The Celluloid Closet: Difference between revisions

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Based on the book by Vito Russo, this 1995 Documentary explores the history of Hollywood's portrayal of gay characters through the ages. Give it a watch, it is awesome.Template:Citation needed

Tropes used in The Celluloid Closet include:

Adaptation Distillation: The documentary is a worthy adaptation of the Vito Russo book, managing to include and expand on many of the ideas from the book. The film also benefits from the new medium, being able to show scenes that Russo could only describe.
Ambiguously Gay
Bury Your Gays: Commented upon.
But Not Too Gay
Camp Gay: And his less explicitly gay brother, The Sissy. Discussed in depth, with several talking heads having different opinions of the worth of such characters. (Harvey Fierstein likes them: "Visibility at all costs!")
Crowning Moment of Funny: The "Ain't There Anyone Here for Love?" musical number from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.
Depraved Homosexual
Getting Crap Past the Radar: Including some absolutely hilarious instances, like Stephen Boyd playing Messala as being Ben-Hur's former lover, without telling Charlton Heston.

"Don't tell Chuck!"

Hide Your Lesbians
Ho Yay
Lesbian Vampire: Commented upon.
Psycho Lesbian
Sissy Villain
Subtext
What Might Have Been: Originally a sequence was planned looking at Biopics that made gay people into straights, such as Alexander the Great with Richard Burton, Hans Christian Andersen with Danny Kaye, Night and Day (about Cole Porter) with Cary Grant, and The Agony and the Ectasy with Charlton Heston. The sequence was canned due to rights issues. Heston in particular insisted that his portrayal of Michaelangelo as a hetero was 100% accurate.

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 * [[Sissy Villain]]
 * [[Subtext]]
-* [[What Might Have Been]]: Originally a sequence was planned looking at [[Biopic|Biopics]] that made gay people into straights, such as ''Alexander the Great'' with Richard Burton, ''Hans Christian Andersen'' with [[Danny Kaye]], ''Night and Day'' (about Cole Porter) with [[Cary Grant]], and ''The Agony and the Ectasy'' with Charlton Heston. The sequence was canned due to rights issues. Heston in particular insisted that his portrayal of Michaelangelo as a hetero was 100% accurate.
+* [[What Might Have Been]]: Originally a sequence was planned looking at [[Biopic]]s that made gay people into straights, such as ''Alexander the Great'' with Richard Burton, ''Hans Christian Andersen'' with [[Danny Kaye]], ''Night and Day'' (about Cole Porter) with [[Cary Grant]], and ''The Agony and the Ectasy'' with Charlton Heston. The sequence was canned due to rights issues. Heston in particular insisted that his portrayal of Michaelangelo as a hetero was 100% accurate.
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