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Region
Region/format:
Region 2 DVD set
from Europe / PAL
Packaging:
Boxset containing 6 DVDs
Picture format:
Widescreen:
Get Real, Bedroom & Hallways, Wilde, Strawberry & Chocolate; Full screen: The
Celluloid Closet
Film length:
574 minutes in
total
Sound options:
English (Films 1-4), Spanish (Film 5), German (all
films)
Subtitle options:
German (optional - can be turned off)
Description of films
included in this boxset:
1. GET REAL (1998)
directed by Simon Shore
Starring: Ben Silverstone, Brad Gorton,
Charlotte Brittain, Stacy Hart
DVD-Features: Trailer; Interview with
Simon Shore
Soundtrack: English, German
Subtitle options: German
This gay coming-of-age drama from
Britain was screened at many film festivals including
Toronto, Edinburgh, and the 1999 Sundance Film
Festival.
It tells the story of 16-year-old
Steven (Ben Silverstone), a boy who can't tell anyone
of his sexual preference except an overweight girl
named Linda, who is also unlucky in love. Steven (and
most of his school's female student body) have a crush
on John, the school hunk, who dates a model. Before
long, John and Steven finally meet and start a private
romantic tryst. The lies, secrets, and deceit build to
a head at the school's commencement ceremony, where
John is to be presented a prize for athletics, while
Steven reads his award-winning essay on growing up.
All is finally revealed. (Source: Arthur Borman, All
Movie Guide)
2. BEDROOMS & HALLWAYS
(1998)
directed by Rose Troche
Starring Kevin McKidd, Julie
Graham, Simon Callow, Con O'Neill, Harriet Walter
DVD-Features: Trailer
Soundtrack: English, German
Subtitle options: German
Rose Troche's second film delivers a
sly, sophisticated examination of love amongst young
urbanites - in all of its unexpected forms and
permutations. At the center of this comedic affair are
roommates Leo and Darren, two young Londoners
struggling to find Mr. Right. While Darren becomes
involved with a libidinous but closeted real-estate
agent, Leo, on the advice of a friend, joins a
hilariously depicted New-Age Men's Group, where he
falls in love with a dashing Irishman struggling to
cope with his separation from his longtime girlfriend.
Anything goes in this witty Noel Coward-inspired romp.
3. WILDE
(1997)
directed by Brian Gilbert
Starring: Stephen Fry, Jude Law,
Vanessa Redgrave
DVD-Features: Ducumentation "Simple Wilde", Trailer
Soundtrack: English, German
Subtitle options: German
Based on the best-selling biography by
Richard Ellman, this unconventional biopic traces the
brilliant, witty, and tragic life of Oscar Wilde from
his rise to fame as a much-in-demand author and public
speaker to his downfall and ultimate imprisonment for
homosexuality. Irish-born and homosexual, Wilde
(Stephen Fry, in a critically lauded performance)
nevertheless takes a loving wife (Jennifer Ehle), with
whom he has children. While married, he becomes aware
of his true sexual identity after a chance encounter
with an aggressive house guest. This leads to a very
public affair with vain, rebellious young Lord Alfred
Douglas (Jude Law), the son of the Marquess of
Queensbury (Tom Wilkinson, IN THE BEDROOM). Despite an
astoundingly successful writing career, Wilde's
private life lands him in prison for "gross
indecency," a synonym for homosexual behaviour, which
was illegal in England at the time.
4. THE
CELLULOID CLOSET (1995)
directed by Robert Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman
Starring: Gore Vidal, Harvey
Fierstein, Tom Hanks
DVD-Features:
- Audio
commentary by Jeffrey Friedman and Rob Epstein
- Audio
commentary with Vito Russo
- 55
minutes of cut-out scenes and exclusive interviews
Soundtrack: English, German
Subtitle options: German
Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman's
documentary chronicles the way movies have portrayed
homosexuals for the past 100 years and how these
images, both positive and negative, have helped shape
America's attitudes toward gays.
Among the topics examined via
interviews and film clips are the various gay
stereotypes that recur onscreen, gay subtexts in such
macho films as SPARTACUS and BEN-HUR, and how negative
images of homosexuality created emotional conflict
within the gay moviegoer. But the film also shows how
the times have greatly changed, bringing more - and
more realistic - gay characters to the silver screen.
Interviewees include Susan Sarandon,
Tony Curtis, Shirley MacLaine and Tom Hanks, among
others. The film is based on the 1981 book by Vito
Russo.
5. STRAWBERRY & CHOCOLATE EAGLE
(1993)
directed by Cuban director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea
Starring: Jorge Perugorría,
Vladimir Cruz, Mirta Ibarra
DVD-Features: Trailer
Soundtrack: Spanish, German
Subtitle options: German
Important note:
this film has no English soundtrack or English
subtitles!
This
acclaimed, Oscar-nominated film set in Cuba follows
the unlikely friendship between David (Vladimir Cruz),
an uptight conservative, and Diego (Jorge Perrugoria),
his flamboyantly gay neighbor. At first David balks at
Diego's anti-Castro leanings (which have grown
especially strong in light of the government's
suppression of homosexuality). However, David soon
finds irresistible Diego's access to American
contraband (magazines, alcohol, etc.), and with the
help of a vivacious neighbor, they negotiate their
disappointments and ultimately find the pleasures of
life. Combining drama with a bit of humor, this film
provides a light, but realistic look at the Cuban
Revolution, government persecution of marginalized
groups, and the tendency of human kindness to overcome
hardship.
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