The Celluloid Closet

Mar 15 1996 R 1h 42m
Documentary, History

What "That's Entertainment" did for movie musicals, "The Celluloid Closet" does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein ("The Times of Harvey Milk" and "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt") and Jeffrey Friedman assemble fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s. Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors, writers and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.

Plot

A comprehensive documentary of the history of gays and lesbians in cinema, from negative to positive reflections of gay characters and the troubles of actors and actresses.

Written by

Vito Russo, Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Directed by

Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman

Cast

Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Susie Bright

Crew

View crew

Production Countries

United States of America

Production Companies

Channel Four Films, Brillstein-Grey Entertainment, ARTE, Telling Pictures, ZDF, HBO, Columbia Pictures Television

Languages

Deutsch, English

Awards

Nominated for 5 Primetime Emmys. 7 wins & 9 nominations total

Trailers
The Celluloid Closet Trailer
Scores
# of Votes
7,685
Average Rating
7.8 out of 10
Metascore
NA
Popularity
NA