Movie: Fabulous! The Story of Queer Cinema

Top 10 Billed Cast

B. Ruby Rich
B. Ruby Rich

Self

John Waters
John Waters

Self

Jane Lynch
Jane Lynch

Self

Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming

Self

Heather Matarazzo
Heather Matarazzo

Self

Todd Haynes
Todd Haynes

Self

Christine Vachon
Christine Vachon

Self

John Cameron Mitchell
John Cameron Mitchell

Self

Rose Troche
Rose Troche

Self

Ang Lee
李安

Self

  • HomePage

  • Overview

    A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback Mountain". Talking heads, anchored by critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, are interspersed with an advancing timeline and with clips from two dozen films. The narrative groups the pictures around various firsts, movements, and triumphs: experimental films, indie films, sex on screen, outlaw culture and bad guys, lesbian lovers, films about AIDS and dying, emergence of romantic comedy, transgender films, films about diversity and various cultures, documentaries and then mainstream Hollywood drama. What might come next?

  • Release Date

    2006-02-12

  • Average

    5.4

  • Rating:

    2.7 starts
  • Tagline

    Documents the history of gays and lesbians in Hollywood films.

  • Genres

  • Languages:

    English
  • Keywords

Recommendations Movies

Portrait of Jason
65%

Portrait of Jason(en)

1967-09-29

Interview with Jason Holliday aka Aaron Payne. House-boy, would-be cabaret performer, and self-proclaimed hustler giving one man's gin-soaked, pill-popped view of what it was like to be black and gay in 1960s United States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Milestone Films in 2013.

The Celluloid Closet
72%

The Celluloid Closet(en)

1996-03-15

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.

Welcome to Chechnya
69%

Welcome to Chechnya(en)

2020-01-26

This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

Disclosure
78%

Disclosure(en)

2020-06-19

An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction
69%

Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction(en)

2013-09-11

An impressionistic portrait of the iconic actor Harry Dean Stanton comprised of intimate moments, film clips from some of his 250 films and his renditions of American folk songs.

Heart of a Dog
65%

Heart of a Dog(en)

2015-10-21

Lyrical and powerfully personal essay film that reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother, her beloved dog, and such diverse subjects as family memories, surveillance, and Buddhist teachings.

The Last Repair Shop
74%

The Last Repair Shop(en)

2024-02-16

In a warehouse in the heart of Los Angeles, a dwindling handful of devoted craftspeople maintain more than 80,000 student musical instruments, the largest remaining workshop in America of its kind. Meet four unforgettable characters whose broken-and-repaired lives have been dedicated to bringing so much more than music to the schoolchildren of this city.

To Be Takei
72%

To Be Takei(en)

2014-08-22

Over seven decades, actor and activist George Takei journeyed from a World War II internment camp to the helm of the Starship Enterprise, and then to the daily news feeds of five million Facebook fans. Join George and his husband, Brad, on a wacky and profound trek for life, liberty, and love.

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood
59%

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood(en)

2018-07-27

A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.

This Changes Everything
62%

This Changes Everything(en)

2019-07-22

An investigative look and analysis of gender disparity in Hollywood, featuring accounts from well-known actors, executives and artists in the Industry.

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?
75%

Feminists: What Were They Thinking?(en)

2018-02-19

In 1977, a book of photographs captured an awakening - women shedding the cultural restrictions of their childhoods and embracing their full humanity. This documentary revisits those photos, those women and those times and takes aim at our culture today that alarmingly shows the need for continued change.

Frida
67%

Frida(en)

2024-03-08

An intimately raw and magical journey through the life, mind, and heart of iconic artist Frida Kahlo. Told through her own words for the very first time — drawn from her diary, revealing letters, essays, and print interviews — and brought vividly to life by lyrical animation inspired by her unforgettable artwork.

Love, Gilda
72%

Love, Gilda(en)

2018-04-18

Diaries, audiotapes, videotapes and testimonials from friends and colleagues offer insight into the life and career of Gilda Radner -- the beloved comic and actress who became an icon on Saturday Night Live.

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty
77%

As I Was Moving Ahead, Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty(en)

2000-11-05

A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.

Miss Representation
69%

Miss Representation(en)

2011-01-20

The film MISS REPRESENTATION exposes how American youth are being sold the concept that women and girls’ value lies in their youth, beauty and sexuality. Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman. It’s time to break that cycle of mistruths.

In the Realms of the Unreal
72%

In the Realms of the Unreal(en)

2004-01-15

In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.

Halftime
68%

Halftime(en)

2022-06-08

Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.

Love, Marilyn
66%

Love, Marilyn(en)

2013-05-30

Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

Tricked: The Documentary
61%

Tricked: The Documentary(en)

2013-12-13

This character-driven film considers the evolving sex trafficking landscape as seen by the main players: the exploited, the pimps, the johns that fuel the business, and the cops who fight to stop it.

Howard
68%

Howard(en)

2018-04-22

Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.

Similar Movies

Cycling the Frame
68%

Cycling the Frame(en)

1988-08-30

In 1988, Tilda Swinton toured round the Berlin Wall on a bicycle - starting and ending at the Brandenburg Gate - accompanied by filmmaker Cynthia Beatt. As Swinton travels through fields and historic neighborhoods, past lakes and massive concrete apartment buildings, the Wall is a constant presence.

The Colour of His Hair
59%

The Colour of His Hair(en)

2017-06-20

Based on an unrealized film script written in 1964 for The Homosexual Law Reform Society, a British organisation that campaigned for the decriminalization of homosexual relations between men, "The Colour Of His Hair" merges drama and documentary into a meditation on queer life before and after the partial legalization of homosexuality in 1967.

