The ultimate queer cinema list
This list comprises my favorite queer films of all time. I do consider myself an "expert" on this subject, as I am - in every which way - an extreme queer cinephile...
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20 titles
- DirectorJack SmithStarsFrancis FrancineSheila BickJoel MarkmanAn experimental film that features graphic sexual imagery, an earthquake, and a lipstick commercial.Jack Smiths´ masterpiece is an absolute orgiastic delight.
- DirectorJames BidgoodStarsDon BrooksBobby KendallCharles LudlamAn erotic poem set in the fantasies of a young male prostitute.This film is truly unique. An amazing cinematic achivement, especially considering the circumstances under which it was made.
- DirectorJean GenetStarsBravoJean GenetJavaTwo prisoners in complete isolation, separated by the thick brick walls, and desperately in need of human contact, devise a most unusual kind of communication.The queer dream turned into pure art.
- DirectorJennie LivingstonStarsBrooke XtravaganzaAndré ChristianDorian CoreyA chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.The most amazing document of the exciting (and sometimes sad) queer existence.
- DirectorCurt McDowellStarsMarion EatonGeorge KucharMelinda McDowellWith a killer gorilla on the loose, a group of strangers find themselves stranded at a remote mansion of a grieving madwoman one dark and stormy night. They indulge in swapping bizarre personal backstories - and bodily fluids.An exciting and hilarious queer classic.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsVolker SpenglerIngrid CavenGottfried JohnA transgender woman tries to salvage something from the wreckage love has made of her life by confronting her anguished past, hoping to find ultimate acceptance among former acquaintances and herself.This film breaks my heart everytime I see it. A truly devestating masterpiece.
- DirectorKenneth AngerStarsErnie AlloBruce ByronFrank CarifiA gang of Nazi bikers prepares for a race as sexual, sadistic, and occult images are cut together.Some amazingly riveting avantgarde queer cinema.
- DirectorPaul HumfressDerek JarmanStarsLeonardo TreviglioBarney JamesNeil KennedyReassigned to a lowly outpost, a Roman guard's Christian beliefs clash with his gay commander's desire for closeness. Being tortured becomes pleasurable.Beautiful and mezmerising queer wonder in the form of cinema. Some scenes are beyond titillating.
- DirectorJohn WatersStarsLiz RenayMink StoleSusan LoweA neurotic society woman murders her husband with her maid's help; on the lam, they escape to Mortville, a homeless community ruled by a fascist queen.Extremely funny queer film. Some of the lines (and how they are delivered) are amongst the greatest ever written/performed for the cinema.
- DirectorGeorge KucharStarsDonna KernessGeorge KucharStella KucharA independent director is faced with artistic difficulty when he asks his actresses to show nudity.Very funny and very moving film. It really gets to me everytime I witness its (understated?) glory.
- DirectorJamie BabbitStarsNatasha LyonneClea DuVallMichelle WilliamsA naive teenager is sent to rehab camp when her straitlaced parents and friends suspect her of being a lesbian.Heart-warming tale of finding ones first queer love/identity. Very tounge-in-cheek.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyAndy WarholStarsBrigid BerlinRandy BorscheidtChristian PäffgenLacking a formal narrative, Warhol's art house classic follows various residents of the Chelsea Hotel in 1966 New York City, presented in a split screen with a single audio track in conjunction with one side of screen.Iconic work of art. One of the 20 wonders of queer cinema, for sure.
- DirectorGregg ArakiStarsBrady CorbetJoseph Gordon-LevittElisabeth ShueTwo pre-adolescent boys both experienced a strange event and later it affects their lives in different ways. One becomes a reckless, sexually adventurous prostitute, while the other retreats into a reclusive fantasy of alien abduction.A sad - but ultimately life-affirming tale of queer strife.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsNoam GonickCaelum VatnsdalSimon HughesMusical mantra derived from machine-gun micro-montage.A subversive and exciting queer delight.
- DirectorNoam GonickStarsJérémie YuenCraig AftanasClayton GodsonDJ Sabu's overactive libido leads him into teenaged pregnancy. His mythic quest for two thousand boys ends with Happy, a paranoid UFO-ologist to whom aliens promise to appear (as his love child). Spanky is an evil hairdresser trying to foil Sabu's mission, he is the self-proclaimed 'biggest bitch in the world.' The action unfolds at a series of raves on old garbage hill in an industrial Antonioni landscape peopled with characters right out of vintage John Waters.Funny and unique mix of trashy pop-culture and queer sentiments.
- DirectorFrançois OzonStarsFrédéric MangenotLucia SanchezSébastien CharlesIt's summer. Sébastien loves the singer Sheila. Lucia loves boys. And all Luc wants is to get a nice tan...A short, sweet and interesting queer little tale.
- DirectorBruce La BruceStarsSusanne SachßeDaniel BätscherAndreas StichA left-wing terrorist group, consisting of several homosexual men and a female leader, kidnaps the son of a wealthy industrialist.A great queer satire of "radical" subversive culture. Extremely titillating and exciting.
- DirectorEdward D. Wood Jr.StarsEdward D. Wood Jr.Bela LugosiLyle TalbotA psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).Underrated classic. Truly ahead of its time.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartJohn DallFarley GrangerTwo men try to convince themselves they've committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party after strangling a former classmate to death.Hitchcock - on occasion - said that he would have been queer, had it not been for his wife Alma. This film is proof (of sorts) of how connected Hitchcock was to some early queer dilemmas. Great film, with clear queer undertones.
- DirectorJohn Cameron MitchellStarsSook-Yin LeePeter SticklesPJ DeBoyA group of New Yorkers caught up in their romantic-sexual milieu converge at an underground salon infamous for its blend of art, music, politics, and carnality.Easily accesible and well worth a watch, or two...