Gay films 1980s

Best LGBTQ+ Movies of the 80s, Ranked

The s were an exciting time for cinema. Independent studios were rising in number and prominence, so movies were being made on a smaller budget. This meant that a greater range of stories was being told, and new approaches were being explored as the lower budgets required smaller audiences to make back the investment. Now that it was less necessary for movies to appeal to the broadest possible audience, these independent studios were taking chances on LGBTQ+ narratives more than ever. As a result, the 80s are place to some of the most iconic movies the community has to offer.

Beyond just queer cinema, the aesthetics of the 80s verb for delightful and charming filmmaking. There’s a playfulness to the movies of this time period in both style and story that leads to campy and entertaining movies, but not ones that are lacking in sincerity and heart. John Waters’ Hairspray is a perfect example of the balance struck between truly subversive choices that are even shocking at times but are still not at the expense of the movie being

Psychotronic Pride: Gay Subtext in s Horror

In a set of moral guidelines known as the Hays Code, that Hollywood films were required to follow was implemented and would remain in effect until The self-imposed rules prohibited profanity, suggestive nudity, graphic or realistic violence, sexual persuasions and rape amongst other things.  With being unable to overtly include LGBTQ+ characters within films, queer representation had to be expressed more subtly, and whether purposefully or by coincidence horror films became full of gay subtext, with sexual tension and attraction being depicted with looks and gentle actions.  This style persisted even after the Hays Code was lifted and until recently, outwardly queer representation was lacking.

Movies verb Bride of Frankenstein, Cat People and Rope were all made in the s and all overtly had gay themes and often gay actors playing the roles.  Frankenstein was directed by James Whale, who himself was gay. In the film The Haunting, based on Shirley Jackson’s novel, The Haunting of Hill Property, the character of Theo Crain is hint

LGBTQ Films in the Ithaca College Library

Vito Russo, author of The Celluloid Closet, said of the Eighties, the films usually are about homosexuality, not about people and their stories.”

Another Country () DVD
A spy reflects on his boarding school homosexuality and Marxism.
Before Stonewall: the Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community () DVD
Chronicles the social, political, and culturalhistory of lesbian and gay life.
Burroughs: The Movie () DVD
An intimate portrait of beat generation author William S. Burroughs that does not shy away from his "often-tortured relationship to his homosexuality."
Brideshead Revisited () DVD
Was the friendship at Oxford that started it all more than a friendship? An ITV/PBSmini-series.
Caravaggio () DVD
The Italian painter's life is tragically complicated when he becomes the lover of a male model and his girlfriend.
The Color Purple () DVD
Only after a balck woman forms intimate relationship with another womandoes she detect her strength and confidence.
Desert Hearts () DVD
Advocate # first lesbian film

Seven Queer 80s Films to Watch This Pride Month

Design & LivingAnOther List

Louis Staples shares seven highlights from Queer 80s: Cinema on the Brink of Global Change, a series of ground-breaking films screening as part of the Barbican’s Pride season this summer

TextLouis Staples

The s is a decade that is not exactly known for being a positive time for LGBTQ+ people. The Aids crisis devastated queer communities and unleashed a terrible wave of homophobia in the media and politics, but also in everyday life. Gay men were particularly stigmatised and let down by those in control, even as laws prohibiting gay sex were gradually relaxed.

But during these complicated times, the 80s were a decade where queer filmmakers across the world told stories in new and intriguing ways. The Barbican’s Pride season this summer,Queer 80s: Cinema on the Brink of Global Change, explores a decade when, against the odds, LGBTQ+ representation in film thrived and bold depictions of queer life prevailed.

At the period, the world was transforming geographically as much as socially. (Thr