Queer Recommended viewing
by EnglishCaddy | created - 9 months ago | updated - 1 hour ago | PublicFor further viewing, recommended outside of class.
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1. Angels in America (2003)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Several disparate but connected individuals go through the AIDS crisis in the mid-1980s.
Stars: Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson, Mary-Louise Parker
Votes: 29,812
A monumental yet personal fantasia of marginalization, politics, and living with AIDS in the 80s. (Chosen for drama and discussion.)
2. Paris Is Burning (1990)
R | 78 min | Documentary
A 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.
Director: Jennie Livingston | Stars: Brooke Xtravaganza, André Christian, Dorian Corey, Paris Duprée
Votes: 17,626 | Gross: $3.78M
Touchstone film focusing on the personal lives of those in the NYC ball scene. (Chosen for history and historical context.)
3. Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Arnold is a gay man working as drag queen in 1971 NYC. He meets a handsome bisexual man.
Director: Paul Bogart | Stars: Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, Harvey Fierstein, Brian Kerwin
Votes: 7,824 | Gross: $4.87M
A story of personal courage in seeking a life in a world "not built for him' in the time before AIDS. (Chosen for it's humanity, drama, and avante garde production as a play and film.)
4. The Celluloid Closet (1995)
R | 102 min | Documentary, History
A documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Susie Bright, Arthur Laurents
Votes: 7,518 | Gross: $1.51M
Documentary showing Hollywood's ever-changing depiction of queers in cinema. (Chosen for its use of historical context of the featured works and actors.)
5. Queer for Fear: The History of Queer Horror (2022)
Not Rated | 225 min | Documentary, Horror
A documentary telling the story of LGBTQIA+ horror and the relationship between queer audiences and horror, and the queer horror community as a whole.
Stars: Carmen Maria Machado, Kimberly Peirce, Briana Venskus, Emily St. James
Votes: 469
Documentary showing the queer subtext in cinematic horror and the queer community's relationship with queer cinema. (Chosen for the historic context and revelatory relationship of the community with cinema.)
6. It's a Sin (2021)
TV-MA | 48 min | Comedy, Drama, History
The lives of a group of friends living in 1980s London are irreparably changed by the AIDS crisis.
Stars: Olly Alexander, Nathaniel Curtis, Shaun Dooley, Omari Douglas
Votes: 36,935
Drama set in Thatcher's England during the onset of the AIDS epidemic and the tragic consequences it had on the young queer community coming of age at the time. (Chosen for its heart wrenching depiction of the pre-HIV and post-HIV lifestyle in London.)
7. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,888 | Gross: $31.84M
A biopic of the legendary life and death of the first openly homosexual elected officials in San Francisco in the 70s. It is both historical and personal. (Chosen for its history and depiction of the socio-political climate of the times.)
8. Happy Birthday, Marsha! (2017)
14 min | Short, Drama
The story of extraordinary transgender rights activists, pioneers, and friends, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, in the hours before the Stonewall riots.
Directors: Reina Gossett, Sasha Wortzel | Stars: Eve Lindley, Mya Taylor, Grace Dunham, Silas Howard
Votes: 46
The story of extraordinary transgender rights activists, pioneers, and friends, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, in the hours before the Stonewall riots. (Chosen because it is one of the better depictions of the events of Stonewall as it relies on personal accounts from those who were there.)
9. Maurice (1987)
R | 140 min | Drama, Romance
Two English school chums find themselves falling in love at Cambridge. To regain his place in society, Clive gives up Maurice and marries. While staying with Clive and his wife, Maurice discovers romance in the arms of the gamekeeper Alec.
Director: James Ivory | Stars: James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Hugh Grant, Denholm Elliott
Votes: 23,608 | Gross: $3.13M
The novel itself was groundbreaking of featuring same sex love in Victorian/Edwardian England, and wasn't published until after his death. This movie makes the novel accessible and was a Merchant & Ivory (themselves a gay filmmaking couple) trailblazer in the 80s. (Chosen for the touching and ever-relevant struggles with coming out secretly and the story of the story itself.)
