GAY PRIDE MONTH: Based on Penelope Gilliatt's sharp script, the movie holds important place film history, offerg the first posive image of homosexual lead role mastream movie--and the first gay kiss!
Contents:
- HOLLYWOOD FIRST GAY KISS: SCHLGER’S SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, STARRG PETER FCH, GLENDA JACKSON, AND MURRAY HEAD AS THE GUY THEY BOTH LOVE
- GROUNDBREAKG ON-SCREEN GAY KISS THROUGH HISTORY
- A YOUNG GAY MAN MEETS HIS FIRST LOVE IN THIS HARROWG SHORT FILM
HOLLYWOOD FIRST GAY KISS: SCHLGER’S SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, STARRG PETER FCH, GLENDA JACKSON, AND MURRAY HEAD AS THE GUY THEY BOTH LOVE
* first movie with gay kiss *
Gay Pri Month.
Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971): First Gay Kiss Hollywood Movie. Based on Penelope Gilliatt’s sharply observed screenplay, the movie holds an important place film history, offerg the first posive image of a homosexual character (and a Jewish one at that) a lead role a mastream movie. Schlger, the late Jewish, openly gay filmmaker, is better-known for his Osr-wng picture, Midnight Cowboy (1969).
That movie, starrg Dt Hoffman and Jon Voight, also had gay subtext the relatnship between s two loser-protagonists. Daniel Hirsch (Peter Fch), a gay Jewish doctor his forti, and Alex Gerville (Glenda Jackson), a reer unselor her thirti, are both love wh Bob Elk (Murray Head), a boyish, succsful sculptor who sually divis his time and affectns between them.
GROUNDBREAKG ON-SCREEN GAY KISS THROUGH HISTORY
Hirsch, a quiet, telligent surgeon who seems to have accepted his homosexualy and Jewishns. Hirsch is somethg of a first–a homosexual who is not pathetic, grotque, or pathologil–a man wh self-teem and digny. In July 1971, when Sunday Bloody Sunday me out, viewers–pecially gay men–uld ga solace om the passnate film.
Unlike most Hollywood movi at the time, did not penalize s protagonist for beg gay.
Gay Directors, Gay Films? The film reprents a happy nouement for a gay character whose rignatn is not a product of his sexual orientatn. ” The speech has ltle to do wh homosexualy, suggtg that gay relatnships, even fleetg on, are “somethg.
A YOUNG GAY MAN MEETS HIS FIRST LOVE IN THIS HARROWG SHORT FILM
Schlger shows a remarkable gift for brgg together all the elements of moviemakg: The movie has been nsistently ced as one of the first “posive” gay films. Unfortunately, this mature drama never found s dience and s box-office failure was ed by Hollywood as “proof” that gay ntents was not a money-makg proposn.
It would take at least two more s for Hollywood to fally regnizg the artistic–and mercial value–of posive or at least nonjudgmental gay-oriented entertament. Unlike most films at the time, Sunday Bloody Sunday took for granted the protagonists’ sexualy–somethg that gay and lbian activists have been askg for generatns.
Up until then, the stereotypil portrayal of gay sexualy was as untamed, risky, and viant. That kd of rponse revealed once more the latent homophobia that prevailed not only among mastream dienc but also among some crics. Sce s release 2005, Brokeback Mounta is still regard as one of the most fluential gay films of all time.