Essential Gay and Drag-Films
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- DirectorJennie LivingstonStarsBrooke XtravaganzaAndré ChristianDorian CoreyA chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsHugo WeavingGuy PearceTerence StampTwo drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceA spoiled schoolgirl runs away from home, gets pregnant while hitch-hiking, and ends up as a fashion model for a pair of beauticians who like to photograph women committing crimes.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsBette DavisAnne BaxterGeorge SandersA seemingly timid but secretly ruthless ingénue insinuates herself into the lives of an aging Broadway star and her circle of theater friends.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsBette DavisJoan CrawfordVictor BuonoA former child star torments her paraplegic sister in their decaying Hollywood mansion.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceNotorious Baltimore criminal and underground figure Divine goes up against a sleazy married couple who make a passionate attempt to humiliate her and seize her tabloid-given title as "The Filthiest Person Alive".
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsMarilyn MonroeTony CurtisJack LemmonAfter two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
- DirectorBarbra StreisandStarsBarbra StreisandAmy IrvingMandy PatinkinA Jewish girl disguises herself as a boy to enter religious training.
- DirectorJim SharmanStarsTim CurrySusan SarandonBarry BostwickA newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
- DirectorBeeban KidronStarsWesley SnipesPatrick SwayzeJohn LeguizamoThree drag queens travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town.
- DirectorPedro AlmodóvarStarsCecilia RothMarisa ParedesCandela PeñaA comedy-drama about a bereaved mother, and overwrought actress, her jealous lover, and a pregnant nun.
- DirectorJulian JarroldStarsChiwetel EjioforJoel EdgertonSarah-Jane PottsA drag queen comes to the rescue of a man who, after inheriting his father's shoe factory, needs to diversify his product if he wants to keep the business afloat.
- DirectorMichael LembeckStarsNia VardalosToni ColletteDavid DuchovnyA mob mix-up in Chicago sends two chanteuses screaming for L.A., where they score a perfect gig: posing as drag queens on the dinner theater/cabaret circuit. Things get extra-weird when a guy falls for one of the girls.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsSonny BonoRuth BrownDivineA 'pleasantly plump' teenager teaches 1962 Baltimore a thing or two about integration after landing a spot on a local TV dance show.
- DirectorJohn Cameron MitchellStarsJohn Cameron MitchellMiriam ShorStephen TraskA gender-queer punk-rock singer from East Berlin tours the U.S. with her band as she tells her life story and follows the former lover/band-mate who stole her songs.
- DirectorBarry ShilsStarsRuPaulJohn EppersonDebbie HarryDocumentary/Concert film covering the annual Drag festival in New York City. Highlights include a performance by drag diva, Ru Paul, and the infamous Lypsinka.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineDavid LocharyMary Vivian PearceWatch as the life of a leader of a menacing group of deviants, explodes in a spectacle of debauchery. Accidentally filmed from beginning to end, on purpose.
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsJulie AndrewsJames GarnerRobert PrestonA struggling female soprano in 1934 Paris finally finds work after posing as a female impersonator, but it complicates her personal life when a visiting Chicago gangster finds himself inexplicably attracted to the seemingly male performer.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsEdward D. Wood Jr.Bela LugosiLyle TalbotA psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).
- DirectorJulian SchnabelStarsJavier BardemJohnny DeppOlatz López GarmendiaThe life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reinaldo Arenas.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsRobin WilliamsNathan LaneGene HackmanA gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsRobert De NiroPhilip Seymour HoffmanBarry MillerAn ultraconservative security guard suffers a debilitating stroke and is assigned to a rehabilitative program that includes singing lessons with the drag queen next door.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsCary GrantAnn SheridanMarion MarshallAfter marrying an American lieutenant with whom he was assigned to work in post-war Germany, a French captain attempts to find a way to accompany her back to the States under the terms of the War Bride Act.
- DirectorJonathan LynnStarsEric IdleRobbie ColtraneCamille Coduri2 criminals want out but their boss kills those leaving. When the men are ordered to rob the triad, they keep the money and hide from the boss, triad and police at a convent, dressed as nuns.
