The Celluloid Closet

Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

1996

Documentary·History

1h 42min

TMDB watch IMDb

Top Billed Cast

Lily Tomlin
Narrator (voice)
Tony Curtis
Self
Susan Sarandon
Self
Whoopi Goldberg
Self
Antonio Fargas
Self
Shirley MacLaine
Self
Armistead Maupin
Self
Tom Hanks
Self
Farley Granger
Self
Quentin Crisp
Self
Harry Hamlin
Self
Sharon Stone
Self
Susie Bright
Self
Richard Dyer
Self
Harvey Fierstein
Self

Similar movies

The Last Days of Left Eye
The Last Days of Left Eye
18 May 2007
The Last Days of Left Eye
Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopes was the hip-hop voice of TLC, the best selling female R&B group of all time. On March 30th, 2002, Lisa decided to document her life. She filmed at a mysterious spiritual retreat deep in the jungles of Honduras, but 26 days later, after a tragic accident, she was dead and her unedited tapes were left behind. Last Days of Left Eye is the re-imagining of the film Lisa never got to complete. Revealing private moments from Lisa's journals and home movies, along with highlights from her celebrated career, this film is an intimate journey into the soul of a talented and still provocative young artist. Directed by Lauren Lazin, Academy Award nominated director of Tupac: Resurrection (2005, Best Documentary Feature), Last Days of Left Eye has screened to sold-out audiences at film festivals around the world.
GlitterBomb
GlitterBomb
11 Nov 2015
GlitterBomb
GlitterBomb is a fantastic 32-minute documentary that showcases the best of the 2015 Mardi Gras season. It features interviews with Courtney Act, Bianca Del Rio, Nick Jonas, Alex Greenwich, Dan Murphy and Jake Shears, as well as local identities and international tourists, each sharing their experiences and perspectives on our fabulous Festival celebrations including Harbour Party, Pool Party, Parade and MG Party.
Where Are We? Our Trip Through America
Where Are We? Our Trip Through America
30 Jul 1993
Where Are We? Our Trip Through America
Accomplished documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeff Friedman take a trip across the American South and Southwest, asking people about their hopes and fears.
Re:Orientations
Re:Orientations
28 May 2016
Re:Orientations
In 1984, Richard Fung released his seminal first documentary Orientations: Lesbian and Gay Asians. Featuring 14 women and men in Toronto of South, East and Southeast Asian backgrounds, Orientations was the first documentary to explore the experiences and perspectives of queer Asians in North America. Capturing pivotal moments in Toronto’s history, it presents an intimate portrait of the texture of gay live and politics at that time. Re:Orientations revisits seven of the original participants as they see anew the footage of their younger selves, and reflect on their lives and all that has changed over the intervening three decades. Their interviews are deepened and contextualized by conversations with six younger queer and trans activists, scholars and artists.
Improper Conduct
Improper Conduct
21 Mar 1984
Improper Conduct
The story of the persecution of homosexuals and intellectuals in Cuba under Fidel Castro's dictatorship, from the beginning of the Cuban Revolution (1953-59) until the early 1980s. Interviews with relevant personalities of Cuban culture who suffered persecution demonstrate that concentration camps for gays existed in Cuba.
Conchita: Unstoppable
Conchita: Unstoppable
22 May 2015
Conchita: Unstoppable
Documentary about the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 Conchita Wurst – on the day before the live transmission of the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 from the Wiener Stadthalle.
Cure for Love
Cure for Love
27 May 2008
Cure for Love
A full-length documentary about a controversial evangelical movement that purports to convert gay people into heterosexuals. The film brings us inside this unusual Christian subculture and follows the lives of several young people whose homosexuality is at odds with their religious beliefs.
Satdee Nite
Satdee Nite
01 Jan 1973
Satdee Nite
A short observational account of one Saturday night in the mundane life of Stuart. He gets drunk, goes out to clubs,, searches for love and falls asleep unfulfilled on the floor of the club.
Deep Inside Clint Star
Deep Inside Clint Star
18 Jun 1999
Deep Inside Clint Star
Director Clint Alberta takes us on a hilarious and bittersweet journey into the hearts and minds of some very ordinary, extraordinary young Canadians. Clint, taking on the role of Clint Star, seeks out his far-flung buddies, young Natives like himself. They talk about sex and life... love and abuse... 500 years of oppression--with humour, grace and courage. Deep Inside Clint Star explores issues of identity, sexuality and intimacy, while retaining the creative and playful style of a director who is not afraid of turning the camera on himself. This engaging documentary will draw you out of yourself and deep inside Clint Star.
