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There was a moment in the past, a decade
of so of Hedonism and sexual openness unheard
of since the days of Roman. For most of the
world this decade was ushered in by the "Summer
of Love" in 1968 and died somewhere around the
time crack cocaine came into existence. For
gay men, the decade began in 1969 when the Stonewall
riots occurred in New York City and died when
AIDS appeared on the sexual landscape somewhere
in the early 80's. "Gay Sex in the 70's" is
about this pivotal decade.
Stonewall is touched upon here, as is AIDS,
but the true focus of the film is that amazing
moment in time in between these two monumental
events in gay American history. This is after
the civil rights movement began and when the
"Gay Liberation" movement was in full effect.
When gay men reveled in the streets and open
sexuality was not only evident but in fact an
everyday event in the life of a gay man living
in urban metropolises like San Francisco and
NYC. The latter is the focus of this film and
we get an amazing look at history here. Documentarian
Joseph F. Lovett brings us a plethora of amazing
photographs and filmed moments from the era.
These archives in the film bring us as close
as we are likely to ever get to the subject
matter. To say there is a sense of "You Are
There" in the film is an understatement. This
is material that is seemingly heretofore unseen
and it is often as if a secret door has been
opened and we are drawn in with the curiosity
of a child. This is fascinating stuff.
The other parts of the film, which are
also captivating, include some very honest and
frank interviews with several gay cultural icons
from NYC's history. The most well known of these
is author and playwright Larry Kramer ("The
Normal Heart") who also founded Act-Up in the
80's but other notable speakers in the doc include
Bob Alvarez, Tom Bianchi, Scott Bromley, Arnie
Kantrowitz, and Ken Unger. These men are rightfully
unembarrassed and amazingly forthcoming with
their reminiscences and recollections about
sex "back in the day." And their honesty coupled
with the abundance of archive material here
makes for an amazing hour of history that every
gay man worth his weight in the salty substances
that he has digested will be fascinated by.
If there is any problem with the film,
it is that it spends far too much time dealing
with the end of the story, the emergence of
AIDS into gay culture. This topic has been beaten
into the ground by gay cinema culture over the
past few years and no real new light is shed
upon it here. What should be a footnote is given
more time then it really deserves and it almost
drags this enthralling documentary into the
depths of a "downer" that covers ideas and themes
that we've all been exposed to repeatedly over
the past few years. Like AIDS itself, the mere
mentioning of it here turns the party into a
funeral. Lovett nearly buries his film as well
with the finale he insists upon giving us here,
presumably feeling it a requirement.
Girl, I had gay sex in the 70's - but it
was nothing like this! This is an amazing document
of a moment in time that might be lost forever
if it were not for the talent and the attention
to detail that Lovett brings to his work. This
coupled with his obvious love for his story
makes for one of the most interesting documentaries
on gay history to be seen. Even with its overt
insistence on ending on a down note, this is
a film not to be missed.
Note:
The score is filled with obscure 70's disco
songs. How obscure? Well, I've only heard one
of them before, Sylvester's "Do You Want to
Funk."
The Sundance Channel and Wolfe Video have
picked up this film for TV and DVD respectively
and there is an American release date of November
4th for a theatrical showing in NYC. It is highly
unlikely it will show theatrically anywhere
else other than in film festivals.
Viewed at The Arbor in October 2005 during
Agliff with my friend Johnny Oh!
Report Card
Content: A-
Completeness: A-
Cinematography/Lighting: A+
Special Effects/Make Up: A
Music: A
Final Grade: A-
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