- DirectorTim BurtonStarsJohnny DeppMartin LandauSarah Jessica ParkerAmbitious but troubled movie director Edward D. Wood Jr. tries his best to fulfill his dreams despite his lack of talent.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyStarsJoe DallesandroHolly WoodlawnGeri MillerDuring the course of a day, a heroin addict overdoses in front of an upper-class couple, attempts to fool welfare by having his girlfriend fake a pregnancy, and frustrates the women in his life with his drug-induced impotence.
- DirectorEllen HovdeAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesStarsEdith Bouvier BealeEdith 'Little Edie' Bouvier BealeBrooks HyersMeet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsZero MostelGene WilderDick ShawnA stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyStarsCandy DarlingJackie CurtisHolly WoodlawnThis film is a satire of the women's liberation movement, staring a trio of female impersonators. Candy is an aloof heiress caught in an unhappy relationship with her brother. Jackie is a virginal intellectual who believes women are oppressed in contemporary American society. And Holly is a nymphomaniac who has come to loathe men, despite her attraction to them. Together, they join a militant feminist group, P.I.G. (Politically Involved Girls), but their newfound liberation doesn't make them any happier.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsGary CooperMarlene DietrichAdolphe MenjouA cabaret singer and a Legionnaire fall in love, but their relationship is complicated by the results of his womanizing and the appearance of a rich man who wants her for himself.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsLily TomlinTony CurtisSusie BrightA documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsLionel BarrymoreMaureen O'SullivanFrank LawtonAn escaped convict uses miniaturized humans to wreak vengeance on those who framed him.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsDustin HoffmanJessica LangeTeri GarrMichael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
- DirectorRon FieldBill FosterStarsLauren BacallLarry HagmanPenny FullerAn aspiring actress, whose sugar-coated appearance belies her ruthless drive, worms herself into the life of an aging star and schemes to replace her on the stage as the star of a new play.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsRosalind RussellNatalie WoodKarl MaldenBased on the Broadway hit about the life and times of burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee and her aggressive stage mother, Mama Rose.
- DirectorCharles AtlasStarsRachel AuburnLee BenjaminSteve BlameThe life of '80's fashion designer/queer icon Leigh Bowery is explored in this documentary.
- DirectorTim WolffStarsCharles MaddoxTommy DietschEd HerlihyThe Sons of Tennessee Williams charts the evolution of the gay Mardi Gras krewe scene over the decades, illuminating the ways in which its emergence was a seminal factor in the cause of gay liberation in the South.
- DirectorRichard BennerStarsCraig RussellHollis McLarenRichert EasleyA story about a female impersonator who rooms with a pregnant schizophrenic.
- DirectorJeffrey SchwarzStarsDivineMichael MustoMark PayneHow Divine, aka Harris Glenn Milstead, became John Waters' cinematic muse and an international drag icon.
- DirectorBill WeberDavid WeissmanStarsLarry BrinkinPeggy CassThe CockettesDocumentary about the gender-bending San Francisco performance group who became a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1970s.
- DirectorGabriel BaurStarsDiane TorrDréd GerestantDel La Grace VolcanoA film journey through a universe of female masculinity. A legendary Drag King Night in New York is the point of departure for an odyssey to transgendered worlds, where women become men - some for a night, others for their whole lives. What motivates them? What changes take place? What do they dream of? The drag kings of New York meet in clubs and change lustfully into their male alter egos, parodying them and exploring male eroticism and power strategies. In London we see women experiment with hormones to become new men and 'cyborgs'. Masculinity and transformation as performance, subversion or existential necessity.
