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"Victim" - movie - 1961 -available on DVD

Blurb:

"Victim is quite simply a watershed moment in cinema history. The first mainstream film to portray sympathetically and realistically homosexual society, it did so at a time when homosexuality was still a crime in Britain. Janet Green and John McCormick's screenplay makes Dirk Bogarde's Melville Farr a deeply conflicted man; married and in love with his wife, he also has relationships with men; while as a lawyer he is bound to uphold the law, even as he is compelled to break it. When Jack Barrett (a young Peter McEnery) commits suicide to avoid the consequences of blackmail, Farr sees this as murder, and decides to end the extortion even if it costs him his career. "

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"Victim" - movie - 1961 -available on DVD

Blurb:

"Victim is quite simply a watershed moment in cinema history. The first mainstream film to portray sympathetically and realistically homosexual society, it did so at a time when homosexuality was still a crime in Britain. Janet Green and John McCormick's screenplay makes Dirk Bogarde's Melville Farr a deeply conflicted man; married and in love with his wife, he also has relationships with men; while as a lawyer he is bound to uphold the law, even as he is compelled to break it. When Jack Barrett (a young Peter McEnery) commits suicide to avoid the consequences of blackmail, Farr sees this as murder, and decides to end the extortion even if it costs him his career. "

Sir Dirk Bogarde was a personal favourite long before I knew he was gay. He would have been 90 this year and you can read a tribute to him, written by his friend Brian Baxter in the current issue of OUT in Thailand Magazine. If you don't have the print issue, you can read it online at www.out-in-thailand.com/magazine

Best wishes,

James.

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Something to dip into... Penguin Book of Homosexual Verse, ed. Stephen Coote (1983). From Homer to modern limericks, from Sappho to New York leather bars.

A titbit from the Greek Anthology (things don't change much):-

Time was when once upon a time, such toys

As balls or pet birds won a boy, or dice.

Now it's best china, or cash. Lovers of boys

Try something else next time. Toys cut no ice.

(For best china, read gold; otherwise it's Pattaya foreseen.)

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Obvious TV series.

Queer as Folk - both the UK and the US versions.

The UK version ran over two series. The first series was good and was a showcase of the behaviour of a certain portion of the gay crowd in the UK at the time (or so I'm told :rolleyes: ). The second series degenerated into fairy-tale nonsense. What was quite surprising was that during the showing on UK TV (C4) one of the characters performed a particularly lewd (for TV) act on another whereas on the subsequent DVD release that act is not shown. Pity - the look on Charlie Hunnam's face was the highlight of that particular episode :lol:

The US version ran over five series and was produced by Showtime. It was slickly done and it took a look at some serious issues along the way. Some of the cast were actually gay from the off and some came out during the making of the show. Good stuff - recommended.

All available on DVD. Worth watching.

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"Paragraph 175" - a documentary made in 2000 about the fate of homosexuals in the concentration camps in WWII.

'Paragraph 175' is that part of the German Penal Code which deals with homosexuality as a crime. It was used to imprison gay folks in the concentration camps. This documentary has interviews with the few (less than 10) who were still alive in 2000. They include Pierre Seel, who at the age of 16 was forced along with the other inhabitants of Schirmeck camp to watch the camp dogs eat his boyfriend alive.

Here's a bit from Wiki:

"While the Nazi persecution of homosexuals is reasonably well-known today, far less attention had been given to the continuation of this persecution in post-war Germany. In 1945, when concentration camps were liberated, homosexual prisoners were not freed but were instead made to serve out their sentence under Paragraph 175. In 1950, East Germany abolished Nazi amendments to Paragraph 175, whereas West Germany kept them and even had them confirmed by its Constitutional Court. About 100,000 men were implicated in legal proceedings from 1945 to 1969, and about 50,000 were convicted (if they had not committed suicide before, as many did). In 1969, the government eased Paragraph 175 to an age of consent of 21. It was lowered to 18 in 1973, and finally the paragraph was repealed and the age of consent lowered to 14, the same that is in force for heterosexual acts, in 1994. East Germany had already reformed its more lenient version of the paragraph in 1968, and repealed it in 1988."

Shameful.

You'll need a strong stomach to watch this and you may not be able to sit through it at one go.

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  • 2 weeks later...

One of England's major post-war novelists who was gay was Sir Angus Wilson. Some of his books are fairly outspoken for their period, e.g. Hemlock and After (1952), Anglo-Saxon Attitudes (1956), No Laughing Matter (1967) and As If By Magic (1973). Other books of his often have a gay sub-theme.

