The Celluloid Closet Trailer

Narrated by Lily Tomlin, this acclaimed documentary takes its name from Vito Russo's groundbreaking book. The filmmakers examine the subtext of more than 100 Hollywood movies -- including Spartacus, Rope and Thelma and Louise -- and chart the cinematic journey of lesbian and gay characters. Film clips are paired with director, producer and actor interviews featuring, among others, Gore Vidal, Tom Hanks and Whoopi Goldberg.

[@taylortimeless]

Recommendation: The House that Screamed (1969) has some of the strongest lesbian subtext I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s a horror film set at an all girls boarding school.

[@rabidrabbitshuggers]

The trailer itself is rated R. What a long way we've come.

[@callies8907]

Not really lmao

[@malvavisco10]

They still often make red trailers and more heavily censored green ones. As it says, though, the FILM (not the trailer itself) was rated R.

[@lenovovo]

I know that's righ!

[@GregOrCreg]

@@malvavisco10 But it says "The following preview has been approved for restricted audiences only". There are plenty of green band trailers for R rated films. That's usually the custom. But for this completely innocuous and inoffensive trailer, they went with a restricted red band trailer, which is bizarre, and clearly motivated by homophobia.

[@malvavisco10]

@@GregOrCreg I was responding to “the trailer itself is rated R” no it’s not it’s just red-banded I already said it quit ‘splainin’ dipshit bye

[@mirrenfan2]

This was made over 20 years ago. It needs to be updated and it needs to include TV!

[@pinkscorpion3295]

I find it more fascinating to hear about “old Hollywood” . Something about the wild parties , behind the scenes and bath houses back then is more interesting. Harder times then to come out .

[@frankpeter6851]

It's very rare to hear straight people talk eloquently about homophobia.

[@sammyibarra2078]

This movie needs to come to Netflix!!!

[@lenovovo]

No, Sammy, it' just the opposite of what you say, and that is, Netflix needs to come to this movie. :-)

[@AbbyJenna]

"Rated R", hahahahaha! Because we're so detrimental to children :-/

[@WhiteFlowerLei76]

I've seen this maybe a hundred times, I LOVE IT!!

[@rickw1100]

Thank God for this wonderfully thought-filled and quite honest "outing" of hollywood's treatment of the Gay community. It should be mandatory viewing in every school and house of worship in this country.

[@frankferrero5827]

mandatory viewing? Are you stupid or just so woke that you can't think clearly? Schools are where you get an education: science,math,english language etc etc it is up to the parents to tell them about gays,trans and people with 2.400 pronouns who identify as a black unicorn. You posted this 12 years ago? wow....wokeness was that strong back then? I truly pity you,don't worry thou karma puts everyone in their place.

[@earam88]

don't say God faggot

[@TheGranvikingo]

gran documental que contextualiza la apreciacion del cine realizado durante los ultimos 30 años, quedo obligado a ver todas pero todas las peliculas citadas... muy bueno... gracias

[@beatlesopusnintendo]

I am currently reading the book right now (which is excellent though I was miffed at the inaccuracies in the description for The Rocky Horror Picture Show), but I have had an awful time trying to find the DVD for this movie

[@josephpolsonetti9640]

I need to buy this on DVD and watch it

[@lenovovo]

Yes you do Joseph, you do indeed!!

[@DoctorChibi740]

The book is quite interesting as well.

[@vivianhayes4515]

Rated R?

[@marshalle1026]

@AbbyJenna Hell, even the trailer is "restricted", because don't ya know, seeing two guys or two girls kiss on screen might make the little ones' heads explode!

[@AndyFelbab]

Who's here cuz Norm told Michael Keaton about it? Rest in peace Norm

[@alirg2047]

I need a list of all the movies that had clips taken from it plz!

[@frankpeter6851]

'The children's hour' is one prominently featured. Personally, I really like 'morocco'.

[@frederickfrankenstein]

The Wikipedia article lists all the included movies

[@carolyns4519]

Someone on Letterboxd made a list of every movie the book mentions

[@RaySantos31081956]

Bela edição filmes antigos lgbt🔄😃🔺👭👫👬👪💕💋💙🌎🌟💫👍🏄🚀🚀príncipes

[@TheArchiveVideos]

If they were to update this movie they should add 'It Chapter 2' to the list. I don't know why the gay character has to suffer so much in a movie made in 2019. I will skip the analysis, because I hate ruining movies for people with spoilers.

[@WingsTwoSpirit]

I was pretty upset with the opening scene. In the book it served a purpose, in the movie it had no purpose since they cut out the elements that related to it. They should have just left it out for the movie entirely.

[@brand017]

Capturing Potpourri

[@missmabel]

@BBJaneHudson Don't know if you're interested, but look under CC1

[@mtiffy2]

What is the movie at the :30 second mark?

[@stefanrichard4986]

Silkwood.

[@dxmxo9427]

Why rated R??? so crazy

[@askialuna7717]

R rating? From which brutal films are there scenes in this documentary. It's good that I can skip things on KZbin and I don't have to watch splatter scenes.

