| Description |
1 videodisc (DVD) (approximately 120 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in |
| Summary |
This was the first Hollywood film in which all the principal characters were homosexual. As such, it was viewed at the time as a serious study of gay men and mounted as a special project in which Crowley's off-Broadway play was adapted with great fidelity to the original text. To Vito Russo, The Boys In the Band is 'a perfunctory compendium of easily acceptable stereotypes who gather at a Manhattan birthday party and spend an evening savaging each other and their way of life'. Yet Russo also recognised it as a landmark film, 'part catharsis part catalyst', which opened the way for less stereotyped portrayals of homosexuality. The presentation of some attractive and functional gay men - notably the couple Hank and Larry - implicitly challenged the stereotype. The self hatred that marked a generation or more of gays is explored through the character of Michael |
| Notes |
Based on the play by Mart Crowley |
|
Originally released: 1970 |
| Credits |
Producer, script, Mart Crowley ; director, William Friedkin ; photography, Arthur J. Ornitz ; editors, Carl Lerner, Gerald Greenberg |
| Cast |
Kenneth Nelson (Michael), Frederick Combs (Donald), Cliff Gorman (Emory), Laurence Luckinbill (Hank), Keith Prentice (Larry) |
| Notes |
Rated: M |
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DVD ; region 4 ; NTSC |
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In English |
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Available to Deakin University staff and students only |
| Subject |
Gay men -- Drama.
|
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Homosexuality -- Drama.
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| Genre/Form |
Feature films.
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Video recordings.
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Drama.
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| Author |
Gorman, Cliff.
|
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Crowley, Mart, 1935-
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Friedkin, William.
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Ornitz, Arthur
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Nelson, Kenneth, 1930-
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Combs, Frederick, 1935-1992.
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