petty burglary, a new female friend and, oh yeah, a love interest (Joe). Pretty blah characters all around aside from Joe the handyman/quasi-love interest, though I could just be cutting him a ton of slack being stuck in this turkey. I just couldn't help but yell at him (in my head) "Dude, you can do so much better than the guy you're interested in."

I've got nothing else for this. And heaven help me, there's a sequel...

The trailer says that it is a comedy? Looked like another UNFUNNY comedy to me. Not worth even watching 5 minutes of the show. .The Director and especially the writer should bow their heads in shame and change jobs.

 

[Jason_V]

Scenes from a Gay Divorce?

(I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself)

Might as well been...it's actually called More Scenes from a Gay Marriage. Terribly creative, right?

The trailer says that it is a comedy? Looked like another UNFUNNY comedy to me. Not worth even watching 5 minutes of the show. .The Director and especially the writer should bow their heads in shame and change jobs.

I didn't find it all that funny. Or anything aside from blah.

 

[bujaki]

Edited.

 

[Mark-W]

Might as well been...it's actually called More Scenes from a Gay Marriage. Terribly creative, right?



I didn't find it all that funny. Or anything aside from blah.

It seems like this writer-director was trying to crib from Woody Allen. It has been quite a while since I saw this, but I remember thinking there were elements that felt like he had seen "Husbands and Wives" and tried to make a gay version.

 

[MatthewA]

Perhaps he should have tried to copy the more obviously funny, pre-Annie Hall Woody Allen instead of the dark-for-dark's-sake faux-Bergman, post-Annie Hall Woody Allen. But at least Woody Allen could also get Sven Nykvist. This looks like videotaped community theater. No wait, I take it back, I've seen better acting there.

Seriously, he even used the same credits font as practically every Woody Allen movie ever made. And the only thing funny about the trailer was the name of one of the fake gay movies the protagonist had a copy of on DVD.

I'll pass. This is proof that just making a movie where the main characters are gay is not enough to make it good. I want to support gay filmmakers, but this just doesn't cut it. This looks almost as bad as Ben and Arthur, a glorified home movie so bad it could have made a homophobe out of Harvey Milk!

 

[Jason_V]

It seems like this writer-director was trying to crib from Woody Allen. It has been quite a while since I saw this, but I remember thinking there were elements that felt like he had seen "Husbands and Wives" and tried to make a gay version.

Entirely likely. I'm not familiar enough with anything Woody Allen does to speak intelligently about his films. I'd just rather artists make their own thing and not make it "the gay X" or "the black Y" or whatever.

 

[Will Krupp]

I'll pass. This is proof that just making a movie where the main characters are gay is not enough to make it good. I want to support gay filmmakers, but this just doesn't cut it.

Definitely. There was a time when we were so starved for gay cinema we WOULD go to see things just because "it's gay!" but I'm thrilled we've come so far that that is not "simply" enough anymore.

 

[Will Krupp]

It seems like this writer-director was trying to crib from Woody Allen. It has been quite a while since I saw this, but I remember thinking there were elements that felt like he had seen "Husbands and Wives" and tried to make a gay version.

It's been awhile since I've seen HUSBANDS AND WIVES so it may be time to revisit it (I don't think I've seen it since the mid 90's but I remember liking it very much.) That mid 80's to mid 90's decade is actually my favorite Woody Allen era (there are a FEW clinkers in there but on balance very good to great.)

I'm not going to bother to see this one, however, lol.

 

[bujaki]

Pain and Glory, Almodovar's latest film, still playing in theaters, starring Antonio Banderas. I can't recommend this film highly enough. Read about it and watch it at the earliest opportunity. You won't be sorry.