- DirectorCraig HighbergerStarsPeter AllenPaul AmbroseMichael André"Jackie Curtis is not a drag queen. Jackie is an artist. A pioneer without a frontier." -- Andy Warhol. Superstar in a Housedress examines the life and legend of Warhol transvestite superstar Jackie Curtis who was a poet, playwright, performer, and one of the great personalities of his time. Jackie both lived and performed sometimes as a man, sometimes as a woman - and died tragically of a drug overdose under bizarre circumstances when he was only 38. The film features on-camera interviews with actor Harvey Fierstein who played Jackie's mother in "Americka Cleopatra" when he was 18, Ellen Stewart, founder of LaMama Experimental Theater Club, John Vaccaro, founder of the Playhouse of the Ridiculous, Paul Morrissey, Director of the Andy Warhol films, and surviving superstars Holly Woodlawn and Joe Dallesandro, plus 24 other friends and colleagues of Jackie's. The film includes never-before-seen video and film clips of Jackie performing in stage plays including "Femme Fatale," "Glamour, Glory and Gold," and "Vain Victory: The Vicissitudes of the Damned." and cabarets. The music of jazz musician and composer Paul Serrato is featured, as is the photography of Jack Mitchell who took more photographs of Curtis and the Warhol crowd than any other professional. Interviews with media personalities, writers and editors put the work and life of Jackie Curtis in historical perspective. Narrated by Lily Tomlin.
- DirectorMaggie GreenwaldStarsSuzy AmisBo HopkinsIan McKellenAfter being thrown out of her home, a young woman decides to disguise herself as a man to survive the ruthless Wild West.
- DirectorLisa GottliebStarsJoyce HyserClayton RohnerBilly JayneTerry feels discriminated against when the summer jobs at the Sun Tribune go to two guys. She decides to do something about it. She dresses like a guy and gets a haircut. Will students at the other high school notice? Girls notice "him".
- DirectorMichael KeuschStarsCorey HaimNicole EggertCameron BancroftA bullied teen disguises himself as a girl to escape his bully, but he discovers other upsides to this ruse.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsFaye DunawayTommy Lee JonesBrad DourifA famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a killer.
- DirectorCurtis HarringtonStarsShelley WintersMark LesterChloe FranksA demented widow lures unsuspecting children into her mansion in a bizarre "Hansel and Gretel" twist.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsSissy SpacekPiper LaurieAmy IrvingCarrie White, a shy, friendless teenage girl who is sheltered by her domineering, religious mother, unleashes her telekinetic powers after being humiliated by her classmates at her senior prom.
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsMeryl StreepBruce WillisGoldie HawnWhen a fading actress learns of an immortality treatment, she sees it as a way to outdo her long-time rival.
- DirectorJim AbrahamsStarsBette MidlerLily TomlinFred WardTwo couples of sisters from New York and from the countryside discover that they are connected in an incredible way.
- DirectorArthur HillerStarsShelley LongBette MidlerPeter CoyoteTwo women unknowingly share the same man, but when he disappears, both go out looking for him and enter his surprisingly dangerous life.
- DirectorSusan SeidelmanStarsMeryl StreepRoseanne BarrEd Begley Jr.A surprisingly resourceful housewife vows revenge on her husband when he begins an affair with a wealthy romance novelist.
- DirectorRuss MeyerStarsDolly ReadCynthia MyersMarcia McBroomThree girls come to Hollywood to make it big, but find only sex, drugs, and sleaze.
- DirectorJames SignorelliStarsCassandra PetersonPhil RubensteinLarry Flash Jenkins"Elvira: Mistress of the Dark" is a 1988 comedy, horror movie - upon arriving in a small town where Elvira has inherited a rundown mansion, the famous horror host must battle an evil uncle, and townspeople who want her burned at the stake.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsKatharine RossPaula PrentissPeter MastersonJoanna Eberhart has come to the quaint little town of Stepford, Connecticut with her family, but soon discovers there lies a sinister truth in the all too perfect behavior of the female residents.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsTony CurtisClaudia CardinaleRobert WebberCarlo goes on a vacation to Southern California, where he quickly becomes immersed in the easygoing local culture and becomes entangled in two beach-side romances.
- DirectorLeonard KastleDonald VolkmanStarsShirley StolerTony Lo BiancoMary Jane HigbyAn obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.
- DirectorDorothy ArznerStarsJoan CrawfordFranchot ToneRobert YoungA lounge singer is sent by a count to pose as a wealthy socialite.
- DirectorDavid MirkinStarsMira SorvinoLisa KudrowJaneane GarofaloTwo dim-witted, inseparable friends hit the road for their ten-year high school reunion and concoct an elaborate lie about their lives in order to impress their classmates.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsJoan CrawfordSpencer TracyAlan CurtisAffluent Hennessey falls for Jessie who is married to good-for-nothing Eddie. To provide a better life for Jessie Hennessey wants to marry her, and Eddie even approves of the plan, hoping to profit from it financially.