10. Desert Hearts (1985)
R | 91 min | Drama, Romance
While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed professor of literature is unexpectedly seduced by a carefree, spirited young lesbian.
Director: Donna Deitch | Stars: Helen Shaver, Patricia Charbonneau, Audra Lindley, Andra Akers
Votes: 7,300 | Gross: $2.49M
Drama of a recently divorced woman and her attraction and relationship with a young free spirited lesbian. (Chosen for its early depiction of queer love and personal self-discovery.)
11. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An ambitious Pakistani Briton and his white boyfriend strive for success and hope when they open a glamorous laundromat.
Director: Stephen Frears | Stars: Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Daniel Day-Lewis, Richard Graham
Votes: 17,305 | Gross: $2.45M
A British Pakistani and his white boyfriend, struggle to open a laundromat together. (Chosen for the time of its release, and while the struggles of being an interracial couple are present, it depicts a gay relationship as "normal" and the couple facing the same mundane problems as other couples.)
12. Boys Don't Cry (1999)
R | 118 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A young man named Brandon Teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural Nebraska.
Director: Kimberly Peirce | Stars: Hilary Swank, Chloë Sevigny, Peter Sarsgaard, Brendan Sexton III
Votes: 103,330 | Gross: $11.53M
Based on the true story of Brandon Teena, a trans teen (female to male) a fact that is unknown in his new town. (Chosen for its revolutionary depiction of trans characters.)
13. Carol (2015)
R | 118 min | Drama, Romance
An aspiring photographer develops an intimate relationship with an older woman in 1950s New York.
Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara, Sarah Paulson, Kyle Chandler
Votes: 142,471 | Gross: $12.71M
Based on Patricia Highsmith's novel, Carol/The Price of Salt, the film tells the story of a female photographer (a career normally pursued by men at the time) and her relationship with an older woman. (Chosen for the novel's modern treatment of women and lesbians in the 1950s. The film makes the novel accessible.)
14. Philadelphia (1993)
PG-13 | 125 min | Drama
When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic-small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman
Votes: 258,239 | Gross: $77.32M
Groundbreaking mainstream film about a lawyer dying of AIDS and fired from his law firm for being gay and afflicted. (Chosen for the historical significance of the film and its treatment of discrimination.)
15. Port Authority (2019)
R | 101 min | Drama, Romance
Paul must confront his white boy realness after arriving in New York and getting involved with explosively divisive groups: the queer ballroom scene and some straight debt collectors, while falling in love with a trans woman.
Director: Danielle Lessovitz | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Leyna Bloom, McCaul Lombardi, Louisa Krause
Votes: 1,042
A white boy arrives in NYC and gets involved with the ballroom scene while falling in love with a trans woman. (Chosen for its depiction of NYC's ballroom scene and racial contexts.)
16. Young Soul Rebels (1991)
R | 105 min | Drama, Music
Two disc jockeys have a friend's murder to solve in the fringe-group melting pot of 1977 London.
Director: Isaac Julien | Stars: Valentine Nonyela, Mo Sesay, Dorian Healy, Frances Barber
Votes: 626
A thriller and gay love story taking place in 1977 London. (Chosen for its representation of London and its treatment of identity politics early on.)
17. Beautiful Thing (1996)
R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Jamie is a shy teenager, often bullied at school. His neighbour Ste has a rough time at home, being beaten by his father and brother. This issues bring them together and they find that what they feel for each other is more than friendship.
Director: Hettie Macdonald | Stars: Glen Berry, Linda Henry, Scott Neal, Tameka Empson
Votes: 25,764 | Gross: $1.50M
A pure and simple love story, tender and dealing with family issues as two young gay boys fall in love. (Chosen for it's tenderness and how a drama can deal with larger issues on a very small scale.)
18. We Were Here (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.
Directors: David Weissman, Bill Weber | Stars: Ed Wolf, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark, Eileen Glutzer
Votes: 2,280
Documentary interviewing people living in San Francisco at the onset of the AIDS crisis, wonderfully juxtaposed with the public's misinformed view and rhetoric surround the epidemic and queer culture. (Chosen for its historic depiction.)
19. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,358 | Gross: $0.13M
Documentary on two AIDS activist groups (Act Up and TAG) and the effect of activism during the epidemic. (Chosen for its presentation of history.)
20. Pride (I) (2014)
R | 119 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984.
Director: Matthew Warchus | Stars: Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, Paddy Considine
Votes: 61,676
U.K. gay activists work to help miners during their lengthy strike of the National Union of Mineworkers in the summer of 1984. (Chosen for the films depiction of how two normally opposed groups can come together and find an understanding.)
21. Edge of Seventeen (1998)
TV-MA | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.
Director: David Moreton | Stars: Chris Stafford, Tina Holmes, Andersen Gabrych, Stephanie McVay
Votes: 7,108 | Gross: $0.87M
Coming to terms film about growing up and coming out in the 80s. Very much a "period piece" but accurately deals with the 80s culture and views. (Chosen mostly for personal reasons, but also because it gives wonderful insight, relatability and what it was like being gay in the 80s.)
22. In the Flesh (2013–2014)
TV-14 | 56 min | Comedy, Drama, Horror
Four years after the Rising, the government starts to rehabilitate the Undead for reentry into society, including teenager Kieren Walker, who returns to his small Lancashire village to face a hostile reception, as well as his own demons.
Stars: Luke Newberry, Harriet Cains, Marie Critchley, Steve Cooper
Votes: 13,932
Zombies are nothing if not metaphoric. This show uses that extended metaphor to deal with small town mentalities and perceived marginalized groups. (Chosen for the strength of its storytelling, the applicability, and the areas of discussion it provides.)
23. Victim (1961)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama
A closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price, Anthony Nicholls
Votes: 7,210
24. Looking for Langston (1989)
R | 45 min | Biography, Drama
A black and white, fantasy-like recreation of high-society gay men during the Harlem Renaissance, with archival footage and photographs intercut with a story. A wake is going on, with ... See full summary »
Director: Isaac Julien | Stars: Ben Ellison, Matthew Baidoo, Akim Mogaji, John Wilson
Votes: 613
25. A Bigger Splash (1973)
Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Semi-fictionalized documentary biopic of British artist David Hockney. After a difficult break-up, Hockney is left unable to paint, much to the concern of his friends. Titled after Hockney's pop-art painting 'A Bigger Splash'.
Director: Jack Hazan | Stars: David Hockney, Peter Schlesinger, Celia Birtwell, Henry Geldzahler
Votes: 631 | Gross: $0.09M
26. Pink Narcissus (1971)
Not Rated | 65 min | Drama, Fantasy
An erotic poem set in the fantasies of a young male prostitute.
Director: James Bidgood | Stars: Don Brooks, Bobby Kendall, Charles Ludlam
Votes: 1,672 | Gross: $0.01M
27. The Normal Heart (2014 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 132 min | Biography, Drama, History
In the early 1980s, the onset of the HIV-AIDS crisis in New York led to an emergence of homosexual activists. With support from the medical community, they try to raise awareness about the disease.
Director: Ryan Murphy | Stars: Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Groff, Frank De Julio, William DeMeritt
Votes: 37,800
28. Buddies (1985)
Not Rated | 81 min | Drama, History, Romance
The film follows a New York City gay man, in a monogamous relationship, becoming a "buddy" or volunteer bedside companion to another gay man dying of AIDS, and the friendship that develops. Restored in 2020.
Director: Arthur J. Bressan Jr. | Stars: Geoff Edholm, David Schachter, Billy Lux, David Rose
Votes: 815
29. When We Rise (2017)
TV-14 | 85 min | Drama
A chronicled re-telling of the gay rights movement in the United States, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.
Stars: Rachel Griffiths, Austin P. McKenzie, Mary-Louise Parker, Emily Skeggs
Votes: 3,376
30. Gay USA (1977)
78 min | Documentary
Shot on one day by 25 different cameramen across the USA under the co-ordination of Arthur J. Bressan Jr. this film documents Gay Pride parades across the United States in the late 70s.
