The Celluloid Closet

Jeffrey Friedman
1996-01-30


7.155
102 min

What "That's Entertainment" did for movie musicals, "The Celluloid Closet" does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein ("The Times of Harvey Milk" and "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt") and Jeffrey Friedman assemble 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. Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors, writers and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.

Cast

Name Character Team
Lily Tomlin Narrator (voice) Goutbreak
Tony Curtis Self Unowned
Susan Sarandon Self Zac E. Chan
Gore Vidal Self Unowned
Whoopi Goldberg Self Calvin and Nobbs
Antonio Fargas Self Unowned
Shirley MacLaine Self Unowned
John Schlesinger Self Unowned
Armistead Maupin Self Unowned
Arthur Laurents Self Unowned
Tom Hanks Self Goutbreak
Farley Granger Self Unowned
Quentin Crisp Self Unowned
Harry Hamlin Self Unowned
Sharon Stone Self Zac E. Chan
Susie Bright Self Unowned
Mart Crowley Self Unowned
Jay Presson Allen Self Unowned
Richard Dyer Self Unowned
Jan Oxenberg Self Unowned
Paul Rudnick Self Unowned
Barry Sandler Self Unowned
Ron Nyswaner Self Unowned
Daniel Melnick Self Unowned
Stewart Stern Self Unowned
Harvey Fierstein Self Unowned
Paul Newman Self (archive footage) Unowned
James Dean Self (archive footage) Unowned
Sal Mineo Self (archive footage) Unowned
Natalie Wood Self (archive footage) Unowned