Best LGBT Movies?

by Nathaniel R

For Pride month you may have heard that Rotten Tomatoes has expanded and updated their list of the greatest LGBT films ever to a full 200 movies wide.

Given that they've just done this, we thought it might be a good idea to share multiple "best lgbt films list" to give you lots of rental ideas for Gay Pride month. We've also listed the pros and cons of a few of the key lists out there. Do you feel like you've seen your share of queer classics perusing these or do you have endless hours of screenings ahead to catch up?

The Rotten Tomatoes list and 4 additional lists are after the jump. Which lists is friendliest to your tastes?

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot: "Pink Narcissus"

In the Best Shot series we challenge participants to watch a pre-selected movie and choose what they think is the best shot... according to their own fluctuating rules about what "best" means. Next week we return to widely seen classics with The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) -- will you join us? --  but this week I wanted to challenge everyone with an influential avant-garde gay indie known as Pink Narcissus (1971). 

original newspaper ad... cinema village still shows hard to see movies. "MARGARET" played there recently

You can see modern echos or just plain stealing from Pink Narcissus in everything from Michel Gondry music videos to Pierre et Gilles celebrity portraiture. I like to imagine that it's a movie the young Todd Haynes watched non-stop before making Superstar, his Karen Carpenter biopic with Barbie dolls. Truly creative artists, don't need a big budget. They just need the will to make art. Even if it takes them years with their friends (see also: David Lynch's INLAND EMPIRE)

Due to the adult nature of the material this NSFW edition has to go after the jump.

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'Best Shot' Resumes Production on June 27th

"Hit Me With Your Best Shot" returns from its month-long hiatus in two weeks. Will you join us? I'll try to catch up soon with Possessed (1947) which had terrible timing given my father's passing. Other than a short upcoming moment with Joan Crawford, what's next?

 Wednesday June 27th - THE STORY OF ADELE H. (1975)

For Isabelle Adjani's birthday (and considering that Victor Hugo madness will be heading our way at Christmas time) we'll look back at François Truffaut's Oscar nominated tale of obsessive love. Trivia: Adjani held the "youngest Best Actress nominee" record for three decades until a certain Whale Rider teared up.

*THURSDAY* July 5th -PICNIC (1955)

Technically this is a Labor Day movie as opposed to 4th of July but the point is who wants to sit at home blogging on Independence Day? I've never seen this - hence the choice - but I hear it's visually appealing (James Wong Howe on cinematography duties!) and I enjoy me some Kim Novak and William Holden. Bonus points: filling in the Oscar gaps. This one was nominated for 6 Oscars including Best Picture.

Wednesday July 11th - ROAD TO PERDITION (2002)

It's the tenth anniversary of Sam Mendes' self-consciously 'best shotty' graphic novel adaptation with Tom Hanks, Paul Newman, Jude Law, little Tyler Hoechlin before he was an alpha werewolf and the then (mostly) unknown Daniel Craig who found it all so fucking ridiculous.

Wednesday July 18th - PINK NARCISSUS (1971) 

I like doing short movies for this series (since it's asking a lot to assign y'all a movie each week) and this one is only 64 minutes. Luishergio suggested a NSFW edition and why not? This influential cult classic (the debt Pierre et Gilles owe will never be paid in full) about a rent boy's fantasies was shot almost entirely inside director James Bidgood's apartment and yet it's visually ravishing (the intense color helps). It's one of those movies then that all indie filmmakers without $ resources ought to look at.

Wednesday July 25th TBA
Wednesday August 1st TBA
Wednesday August 8th TBA.. it's so hard to choose but you get the point.

Previously on "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"
in case you missed any...