Director: Arthur J. Bressan Jr. | Stars: Stuart Loomis, Pat Parker
Votes: 421
31. Nighthawks (1978)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
A homosexual man is forced to hide his sexuality by day while living his secret life by night.
Director: Ron Peck | Stars: Ken Robertson, Tony Westrope, Rachel Nicholas James, Maureen Dolan
Votes: 712
32. Zero Patience (1993)
101 min | Musical
An immortal, bigoted, unethical taxidermist is doing research on "Patient Zero", the gay flight attendant who allegedly was the first to bring AIDS to North America, for a museum show about contagious diseases, helped by the man's ghost.
Director: John Greyson | Stars: John Robinson, Normand Fauteux, Dianne Heatherington, Richardo Keens-Douglas
Votes: 744 | Gross: $0.22M
33. From Zero to I Love You (2019)
Unrated | 106 min | Drama, Romance
A gay man, whose fear of intimacy leads him to continually fall for married guys, and a closeted married man meet, forcing both men to confront what they really want in their romantic lives.
Director: Doug Spearman | Stars: Al Sapienza, Leslie Zemeckis, Richard Lawson, Jay Huguley
Votes: 1,108
34. The Watermelon Woman (1996)
Unrated | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young black lesbian filmmaker probes into the life of The Watermelon Woman, a 1930s black actress who played 'mammy' archetypes.
Director: Cheryl Dunye | Stars: Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson
Votes: 3,673
35. No Secret Anymore: The Times of Del Martin & Phyllis Lyon (2003)
57 min | Documentary, Biography
No Secret Anymore shows Del and Phyllis creating coalitions that took on the prevailing belief that lesbians were illegal, immoral and sick. Phyllis and Del did the groundbreaking work on ... See full summary »
Director: Joan E. Biren | Stars: Virginia Apuzzo, Minnie Jane Bowman, Charlotte Bunch, Kate Clinton
Votes: 23
36. Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria (2005)
57 min | Documentary
Documentary about transgender women and drag queens who fought police harassment at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin in 1966, three years before the famous riot at Stonewall Inn bar in NYC.
Directors: Victor Silverman, Susan Stryker | Stars: Ray Baxter, Elliot Blackstone, Aleshia Brevard, Felicia Elizondo
Votes: 199
37. Queerama (2017)
70 min | Documentary, Music
Compilation of archive footage from 1919 to the present, from both documentary and fictional sources, set to music, illustrating the huge changes in LGBTQ life in Britain (mainly England) over the 20th century.
Director: Daisy Asquith | Stars: Leigh Bowery, Nicola Bowery, Quentin Crisp
Votes: 212
38. Olly Alexander: Growing Up Gay (2017 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary
The lead singer of the Years + Years explores why members of the gay community are more likely to be affected by mental illness, as he opens up about his own battles with depression.
Director: Vicki Cooper | Star: Olly Alexander
Votes: 213
39. Disclosure (2020)
TV-MA | 108 min | Documentary
An in-depth look at Hollywood's depiction of transgender people and the impact of those stories on transgender lives and American culture.
Director: Sam Feder | Stars: Laverne Cox, Bianca Leigh, Jen Richards, Alexandra Billings
Votes: 6,090
40. Word Is Out (1977)
124 min | Documentary, Biography, History
26 diverse lesbian and gay people are interviewed about their lives and the challenges they experience in a homophobic culture. A groundbreaking documentary is now an artefact of a different time.
Directors: Nancy Adair, Andrew Brown, Rob Epstein | Stars: Pat Bond, John Burnside, Sally M. Gearhart, Elsa Gidlow
Votes: 539
41. Stonewall (2015)
R | 129 min | Drama, History
A young man's political awakening and coming of age during the days and weeks leading up to the Stonewall Riots.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Jonny Beauchamp, Joey King, Caleb Landry Jones
Votes: 4,463 | Gross: $0.19M
42. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
Director: Rob Epstein | Stars: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann
Votes: 6,580 | Gross: $0.01M
43. Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
79 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A collection of profiles of people dead from AIDS who are remembered in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Sara Lewinstein, David Mandell, Suzi Mandell, Sallie Perryman
Votes: 1,086
44. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)
83 min | Documentary, Biography
Documentary on Bayard Rustin, best-remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.