[@orlandobabe]

They forgot to add The Bostonians and Deathtrap.

[@twilightxseo]

what's the movie at 1:13 with Tom Hanks dancing?

[@lilipaddixie]

I'm pretty sure it's Philadelphia :)

[@twilightxseo]

ahh yes i found it in the end, but thank you!! :)

[@lilipaddixie]

Charlie Charles you're welcome!

[@anniejurkovich8316]

Philadelphia

[@michaellippert8347]

Murk Duhson World famous car star

[@erauprcwa]

those were my exact words:-)

[@lenovovo]

I'm curious ERAUPRCWA, what were your exact words?

[@erauprcwa]

@@lenovovo LMFAO I have no clue at this point, eight years later... Maybe it was a response to someone else's comment, given that at that time, comment replies weren't in a block...

[@lenovovo]

@@erauprcwa Right on dude :-) it's all good :-) Have a great weekend ok :-) I in here looking at some old Soul Train, man, those were the days ... and good old days they were :-)

[@spiritfired]

1:20 XDDDDD

[@dancebandleader]

Great film. Although I'm trying to understand what "Secret Love" has to do with any of this. Love the gay cowboy in the silent film clip. However a clip from an experimental sound film does not strike me as belonging here, Two men dancing while a violinist plays into a big horn was filmed at the Edison studio, and I believe that the two men are dancing together, not because they're gay, but historically at that time there were no women working in the laboratories! Overall, great !

[@leopardsleaping]

Silkwood.

[@Celluloid69420]

Uh uh uh 😳

[@scotgat]

I saw "The Celluloid Closet" when it was released. My opinion was that it was too one-dimensional and left out a lot of complexities in queer cinema during the golden age of Hollywood. "Color Me Lavender" was much more nuanced and in depth and is worth watching by all queer cinema aficionados.

[@paulaharrisbaca4851]

I always thought everything was so much more fun when it wasn't mainstream. I still cannot understand why any gay couple would want to use the word "marriage" implying they had a male-female traditional relationship when they have zero interest in it! When I was leaning that way I was absolutely completely uninterested in what I felt was a stupid contract with someone. The last thing I would've wanted was to be fettered by a legal document to another person. I don't think Gertrude Stein would have been at all interested in being a legal husband to Alice B Toklas as her wife. I think she would've been completely repulsed by the idea. Radclyffe Hall, maybe, might've liked the idea of being a husband to one of her female lovers, since that was a thing for her. Anyway, I love the film and I have the book too. It was always the secret pleasure for me. You can't be different if everyone else is trying to make it all normal. It defeats the purpose!

[@stefanrichard4986]

You're making some broad stroke arguments there.

[@GregOrCreg]

For many people being gay is simply about their attraction to people of the same sex. They're not necessarily interested in the whole lifestyle. They just want the same rights as straight people, whilst being in a relationship with the person they love. So, whilst I can understand the attraction of illicit lifestyles, it's actually a very very good thing that gay people now have most of the same rights that straight people do, even if they have to fight bloody hard to maintain them.

[@ataaah]

I saw a TV movie called "If These Walls Could Talk" - an anthology of different gay folks living in one house over the course of decades. The most touching was two getting-older lesbians who'd been together for YEARS. Once of them has an accident. Her lover can't visit her in the hospital because she's not "family". And because her relatives are money-grubbing snakes, they leave the lover with NOTHING even as she's put her whole life into their home together. Up till gay marriage was permitted, it was not possible for a gay lover to be treated as family. That's utterly heartbreaking. You might not want to get married; a lot of people don't. But for some gay people, that stamp of approval, confirming that people who commit to care for and love each other are *family*, makes a world of difference.

[@Nuadin]

I'm not one for marriage myself but it seems strange that you tie marriage to be between a man and woman only. Marriage is just two people putting their love on a contract, regardless if it's two guys, two girls, a guy and a girl, or NBs. It's not for me because I think love should transcend those things, but I'm not gonna harp on the people that do cherish those things.

[@carolyns4519]

I'm not one for marriage either, but married people are allowed to ride with their spouse in an ambulance, be with them in the hospital, and have joint custody of children. If one wants to co-parent or have their partner with them in an emergency, then getting married is a pretty good idea.

[@SheldonHelms]

What’s this shit? This trailer is deceptive and inappropriate. It portrays this film as some sort of upbeat comedy, and further instills the stereotypes it seeks to erase. The Celluloid Closet is a serious look at the important issue of Hollywood’s bigoted and dangerous portrayal of gay people in its 100 year history.

[@idkanymore3382]

Boo hoo, no one wants them in the movies just look at their box office draws…

[@erauprcwa]

didn't you know? Being gay is taught. I mean every gay child in the world was taught how to be gay. (which is funny cause all gay children come from a heterosexual union)

[@earam88]

just to mention that everyone involved in the making of this movie are now in hell.

[@lizzyll9]

Silkwood.