Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Brainsbell The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.

Kaydan Christian A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Screen Squinty The premise of the topic of homosexuality and Hollywood was very concisely articulated through the documentary style, and utilized a chronological overview that lays the ground work coherently and engagingly, with just the right particular attention to both the various stereotypes and tropes of homosexuality, censorship, and the utilization of purposeful, yet subtle, innuendo that many filmmakers throughout the years utilized in history to work around censorship.The interviewees were a good selection of scholars, actors, and filmmakers. The Narrator, Lilly Tomlin, did a good job of narrating, expressing just the right tone and infliction for the subject matter. Despite there being a narrator, what was being said in the film did a good job of being expressed through the cinematic images being utilized, the narrator, and the interviewees such as Tony Curtis, Whoopi Goldberg, and Daniel Melnick to name a few of those whom contributed.Overall it was an excellent basis for the topic, very engaging despite its traditional documentary format, and you can tell that a fair about of care and attention went into its production. Despite the fact that it might be a little dated by 2015's standards, it is still relevantly informative and fascinating, and is something that should still be watched even now if you are a cinema history buff or just plain love cinema.

n_col13 The Celluloid Closet is a documentary that offers a comprehensive overview of portrayal of LGBTQ characters in Hollywood, from the time of first motion pictures up to the early 1990s. The documentary explores the various stereotypes that persisted in Hollywood when portraying queer characters and how they gradually gave way to a more realistic portrayal. The Celluloid Closet manages to include a substantial amount of footage from various films, and points out the subtext, for example, in films like Ben-Hur. It was especially interesting to see how, even when censorship was in effect, some film-makers still managed to include subtle hints, encouraging the viewer to see between the lines. The interviews with writers, actors and film-makers help to connect the documentary to the real world and to understand what real people who are closely connected to the industry think about the way the representation of queer characters on screen evolved with time. The Celluloid Closet is a fascinating look at the history of queer film, and it can be a great starting point for someone who is unfamiliar with the subject, as this documentary is both highly entertaining and very informative, with the amount of information not being too overwhelming.

K D The Celluloid Closet was a beautiful collaboration of work displaying the evolution of queer films since the beginning of film history. The commentary from the screen writers and producers complements the wide array of film clips that were selected for this production. Winding it's way through the late twentieth century, the film takes both comical and heartbreaking turns whilst taking a close look at the impact of queer films on the queer society. In the beginning of the film was a comical look at the character that was sometimes shameful and unacceptable to the queers, "The sissy", who made his first film debut somewhere in the early 1900's. Following the comical view of queers as the Sissy, in the Charlie Chaplain film Behind the scenes, it was upsetting to see how society's opinions of the queer made it into the movie. When Charlie Chaplain's character kisses a woman dressed as a man, he gets mocked by another man who dances prissily around them; in the age of the silent film, the prissy walk sadly but clearly displayed society's view of queers. The most entertaining part of the film draws on when screenwriters had to get creative masquerading queer characters as straight into their films in order to get them produced. Some of the best examples of these are Dracula's Daughter, Calamity Jane, and Spartacus, where a queer is only insinuated ever so slightly. Ultimately, this film displays wonderfully how society's views of queers through film has changed for the better.

y azhar The Celluloid Closet is one of those stereotypical documentaries that explain how far society has come along with the film industry regarding taboo subjects such as sex, drugs, and race. It is easy to assume that when a documentary associates with such subjects, it's obviously either going to be boring or repetitive. However, this film depicted the issues regarding one of the most taboo subjects of all time that actually still exists today in an almost delightful and entertaining manner. Even if you are not queer, you somehow found yourself being able to relate to the issues regarding queer film during the 1920's and on. From the beginning of the film, you are immediately mesmerized by the black and white picture and the different actors or actresses that are portraying queer characters. The different opinion of actors, writers, or directors who have either played gay roles or are gay was insightful and alluring. It was interesting to see how films influence society immensely. Because of the way films were portraying queer people, it was assumed that the queer society was mental, disgusting, or simply villainous. These values however, were forced considering there were writers who were allowed to change story lines if it encouraged "such behavior". When one film in particular, (Making Love) decided to expose an actual relationship between two gay people, there was an outbreak and people were horrified. It's interesting to see how far queer films have come along, but at the same time there are still obstacles and stereotypes about the queer society that still need to be addressed.