Directors: Nancy D. Kates, Bennett Singer | Stars: Bayard Rustin, Dorothy Jackson, John Rodgers, Louis John
Votes: 226
45. The Brandon Teena Story (1998)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary, Biography
Documentary about a multiple murder in rural Nebraska in 1993.
Directors: Susan Muska, Gréta Olafsdóttir | Stars: Daphne, Reanna, Gina, Shaun
Votes: 1,339 | Gross: $0.04M
46. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement (2009)
Not Rated | 61 min | Documentary, Drama, Romance
After 42 years, feisty and delightful lesbian couple Edie and Thea are finally getting married. From the early '60s to the present day, the tireless community activists persevere through ... See full summary »
Directors: Susan Muska, Gréta Olafsdóttir | Stars: Thea Spyer, Edie Windsor
Votes: 420
47. Upstairs Inferno (2015)
96 min | Documentary, History
On June 24, 1973, a gay bar in New Orleans called the Up Stairs Lounge was deliberately set on fire: an event that for over 40 years, was considered the "Largest Gay Mass Murder in U.S. History".
Director: Robert L. Camina | Stars: Christopher Rice, Regina Adams, Misti Ates, David Billings
Votes: 441
48. Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine (2014)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Friends and family reflect on the life and death of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, who was murdered in a targeted homophobic attack in Wyoming in 1998.
Director: Michele Josue | Stars: Michele Josue, Judy Shepard, Zeina Barkawi, Dennis Shepard
Votes: 1,589
49. United in Anger: A History of ACT UP (2012 Video)
93 min | Documentary
United in Anger: A History of ACT UP is an inspiring documentary about the birth and life of the AIDS activist movement from the perspective of the people in the trenches fighting the ... See full summary »
Director: Jim Hubbard | Stars: David Barr, Ken Bing, Gregg Bordowitz, Jim Eigo
Votes: 156
50. T'Ain't Nobody's Bizness: Queer Blues Divas of the 1920s (2013 Video)
Not Rated | 29 min | Documentary, Short, History
Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Alberta Hunter and Ethel Waters were among the biggest blues singers of their day. Their nights, however, belonged to them--and the ladies they shared them with.
Director: Robert Philipson | Stars: Chris Albertson, Jewelle Gomez, Brian Keizer
Votes: 13
51. Pieces of Us (2021)
92 min | Documentary
Pieces of Us is an intimate look at the personal journeys of LGBTQ+ hate crime survivors who, by choosing to take their recovery public, inspire the survivor in all of us. The film ... See full summary »
Director: Cheryl Allison | Stars: Manvendra Singh Gohil, Victoria Cruz, Mykel Dicus, Jipsta
Votes: 11
52. A Secret Love (2020)
TV-MA | 81 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Falling in love in 1947, two women -- Pat Henschel and pro baseball player Terry Donahue -- begin a 65-year journey of love and overcoming prejudice.
Director: Chris Bolan | Stars: Terry Donahue, Pat Henschel, Diana Bolan, Kim Donahue
Votes: 4,929
53. The Out List (2013)
TV-MA | 60 min | Documentary
A documentary about being among the LGBT community in modern society, told through interviews with LGBT celebrities and community leaders.
Director: Timothy Greenfield-Sanders | Stars: Dustin Lance Black, R. Clarke Cooper, Wade Davis, Ellen DeGeneres
Votes: 685
54. Fireworks (2023)
134 min | Drama, Romance
The troubled relationship between Gianni and Nino, set in the narrow-minded and prejudencial Sicily of 1982.
Director: Giuseppe Fiorello | Stars: Simone Raffaele Cordiano, Antonio De Matteo, Raffaele Gangale, Simona Malato
Votes: 1,607
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