- DirectorFenton BaileyRandy BarbatoStarsMichael AligGitsieJames St. JamesDocumentary film exploring the rise of Club Kid legend Michael Alig and his fall in 1996 when he murdered his drug dealer/roommate Angel Melendez.
- DirectorRichard ElfmanStarsGene CunninghamMarie-Pascale ElfmanVirginia RoseThe bizarre and musical tale of a girl who travels to another dimension through the gateway found in her family's basement.
- DirectorPhillip R. FordStarsDoris FishMiss XGinger QuestAfter some rare gems go missing on a distant planet where men are not allowed, three soldiers posing as women are sent from Earth to aid in the investigation.
- DirectorJohn SchlesingerStarsDonald SutherlandKaren BlackBurgess MeredithAn art director in the 1930s falls in love and attempts to make a young woman an actress despite Hollywood who wants nothing to do with her because of her problems with an estranged man and her alcoholic father.
- DirectorMark RydellStarsBette MidlerAlan BatesFrederic ForrestThe tragic life of a self-destructive female rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands of her ruthless business manager.
- DirectorGeorge SeatonStarsBing CrosbyGrace KellyWilliam HoldenA director hires an alcoholic has-been and strikes up a stormy relationship with the actor's wife, who he believes is the cause of all the man's problems.
- DirectorRichard DayStarsJack PlotnickClinton LeuppJeffery RobersonThree actresses at various places on the Hollywood food chain navigate the minefield of love, aging, and ambition. Oh, and they're all played by men!
- DirectorLina PlioplyteStarsIris ApfelJoyce CarpatiAri CohenAdvanced Style examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging.
- DirectorAmy HeckerlingStarsAlicia SilverstoneStacey DashBrittany MurphyShallow, rich and socially successful Cher is at the top of her Beverly Hills high school's pecking scale. Seeing herself as a matchmaker, Cher first coaxes two teachers into dating each other.
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsRuss TamblynJan SterlingJohn Drew BarrymoreA tough kid comes to a new high school and begins muscling his way into the drug scene. This is a typical morality play of the era, filled with a naive view of drugs, nihilistic beat poetry, and some incredible '50s slang.
- DirectorNigel FinchStarsGuillermo DiazFrederick WellerBrendan CorbalisA group of homosexual people try to live with dignity and self-respect while events build to the opening battle in the major gay rights movement.
- DirectorFenton BaileyRandy BarbatoStarsMacaulay CulkinWilson CruzSeth GreenBased on the true story of Michael Alig, a Club Kid party organizer whose life was sent spiraling down when he bragged on television about killing his drug dealer and roommate.
- DirectorÉdouard MolinaroStarsUgo TognazziMichel SerraultClaire MaurierThe manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and his star attraction, are a gay couple. Madness ensues when his straight son brings home a fiancée and her ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
- DirectorÉdouard MolinaroStarsMichel SerraultUgo TognazziMarcel BozzuffiThe titular gay couple become involved with local cops and foreign spies when one of them unwittingly obtains a roll of stolen microfilm.
- DirectorSteve YeagerStarsJohn WatersPat WatersJohn Waters Sr.The life and times of Baltimore film maker and midnight movie pioneer, John Waters. Intercut with a 1972 interview of Waters are clips from his first films and recent interviews with his parents, his brother, Divine's mom, actors and crew, other directors, film critics, a film curator, psychologists, and Maryland's last censor, who shudders at the memory of Waters's pictures. Also included is footage of Waters making his early movies, culminating in an up-close and in-depth look at Pink Flamingos: the script, the set, the filming conditions, its editing, its distribution, and its impact. In sweet ways, this documentary is also a celebration of Divine (1945-1988).
- DirectorJoshua GrannellStarsJack DonnerMikayla RosarioRobin CalvertA woman screens snuff films disguised as horror films to great success at her movie theater, until a high school student learns that the murders are real.
