Sunday Bloody Sunday (U.K. 1971)

The Gist:

Alex, a divorced woman (Glenda Jackson), and Hirsch, an older Jewish gay man (Peter Finch), are both involved with the same younger man, an artist named Bob (Murray Head). They each know of the other, and both are, or at least claim to be, content with the situation, of only being part of Bob's life rather than the whole, but life can be difficult and things change.

Comments:

Unlike many of the previous movies I've mentioned here, this is not a small independent "gay" flick. This is Schlesinger. This is a Film with a capital "F."

It's also very good. These are well defined characters driving the story forward. More so, while two of the characters are gay/bi, their sexual orientation is just part of who they are rather than their sole driving motivating factor. This is something we still don't get that often in movies when it comes to minorities. People who are people rather than people who are a label and nothing else. 

They may not be the happiest of people, but that's just because of what this story is, of settling, compromise and acceptance. It is not a punishment for breaking the rules of heterosexuality. In context of time, the early 70's, it's pretty amazing, letting a gay character just "be" instead of being a clown, villain, or victim. This is some groundbreaking stuff here. Treating a kiss between the male characters in exactly the same manner as a kiss between a male and female character is still considered edgy to some extent. 

Even the focus of the movie, on Hirsch and Alex, the older people of the story rather than on younger Bob is is an unusual choice considering how youth obsessed culture was then and now. Although frankly, as written, young artist Bob is the least interesting of the trio, so that is maybe not that surprising. 

It's not a happy cheerful story, and is at times very 1970's "FILM," so may not appeal to everyone, but it is worth trying if you're in the mood for a "FILM" instead of just a "flick." If nothing else, Peter Finch's final monologue is worth seeing. 

Women:

Many 

People of color: 

One man 

Gratuitous nudity:

Some nudity, but debatable if the word gratuitous applies. 

• Director: John Schlesinger
• Writer: Penelope Gillatt
• Actors: Peter Finch, Glenda Jackson, Murray Head
• 110 min
• IMDB

Some Of My Best Friends Are... (U.S. 1971)

The Gist:

Patrons gather in a Manhattan gay bar on Christmas Eve 1971 for what will end up being a tumultuous evening of high drama. 

Comments:

The movie has a reputation of being a depressing artifact of the time it was made. A position that is hard to argue with. After all, consider its famous last line, spoken when two bartenders shutting down the bar for the night realize they have locked someone inside and say: "Leave him there until morning. Where else does a faggot have to go?" 

Fun times. 

This may be post Stonewall Riots New York, but no one has told anyone in the movie. Many, though admittedly not all, of the gay characters actively believe they are somehow damaged and deserve oppression. Part of that attitude though is that everyone in the bar is some sort of stereotype or another, and boy are there are a lot of them. There are too many characters and story lines to develop very deeply, although character growth doesn't seem to be a very high priority in this jam packed bar. 

Interestingly, the movie is filled with well known or upcoming (for the time) TV and movie actors, which gives the bar an odd sort of familiarity, as if the people here were one cab ride away from being in a "very special episode" of All in the Family. We have:

• A straight mafioso who owns a gay bar
• A fussy sissy waiter who speaks in an affected voice so high that the man he's been speaking to on the telephone doesn't realize he is not a woman
• A bisexual airline pilot (Gil Gerrard) with a heart of gold (more or less) who is feuding with a vindictive fag hag (Rue MccLanahan)
• A belligerent self-hating hustler (Gary Sandy)
• A tortured, married, closeted man who takes hot showers to try to wash the homosexuality off of him after he has sex with his hot Swiss ski instructor lover (who for some reason goes around wearing thick blue eyeshadow)
• A woman with a secret (Candy Darling of Warhol fame) 
• A bar hostess (Fanny Flag) whose job duties includes dancing with gay couples (because in this time it is illegal for men to dance together).  

This is only a partial list of characters. There are so many people and a lot of stuff going on here. Much of it arguably sad. Perhaps because of that sadness, the movie comes off as a plea for sympathy. Not because homophobia is wrong, but rather because these poor twisted people's lives are so screwed up that they deserve the viewers pity.

'Don't hate the fags, the poor wretches got enough troubles of their own' is not exactly a positive 70’s pro gay liberation rallying cry, and the movie is definitely not a high point in LGBT pride, but it is an interesting look at a certain view of late 60's / early 70's queer culture. 

The stories are messy and sad (and if you have issues with feminine men, likely annoying as well), but I think it is worth watching to see how we were once viewed and how far we have or have not come since then. 

Women:

Yes

People of color:

Yes

Gratuitous nudity:

Very brief nudity, though in a very 70's realism way, so natural may be a better adjective than gratuitous 

• Director: Mervyn Nelson
• Writer: Mervyn Nelson
• Actors: Fannie Flagg, Rue McClanahan, Candy Darling, Gil Gerrard, ...
• 110 min
• IMDB