Australian Patrick White wrote freely about his relationship with his Greek lover Manolis in his two-volume autobiography (sorry, I don't have the title), but I can't remember any of his novels being gay-themed.

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'The Green Carnation' published anonymously in 1894 but written by Robert Hichens. A novel whose lead characters were based on on Oscar Wilde and Bosie. A scandalous success. It was used against Wilde in his subsequent prosecutions.

Available for download from Gutenberg:

http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24499/24499-h/24499-h.htm

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  • 6 months later...

To me 'Midnight Cowboy' is the most touchingly felt. Mostly because, unlike films with theme of homosexuality nowadays, there is nothing saucy or explicit in it. (Which can ruin the film in my opinion.) It's the art of understatement. A Journey from innocence to disillusionment. 'My Own Private Idaho' is good too, but it is full of unlikely lines, something you wouldn't hear from real people talking. I can appreciate it as a performance, but not as realistically felt though.

As far as books go, 'Maurice' is good. I never forget when I read it for the first time. It's like trespassing into someone's young manhood, not younger than myself (was then). But comparing to all other Forster's works, I agree 'Maurice' is not really that great. 'Howards End' 'A Room with a View' are more to my liking.

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  • 3 months later...

Try reading Herbert Marcuse - Eros and Civilisation - although you do have to have a pretty good knowledge of Freud to understand it. Presents a kind of alternative view of society. He wrote another book, One Dimensional Man, but I haven't read that yet. Yet another book I'd recommend is The Fall by Camus, now that's a book that makes you rethink you're whole life, in terms of your real motives. Neither are very comforting. If you're hardcore go for the Greek dramatists, Agamenon and Odyseus,you may assume they have no relevance, but you live long enough and think hard enough, and they do..

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  • 2 weeks later...

Just a ouple of films that portrayed people and situations that I could relate to.....

1. Sunday, Bloody Sunday

Sunday Bloody Sunday is a 1971 British drama film directed by John Schlesinger and starring Murray Head, Glenda Jackson and Peter Finch. It tells the story of a free-spirited young bisexual artist (played by Head) and his simultaneous relationships with a female recruitment consultant (Jackson) and a male Jewish doctor (Finch).

The film is significant for its time in that Finch's homosexual character is depicted as successful and relatively well-adjusted, and not particularly upset by his sexuality. In this sense, Sunday Bloody Sunday was a considerable departure from Schlesinger's previous film Midnight Cowboy, which had portrayed its homosexuals characters as alienated and self-loathing.

The film was released before the 1972 shooting by police of unarmed protesters in Derry, Northern Ireland, an event dubbed "Bloody Sunday."

2. Beautiul Thing

The story is set and filmed on Thamesmead, a working class area of South East London dominated by post-war council estates.[2][3]

Jamie (Glen Berry), a teen who is infatuated with his classmate, Ste, has to deal with his single mother Sandra (Linda Henry), who is pre-occupied with ambitious plans to run her own pub and with an ever-changing string of lovers, the latest of whom is Tony (Ben Daniels), a neo-hippie. Sandra finds herself at odds with Leah (Tameka Empson), a sassy and rude neighbour who has been expelled from school, does several drugs, and constantly listens and sings along to her mother's Cass Elliot records. While Jamie's homosexuality remains concealed, his introvert nature and dislike of football are reason enough for his classmates to bully him at every opportunity.

Ste (Scott Neal), who is living together with his drug-dealing brother and abusive, alcoholic father in the flat next door, is one night beaten by his brother so badly that Sandra takes pity and lets him sleep over. In the absence of a third bed, Ste has to make do with sleeping 'top-to-toe' with Jamie. On the second night they share a bed: after a massage and a minor conversation, the boys soon change sleeping arrangements and Jamie kisses Ste for the first time.

The next morning, Ste panics and leaves before Jamie awakens, avoiding him for days. Jamie works up the nerve to steal a Gay Times from a newsagent, apparently starting to accept his sexuality and affection for Ste. Jamie finally spots Ste at a nearby party and confronts him; they prepare to leave together. The party ends badly, with Sandra taking vengeance on Leah for gossiping, who then threatens to 'spill the beans' about Ste and Jamie and confesses to having covered up for Ste in front of his father and brother. Ste reacts poorly, angrily rejecting Jamie and running away.