- DirectorxuxEEileen Kaur AldenStarsJimmy RiderMonique JenkinsonMeg O'ConnorRon Everett just wasn't cut out to be a shoe farmer. All his life, he's dreamed of bright lights, glamor, riches, success and fabulous hair. But alas, he is slated to inherit the family footwear farm, prime responsibility for a horde of younger siblings for whom the farm provides sole support, and a life of drudgery in the orthopedic sandal and work boot fields... unless he can make it big in New Cityville in just one week!
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsKatharine HepburnCary GrantBrian AherneWhen her father decides to flee to England, young Sylvia Scarlett must become Sylvester Scarlett and protect her father every step of the way, with the questionable help of plenty others.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinBilly ArmstrongMarta GoldenA man disguises himself as a lady in order to be near his newfound sweetheart, after her father has forbidden her to see him.
- DirectorRicki SternAnne SundbergStarsJoan RiversMelissa RiversKathy GriffinA documentary on the life and career of Joan Rivers, made as the comedienne turns 75 years old.
- DirectorDaisy von Scherler MayerStarsParker PoseyOmar TownsendThe Lady BunnyA 20-something, irresponsible party girl is bailed out of jail by her librarian godmother. To repay the loan, she starts working at the library and gradually turns her life around.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsRobin WilliamsMary Beth HurtGlenn CloseA struggling young writer finds his life and work dominated by his unfaithful wife and his radical feminist mother, whose best-selling manifesto turns her into a cultural icon.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsAlice FayeCarmen MirandaPhil BakerA soldier falls for a chorus girl and then experiences trouble when he is posted to the Pacific.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartJennifer JonesGina LollobrigidaOn their way to Africa are a group of rogues who hope to get rich there, and a seemingly innocent British couple. They meet and things happen...
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsLiz RenayMink StoleSusan LoweA neurotic society woman murders her husband with her maid's help; on the lam, they escape to Mortville, a homeless community ruled by a fascist queen.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsDivineTab HunterEdith MasseyA suburban housewife's world falls apart when she finds that her pornographer husband is serially unfaithful to her, her daughter is pregnant, and her son is suspected of being the foot-fetishist who's been breaking local women's feet.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsTracey UllmanChris IsaakSelma BlairAn uptight, middle-aged, repressed woman turns into a sex addict after getting hit on the head, and she then falls into an underground subculture of sex addicts in suburban Baltimore.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsMelanie GriffithStephen DorffAlicia WittAn insane independent film director and his renegade group of teenage filmmakers kidnap an A-list Hollywood actress and force her to star in their underground film.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsKathleen TurnerSam WaterstonRicki LakeShe's the perfect all-American parent: a great cook and homemaker, a devoted recycler, and a woman who'll literally kill to keep her children happy.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsJohnny DeppRicki LakeAmy LocaneIn 1950s Baltimore, a bad boy with a heart of gold wins the love of a good girl, whose boyfriend sets out for revenge.
- DirectorTodd SolondzStarsHeather MatarazzoChristina BrucatoVictoria DavisAn awkward seventh-grader struggles to cope with inattentive parents, snobbish class-mates, a smart older brother, an attractive younger sister and her own insecurities in suburban New Jersey.
- DirectorFrank PerryStarsFaye DunawayDiana ScarwidSteve ForrestThe abusive and traumatic adoptive upbringing of Christina Crawford at the hands of her mother, screen queen Joan Crawford, is depicted.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsBarbara ParkinsPatty DukePaul BurkeFilm version of Jacqueline Susann's best-selling novel chronicling the rise and fall of three young women in show business.
- DirectorStuart UrbanStarsGuinevere TurnerChristien AnholtTom BellWhile working for a conservative MP, an IT professional infiltrates a BDSM club and falls for the head dominatrix.
- DirectorNancy WalkerStarsRay SimpsonDavid HodoFelipe RoseA pseudo autobiography of disco's The Village People.
- DirectorPaul BartelStarsTab HunterDivineLainie KazanA group of unscrupulous characters seek buried treasure in the old west.
- DirectorGeorge CukorStarsNorma ShearerJoan CrawfordRosalind RussellA study of the lives and romantic entanglements of various interconnected women.