100 Years
60%

100 Years(en)

2017-01-17

An animated history of American health care provider, Planned Parenthood.

Who Is Bernard Tapie?
48%

Who Is Bernard Tapie?(en)

2001-09-08

This documentary tells two stories simultaneously: it's a profile of Bernard Tapie, a wealthy man who rises and falls spectacularly in French society and may be on the rise again; and, it's a look at Marina Zenovich's fascination with Tapie, behaving oddly in spite of her awareness that she's being irrational. Politicians, athletes, friends, companions, and journalists comment on Bernard's charm, his rise to prominence in sports and politics, and his subsequent trouble with the law. Zenovich becomes fixated on her need to interview Tapie, becoming virtually a stalker in her quest.

Es geht um Alles
65%

Es geht um Alles(de)

2008-05-15

What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?
52%

What the #$*! Do We (K)now!?(en)

2004-04-23

Amanda is a divorced woman who makes a living as a photographer. During the Fall of the year Amanda begins to see the world in new and different ways when she begins to question her role in life, her relationships with her career and men and what it all means. As the layers to her everyday experiences fall away insertions in the story with scientists, and philosophers and religious leaders impart information directly to an off-screen interviewer about academic issues, and Amanda begins to understand the basis to the quantum world beneath. During her epiphany as she considers the Great Questions raised by the host of inserted thinkers, she slowly comprehends the various inspirations and begins to see the world in a new way.

Boulevard's End
0%

Boulevard's End(en)

2014-07-01

This short documentary focuses on the very end of Washington Boulevard, where the city of Los Angeles meets the ocean and the Venice Pier begins. The rough and simplistic concrete pier braves pacific storms and provides stillness and stability. People come to walk, to fish and ease their minds. The film takes a closer look at the diverse people all around the pier. Among them the filmmakers find two citizens, both immigrants, who take us on their personal journey through history.

Boys on Film 23: Dangerous to Know
70%

Boys on Film 23: Dangerous to Know(en)

2023-07-24

Boys on Film presents ten encounters from across the globe, where the dangerous allure of a risky attraction yields emotional results — proving that the age-old adage of taking the plunge is as relevant — and sexy — as ever before. The 10 short films are: My Uncle's Friend [O Amigo do Meu Tio] (2021); Budapest, Closed City [Budapest, zárt város] (2021); Eden (2020); Chaperone (2022); Break Me [Knus meg] (2018); By His Will [שעשני כרצונו] (2021); Red Ants Bite (2019); Jim (2022); Hornbeam (2022); Too Rough (2022).

I Am My Own Woman
46%

I Am My Own Woman(de)

1992-10-30

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.

Feed Them to the Cannibals!
38%

Feed Them to the Cannibals!(en)

1993-01-01

Originally broadcast on ABC's True Stories in 1993, Feed Them to the Cannibals tells the story of Sydney's Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. It was the first time cameras were allowed at Sleaze Ball and the Mardi Gras Party.

To Be a Bruja
0%

To Be a Bruja(es)

2023-12-15

Amanda Montejo is a trans woman, make up artist, Guadalupana and a witch. This documentary portrait explores different facets of her spirituality and fragments of her past, revealing the duality of her being.

John Ford & Monument Valley
10%

John Ford & Monument Valley(en)

2013-03-05

John Wayne, Henry Fonda and James Stewart discuss working with John Ford

Warriors of the Discotheque
53%

Warriors of the Discotheque(en)

2015-08-17

The place is the notorious Starck Club (so called because it was the first major project designed by Philippe Starck in the US.) The Starck Club opened in Dallas in 1984 and not long after hosted the 1984 national Republican Convention. Ironically, it was actually legal to buy MDMA aka ecstasy there, people would put it on their credit cards. The DEA stepped in and made it a category 1 drug on July 1, 1985... In a time when ecstasy was legal & guyliner was cool.

1971
67%

1971(en)

2014-04-18

Forty years before WikiLeaks and the NSA scandal, there was Media, Pennsylvania. In 1971, eight activists plotted an intricate break-in to the local FBI offices to leak stolen documents and expose the illegal surveillance of ordinary Americans in an era of anti-war activism. In this riveting heist story, the perpetrators reveal themselves for the first time, reflecting on their actions and raising broader questions surrounding security leaks in activism today.

Habibi
0%

Habibi(en)

2008-01-01

Filmed in New York in the summer of 2006: a march across the Brooklyn Bridge in support of the Palestinian and Lebanese populations. Habibi means "beloved" in Arabic.

Microcosmos
76%

Microcosmos(fr)

1996-09-06

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

I'm Going to Santiago
64%

I'm Going to Santiago(es)

1964-01-01

This black-and-white film is a loving portrait of Santiago de Cuba and its people. It provides a view of Cuba as a picturesque country, the product of an earthy mix of black and criollo cultures. The film uses historical images which portray the end of the eighteenth century when Haitian slave owners fled with their slaves to Cuba after the Haitian Revolution.

Flowers from the Mount of Olives
0%

Flowers from the Mount of Olives(et)

2013-05-09

Right alongside Jerusalem, in a Russian Orthodox Convent in the Mount of Olives, in the middle of the Arab quarter, lives the 82-year-old Estonian nun Mother Ksenya.

Visions of Europe
52%

Visions of Europe(en)

2004-05-01

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Ciguri - Tarahumaras 99 - Le dernier chaman
0%

Ciguri - Tarahumaras 99 - Le dernier chaman(en)

1999-01-01

Rites of winter, rites of peyote. A creative documentary based on texts by Antonin Artaud read by Jean Rouch, and the words of the last shaman’s peyote, translated by Raymonde Carasco.