I just finished reading an interesting article at salon.com regarding pivotal gay sex scenes in films. I am so glad that the author started his slide show with "My Beautiful Laundrette." The scene that he talks about with Daniel Day-Lewis and Gordon Warnecke (they made a gorgeous couple) is one of the hottest sex scenes, regardless of orientation, that I've seen on film. I totally remember sneaking to catch it on HBO late at night back in '86. I remember being completely floored by the image of two men kissing right there in my living room. Only when I got older and looked at the film again did I really pay attention to the broader political messages of the film, and I found it to be an excellent movie. And as the film came to a close, I found myself wanting more. I wanted to know if Omar and Johnny actually made it as a couple, or if the laundrette really did remain a success. If you haven't had the pleasure of seeing the movie, then I highly recommend it.
2 comments:
What a film! It touched on so many issues, but showing a romantic gay relationship really was important.
"Making Love" with Michael Ontkean, Harry Hamlin, and Kate Jackson was another wonderful gay themed movie from back then.
Both films portayed gay men in life, and not etrnally at some celluloid gay bar - how refreshing.
We need more healthy representations of homosexual relationships in the media to stand down the fear mongerers, DOMA supporters, and replace prejudicial images.
I think that the movie "Maurice" helps to move that along as well, even though it has its contrived aspects. I didn't see "Making Love" until after I saw "My Beautiful Laundrette" and "Maurice."
I also think that there could be more of a balance. I don't want to lose the sexiness or the camp aspects of gay life, but there are so many other aspects that aren't fully explored, but are getting explored more. "Big Eden" is a great example, and the UK continues to put out interesting material as well.
Post a Comment