The Celluloid Closet

What "That's Entertainment" did for movie musicals, "The Celluloid Closet" does for Hollywood homosexuality, as this exuberant, eye-opening movie serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Lily Tomlin narrates as Oscar-winning moviemaker Rob Epstein ("The Times of Harvey Milk" and "Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt") and Jeffrey Friedman assemble fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s. Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Harvey Fierstein and Gore Vidal are just a few of the many actors, writers and commentators who provide funny and insightful anecdotes.

Documentary History

Lily Tomlin

(Narrator (voice))

Tony Curtis

(Self)

Susan Sarandon

(Self)

Gore Vidal

(Self)

Whoopi Goldberg

(Self)

Antonio Fargas

(Self)

Shirley MacLaine

(Self)

John Schlesinger

(Self)

Armistead Maupin

(Self)

Arthur Laurents

(Self)

Tom Hanks

(Self)

Farley Granger

(Self)

Quentin Crisp

(Self)

Harry Hamlin

(Self)

Sharon Stone

(Self)

Susie Bright

(Self)

Mart Crowley

(Self)

Jay Presson Allen

(Self)

Richard Dyer

(Self)

Jan Oxenberg

(Self)

Paul Rudnick

(Self)

Barry Sandler

(Self)

Ron Nyswaner

(Self)

Daniel Melnick

(Self)

Stewart Stern

(Self)

Harvey Fierstein

(Self)

Paul Newman

(Self (archive footage))

James Dean

(Self (archive footage))

Sal Mineo

(Self (archive footage))

Natalie Wood

(Self (archive footage))