AmosL
08-17-2006, 06:37 PM
[size=18]"Gay Life in the Seventies", "Cold Showers" and "Ring of Darkness"
BATH HOUSES, TRUCKS, COLD SHOWERS IN THE DARK
three new DVDS
It has been a good summer for movies. I recently received four new DVDs and I have to say we have come a long way.
First up is "Gay Sex in the 70s" released by Wolfe Video. A documentary by Joseph Lovett, "Gay Sex,,," shows us what the tumultuous decade of the 70s was really like for gay men and the freedom we abused before the advent of Aids. Do not be misled by the title--there are no sordid steamy scenes (too bad). This is a movie about the age of Aquarius for gay men. We did what and who we wanted without really caring who our partner(s) was (were). We were unabandoned and free and most important we lost almost an entire generation of people because of our unbridled promiscuity. This is a candid look at the early days of the gay liberation movement in New York City. It was a period in history when sex was the driving force in our lives--fear did not exist. We had no shame!!!!! From the gay bath houses to the trucks on the wharves, sex was the word. And gay men went wild. It is almost incongruous that such a steamy seamy topic could be so beautifully depicted in this excellent documentary of the period. Laced with interviews of some of the guys who are still around and filmage that we thought had probably been lost forever, Lovett takes us on a sexual romp of pre-AIDS New York. I watched it with longing for those days on one hand and rued our behavior on the other. I laughed and I wept and I turned red with embarrassment. Most of all I asked myself why I had ever left America ( I moved to Israel in 1967) when there was so much and so many to do here. Do not misunderstand. I do not know if I would have participated but the movie is what fantasies are made of. This is one you will want to add to your library.
"Cold Showers" on the other hand is a beautiful "coming of age" story. (I am so tired of that term "coming of age" but this is a beautiful film. Released by Picture This!, "Cold Showers" is a tale of exploration and deals with the nature of friendship, sex, and love. In French, it is the story of three teenagers and the relationship between them. Directed by documentary film maker Antony Cordier this is a departure from his usual cinematic endeavors. and he succeeds beautifully. Mickael is a judo nut who hails from the poor sector of society and is Beautiful Vanessa's heart throb. Enter Clement and male bonding ensues between the two guys and soon Vanessa becomes the third side of the triangle. The three move into the sexual arena and what begins as a lark is to have serious consequences later. The movie takes on the darker shades of black comedy while remaining an intense love story and the tension embues the film with a sense of beauty. I quickly dismissed the film at first but realized I could not get it out of my mind. This is the kind of movie that leaves you thinking and resonates from within long after the viewing is over. The nudity is not bad either.
Finally there is a teenage exploitation of boy bands with a horror twist that is just pure fun and easily forgotten. "Ring of Darkness",. Showing the ruthlessness of the music industry as well as some delightful body shots, we are taken behind the scenes of a boy band supposedly searching for a new lead singer. It seems the previous lead abruptly "disappeared" . When good looking Shawn is invited to take his place he thinks that his dreams have been answered. But as we suspect, there is a dark secret underlying the entire business, The singers in the band have other talents that have not a thing to do with singing. What those talents are I will leave to your imagination.
Coming soon--new Israeli gay cinema--two new gay movies and one lesbian film from Israel (or as I shall call the column, "Rainbow Skullcaps".)
BATH HOUSES, TRUCKS, COLD SHOWERS IN THE DARK
three new DVDS
It has been a good summer for movies. I recently received four new DVDs and I have to say we have come a long way.
First up is "Gay Sex in the 70s" released by Wolfe Video. A documentary by Joseph Lovett, "Gay Sex,,," shows us what the tumultuous decade of the 70s was really like for gay men and the freedom we abused before the advent of Aids. Do not be misled by the title--there are no sordid steamy scenes (too bad). This is a movie about the age of Aquarius for gay men. We did what and who we wanted without really caring who our partner(s) was (were). We were unabandoned and free and most important we lost almost an entire generation of people because of our unbridled promiscuity. This is a candid look at the early days of the gay liberation movement in New York City. It was a period in history when sex was the driving force in our lives--fear did not exist. We had no shame!!!!! From the gay bath houses to the trucks on the wharves, sex was the word. And gay men went wild. It is almost incongruous that such a steamy seamy topic could be so beautifully depicted in this excellent documentary of the period. Laced with interviews of some of the guys who are still around and filmage that we thought had probably been lost forever, Lovett takes us on a sexual romp of pre-AIDS New York. I watched it with longing for those days on one hand and rued our behavior on the other. I laughed and I wept and I turned red with embarrassment. Most of all I asked myself why I had ever left America ( I moved to Israel in 1967) when there was so much and so many to do here. Do not misunderstand. I do not know if I would have participated but the movie is what fantasies are made of. This is one you will want to add to your library.
"Cold Showers" on the other hand is a beautiful "coming of age" story. (I am so tired of that term "coming of age" but this is a beautiful film. Released by Picture This!, "Cold Showers" is a tale of exploration and deals with the nature of friendship, sex, and love. In French, it is the story of three teenagers and the relationship between them. Directed by documentary film maker Antony Cordier this is a departure from his usual cinematic endeavors. and he succeeds beautifully. Mickael is a judo nut who hails from the poor sector of society and is Beautiful Vanessa's heart throb. Enter Clement and male bonding ensues between the two guys and soon Vanessa becomes the third side of the triangle. The three move into the sexual arena and what begins as a lark is to have serious consequences later. The movie takes on the darker shades of black comedy while remaining an intense love story and the tension embues the film with a sense of beauty. I quickly dismissed the film at first but realized I could not get it out of my mind. This is the kind of movie that leaves you thinking and resonates from within long after the viewing is over. The nudity is not bad either.
Finally there is a teenage exploitation of boy bands with a horror twist that is just pure fun and easily forgotten. "Ring of Darkness",. Showing the ruthlessness of the music industry as well as some delightful body shots, we are taken behind the scenes of a boy band supposedly searching for a new lead singer. It seems the previous lead abruptly "disappeared" . When good looking Shawn is invited to take his place he thinks that his dreams have been answered. But as we suspect, there is a dark secret underlying the entire business, The singers in the band have other talents that have not a thing to do with singing. What those talents are I will leave to your imagination.
Coming soon--new Israeli gay cinema--two new gay movies and one lesbian film from Israel (or as I shall call the column, "Rainbow Skullcaps".)