Slowly, Ste accepts Jamie's love and their relationship begins to develop as they visit a gay pub together. Sandra follows them and discovers their secret, and the film reaches its climax as a bad trip by Leah (on an unnamed drug) precipitates Sandra's breakup with Tony; the news of Sandra's new job comes out; and Sandra confronts Ste and Jamie. Sandra comes to accept her son's relationship.

The film ends with the two boys slow-dancing in the courtyard of their council flats to the Cass Elliot song "Dream a Little Dream of Me", while a guarding Sandra dances defiantly at their side with Leah as the local residents look on; some of them shocked, some of them enjoying the moment themselves.

The first film was set in the same social scene that I was mixed up with at the time (I'm ashamed to say!smile.png)

The second always reminds me of the 20 years I spent living in London"s East End and the wonderful young people I had the pleasure of knowing. I particularly like the positive ending, nothing gives me greater pleasure than realising that youngsters growing up gay in Britain today will never have to suffer the pain and fear that I knew in the 50's. Not in the slightest bit ashamed to say that it still brings a few tears every time I watch it!

P.S. The film blurbs were lifted rom Wiki. so don"t expect the links to work!

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  • 5 months later...

I think this is a great idea.

I have a good listing of non porn movies with gay themes .

But at the moment I only have Mobile phone access and it is too tedious to make a long posting.

I will get back when I have a decent broadband connection.

Sent from my GT-N7100

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  • 5 months later...

A useful resource.

The following tumbler blog gives a list of 300 odd gay or gay friendly movies with a link to known clips if available or in some cases full movies on Utube, Vimeo. etc.

This is not a list of gay porn films. Sorry to disappoint ;-).. It is a serious LGBT anthology? filmthology :-). It has many Asian titles

http://gaysinmovies.tumblr.com/

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  • 2 years later...

I've really been enjoying the "Outlander" series of books by Diana Gabaldon. It's a cross between fantasy, historical fiction, and a good old-fashioned bodice-ripper. Though most of the story is heterosexual (with very very hot sex scenes), there is a very compelling gay thread through most of the books, with gay heroes and villains. There are currently 8 novels in the series, and they're all wonderful.

The series has recently been turned into a TV show on Showtime, and I'm happy to report that the TV show is just as wonderful as the novels, but with less detail, of course. Beautifully filmed.

More info here.

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While not 'gay' per se, the Thai movie "Beautiful Boxer" is wonderful. The based-on-a-true-story of a lady boy who fights Muay Thai to raise money for her sex change, this movie had me crying, laughing, and feeling good about the world we live in. Highly recommended.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Crystal Boys, the TV series of the first gay-themed Chinese novel now on Youtube in FRANÇAIS, ESPAÑOL, ITALIANO, PORTUGUÊS, SLOVENSKÝ and ENGLISH. ~~~ Enjoy watching! ~~~ ===>


I'll start off with 'Crystal Boys' by Pai Hsien-Yung (translated by Howard Goldblatt). It's a novel about gay life in Taipei in the 1970s. The gay world was called the 'glass community' and the people who inhabited it were the Glass (or Crystal) Boys.

A-Qing gets caught with a supervisor at his high school and gets kicked out of house and home and runs away to join Chief Yang's gang of Crystal Boys.

Taiwan PBS made a 20 episode series for TV which I have copies of. Unfortunately the only subs on it are Chinese!

"There are no days in our kingdom, only nights. As soon as the sun comes up , our kingdom goes into hiding, for it is an unlawful nation; we have no government and no constitution, we are neither respected nor recognised by anyone, our citizenry is little more than rabble."


Wow, that sounds interesting. Gay life in Taipei must have been horrible in the 1970s. I lived there around the turn of the millenium and it was in transition. I hear that Taipei has a quite interesting gay scene now.

I'd be interested in reading a novel based on gay life in Taipei in the 1970s.
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  • 1 year later...
  • 10 months later...

Lots of gay vids out there - not talking about X-rated - just stories about relationships and how they got there.  Type in Eng sub BL on youtube - they are the best IMHO with subtitles.  Some of the series are the best - and also on some of the sites such as Netflix.  SOTUS the series won lots of awards and the stars have been doing promotional appearances all over SE Asia - even at some of the major malls here in Bangkok as recently as Chinese New Years.  Good for those still young at heart no matter your age but not recommended for those who are really jaded.

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  • 3 months later...

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