Retro gay movies
The Gayest Movies That Aren’t Actually Homosexual, from ‘Barbie’ and ‘Burlesque’ to ‘Venom’ and ‘Road House’
With editorial contributions by Alison Foreman, Lattanzio, Jude Dry, Tom Brueggemann, and Identify Peikert.
‘The Wizard of Oz’ (1939)
What it is: If you’ve been living under a Kansas farm dropped on you by a twister and need an explainer, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is MGM’s iconic musical adaptation of L. Frank Baum’s classic children’s book, starring Judy Garland as a prairie miss exploring a magical world of adventure.
Why it’s gay: Well, consider how ‘Friend of Dorothy’ is a widespread slang term for lgbtq+ men and that should be sufficient explanation. But if you need more convincing, ‘The Wizard of Oz’s’ campy, colorful musical story has long been interpreted through a queer lens, as a metaphor for LGBT people who venture outside of black-and-white middle America for gay communities in cities fancy New York or San Francisco. There are so many moments and characters in the clip that come across now as unintentional nods to the queer
55 of the Best LGBTQ Films of All Time
'Bottoms' (2023)
If ever there was a Superbad for queer girls, Bottoms is it. The second film from director Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby) follows two uncool high school seniors (Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott) who start up a academy fight club to try and hook up with their cheerleader crushes (Kaia Gerber and Havana Rose Liu).
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'Bound' (1996)
In the Wachowskis’ landmark erotic thriller predating the Matrix trilogy, butch ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) is the newly-hired handyperson at an apartment building when she meets her next-door neighbors: mobster Caesar (Joe Pantoliano) and kept gal Violet (Jennifer Tilly). As Corky and Violet strike up an affair, they hatch a arrange to flee Violet’s abusive relationship—and steal $2 million of Caesar’s mafia money along the way.
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'Circus of Books' (2020)
Southern Californians will likely recognize Circus of Books as the famed porn shop and dirty bookstore that has presided over the gayborhood of West Hollywood since the initial 1980s. For those who are not familiar—and even for those who are—this documentary,
The Rectangular View
If you’re looking for something decent to watch for Pride, you’re sure to find it in this list of the best queer movies from the ’70s, ’80s, and ’90s. Some of the films listed are modern gay classics, others are hidden gems.
The Boys in the Band (1970)
The Boys in the Band directed by William Friedkin is a must-see for anybody interested in gay cinema. It’s not an easy clip to watch, but it’s an honest depiction of the emotional damage caused from living in the closet.
You can read my review of The Boys in the Band here.
The Hunger (1983)
The Hunger is a sexy bisexual vampire horror starring Catherin Deneuve, David Bowie, and Suan Sarandon. Bowie plays a vampire who is rapidly aging, Deneuve is Bowie’s wife and Sarandon is the woman Deneuve is planning to use as Bowie’s replacement.
The Hunger is hip, cool, highly stylized, and sexy.
An Premature Frost (1985)
An Early Frost is a made for TV movie, and the first film made by a major studio to talk about AIDS. It has a top-notch cast and was viewed in 34 million households across the United States when it aired
161 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of All Time
The latest: With out latest update, we’ve added the most recent Certified Fresh films, including Backspot, Good One, Challengers, Bird, Love Lies Bleeding, Queer, Problemista, Fitting In, Housekeeping for Beginners, I Saw the TV Glow, In the Summers, The People’s Joker, National Anthem, Good Grief, Sebastian, FRIDA, Cuckoo, Fancy Dance, Femme, A Nice Indian Boy, and The Wedding Banquet! Watch them and more on Fandango at Home!
Our list of the 200 Best Gay Movies of All Time stretches assist 90 years to the pioneering German film, Mädchen in Uniform, which was subsequently banned by the Nazis, and crosses multiple continents, cultures, and genres. There are broad American comedies (The Birdcage), artful Korean crime dramas (The Handmaiden), groundbreaking indies (Tangerine), and landmark documentaries (Paris Is Burning). Over the last few years, we added titles like the documentary Welcome to Chechnya, about LGBTQ+ activists risking their lives for the bring about in Russia; Certified Fresh comedy Shiva, Baby; and Netflix’s The Old