Sunny Night
Sunny Night
20 Oct 2017
Sunny Night
On 25th December 2011 the Georgian Patriarch Ilia II described his 34 year-long leadership as head of the Georgian Orthodox Church as a ‘sunny night’. Beginning in 1989, and going up to the present, the film essay Sunny Night tells of political and social events since Georgian Independence. A variety of formats and sources, disparate images and voices report on protests, recommencements, uproars and wars, and religious identity that centres around the dominant religion of the nation. In the midst of the ongoing shifts and the various state of affairs, the patriarch stands out as the only constant figure. Meanwhile the sermonised religion begins to take on radical forms, going as far as priests forming front row human-chains, leading protests of several thousand orthodox believers chasing a handful of LGBT activist throughout the streets of Tbilisi in May 2013.
Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She
Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She
30 Apr 2005
Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She
Examines the diversity of human sexual and gender variance around the globe, with commentary by scientific experts and first-hand accounts of people who do not conform to a simple male/female binary.
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
14 Feb 1993
Lucy and Desi: A Home Movie
Emmy Award-Winning Special Desi and Lucy's daughter, Lucie Arnaz, hosts this emotional and honest glimpse at the extraordinary lives of her world-famous parents, highlighted by never-before-seen color family movies along with insightful interviews from family members, business associates and celebrity friends such as Bob Hope. Winner of the Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Special, LUCY & DESI: A HOME MOVIE is a sensitive and absorbing documentary that details the circumstances which brought the immortal twosome together and ultimately drove them apart.
Censored!
Censored!
31 Dec 1999
Censored!
A documentary about the cultural effect of film censorship, focusing on the tumultuous times of the teens and early 1920s in America.
The Uninhabitable Ones
The Uninhabitable Ones
25 Jan 2020
The Uninhabitable Ones
A dance group rehearses for their latest performance Inabitáveis about black homosexuality. While the choreographer conducts research and gives guided tours, he meets Pedro, a young trans girl looking for her own means of expression. She desperately wants to be taught by him.
BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends
BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends
11 Dec 2018
BEAT. Contour. Snatched. How Drag Queens Shaped the Biggest Makeup Trends
How drag queens sharing tips and tricks in dressing rooms shaped the face of today’s mainstream makeup industry.
I Am My Own Woman
I Am My Own Woman
30 Oct 1992
I Am My Own Woman
The life story of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, who survived the Nazi reign as a trans woman and helped start the German gay liberation movement. Documentary with some dramatized scenes. Two actors play the young and middle aged Charlotte and she plays herself in the later years.
2001: Sparks in the Dark
2001: Sparks in the Dark
10 May 2018
2001: Sparks in the Dark
A recreation of the interview with Stanley Kubrick that Playboy magazine published in its September 1968 issue and that has become essential when approaching the reflections and theories that led the director to shoot one of his masterpieces.
The Favourite
The Favourite
23 Nov 2018
The Favourite
England, early 18th century. The close relationship between Queen Anne and Sarah Churchill is threatened by the arrival of Sarah's cousin, Abigail Hill, resulting in a bitter rivalry between the two cousins to be the Queen's favourite.
50 Years Legal
50 Years Legal
27 Jun 2017
50 Years Legal
Leading activists and commentators explore the changes that have taken place since homosexuality was decriminalised in the UK in 1967 and the influence of gay culture on society.
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
22 Mar 2005
The Life and Times of Frida Kahlo
Never before has the extraordinary life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo been framed in relation to the full spectrum of the historical and cultural influences that shaped her. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF FRIDA KAHLO explores the 20th century icon who became an international sensation in the worlds of modern art and radical politics.