Coming out of the same studio that gave us RuPaul's Drag Race, and stacked with a whole crew of former contestants, Stop! That! Train! plays like RuPaul basically taking a bow for the entire franchise she's built. It's not really a gay film in the traditional sense, but with so many drag stars from Ru's shows popping up alongside a few cameos from well known out gay actors, I figured it earns a spot on this blog anyway. The whole thing is completely over the top, packed with GenZ slang, loud flashy visuals, and humor that's constantly winking at you knowing how ridiculous it is. Going in you'd assume it's meant to be a laugh riot, and a lot of critics online seem to be eating it up, but I just couldn't get into it at all. I've never really been someone who vibes with campy silly stuff like this, so honestly my reaction doesn't surprise me one bit. The setup follows Tess and DeeDee, two low level stewardesses who sneak onto the fancy Glamazonian E...
A Valentine For Nelson (1990)
A short meditation on the nature of building relationships. A long overdue love letter. A relationship is as hard to build as a cathedral -- it takes more than one lifetime. A film in which virtually every shot is intended as a metaphor. Tender, loving and unsentimental.
Blues (1982)
On September 29, 1982, police raided Blues, a Black, Gay bar on West 43rd Street across from the New York Times. They brutalized the customers and destroyed the bar. On October 8th, after the mess had been cleaned up, they raided the bar again. It was the last Gay bar in the history of New York City. On October 15th, hundreds of members of the community demonstrated against the raid and its brutality.
Don't Do It! (1999)
A structural film and meditation on the closing of gay sex venues in New York City.
Elegy In The Streets (1989)
Exploring the AIDS crisis from both a personal and a political perspective, the film intertwines two main motifs: memories of Roger Jacoby, a filmmaker who died of AIDS, and the development of a mass response to AIDS.
June 12, 1982 (1982)
This footage is of the Lesbian and Gay Contingent at the Anti-Nuke March held in New York City on June 12, 1982. This was the largest political rally ever held in New York up to that time.
May 21-22, 1979 (1980)
This is footage of the protests in New York after the extremely lenient sentence handed down to Dan White for the assassination of Harvey Milk and Mayor George Moscone of San Francisco. The reaction in San Francisco, known as the White Night Riots, was much more militant and historically significant, but since Jim was in New York so he filmed the demonstrations here.
Speak for Yourself (1990)
An oral history of ACT UP. Jim interviewed 7 ACT UPpers and amassed 10 hours of footage. This film is the edited version of the hard collected archival footage.
Stop the Movie (Cruising) (1980)
This was a summer of great ferment in the gay community. The first National March for Lesbian & Gay Rights would be in October and planning was in full swing. The Dan White decision came down in May. So the entire summer was filled with protests. Collection of 4-7 different demonstrations.
The Dance (1992)
An intimate portrait of songwriters, performance artists and lovers Dan Martin and Michael Biello, “The Dance” explores the interconnectedness of their domestic life, art work and selfless devotion to a community of artists they have helped to create and support.
Two Marches (1991)
The first March on Washington for Gay and Lesbian Rights took place in October 1979, and another eight years later. In a non-violent juxtaposition of footage from both marches, Hubbard allows us to reflect on subtle and distinct shifts in the modes of protest expression, atmosphere, and shared perspectives.
As much as these archival footage films of various demonstrations etc are very important part of gay history, from an engagement point of view, I can only see popes from those days trying to relive some of those moments from before. If you see these films today, I am sorry to say, but they don't really offer much even in terms of education and information. (3/10)
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