Box Office Theory Forum’s Top 100 LGBT+ films of all time | a countdown 🌈 💗 | #40! page 6

[Kalo]

#280-#270

Spoiler

#280 Knock at the Cabin (2023) - 19 Points Average placement: 18

 

#279 Henry and June (1990) - 20 Points average placement: 55

 

#279 Dou Kyu Sei - Classmates (2016) 20 Points - Average placement: 55

 

#279 Days (2020) - 20 Points Average placement: 55

 

#276 Fathers (2016) - 20 Points Average placement: 54

 

#275 Twinkle (1992) - 20 Points Average placement: 53

 

#275 Compartment No. 6 (2021) - 20 Points average placement: 53

 

#273 Bishomen (1998) - 20 Points average placement: 52

 

#273 A Bread Factory: Part 1 (2018) - 20 Points average placement: 52

 

#271 Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) 20 Points - average placement: 50

 

#270 I Killed My Mother (2009) 20 Points - Average placement: 40

 

#270 Pray Away (2021) 20 Points - Average placement 40

 

#270 8 Women (2002) 20 Points average placement: 40

 

 

Edited October 30, 2023 by Kalo

[Kalo]

#64 All About My Mother (1999) - Directed by Pedro Almodóvar - (Spain)

 

145 Points | 3 Lists 

 

 

"Well, as I was saying, it costs a lot to be authentic, ma'am. And one can't be stingy with these things because you are more authentic the more you resemble what you've dreamed of being."

 

 

About the Film 

 

All About My Mother (Spanish: Todo sobre mi madre) is a 1999 comedy-drama film written and directed by Pedro Almodóvar, and starring Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes, Candela Peña, Antonia San Juan, Penélope Cruz and Rosa Maria Sardà.

The plot originates in Almodóvar's earlier film The Flower of My Secret (1995) which shows student doctors being trained in how to persuade grieving relatives to allow organs to be used for transplant, focusing on the mother of a teenager killed in a road accident. All About My Mother deals with complex issues such as AIDS, gender identity, homosexuality, faith, and existentialism.

 

 

What I know about the film:

 

I know very little about this film expect that its directed by Pedro Almodóvar who directed Pain & Glory and several films in this countdown, so it automatically makes my watchlist.

 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Kalo

[Kalo]

I have gotten a message from the mods that I am taking too long. so I am having to change the format of the countdown so I can finish at a decent rate (at least until I get to the top 50) so I can get this down rapid fire 

[Kalo]

#63 Beau Travail (1999) - Directed by Claire Denis - (France) 

 

148 Points | 4 Lists

 

 

 

"Maybe freedom begins with remorse. Maybe freedom begins with remorse. I heard that somewhere"

 

 

 

About: 

Beau Travail (pronounced [bo tʁa.vaj], French for "good work") is a 1999 French film directed by Claire Denis that is loosely based on Herman Melville's 1888 novella Billy Budd. The story is set in Djibouti, where the protagonists are soldiers in the French Foreign Legion. Parts of the soundtrack of the movie are from Benjamin Britten's 1951 opera based on the novella.

 

What I know about the film: 

 

I watched this movie a few months ago. it was a very contemplative film alot of of hot sweaty men in the film, but I'm not sure I would call it "Gay" it was homoerotic at parts I guess though. beautifully shot, a little too bare bones for me I guess. would have liked a more structured plot. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Kalo

[Jake Gittes]

3 hours ago, Kalo said:

but I'm not sure I would call it "Gay" it was homoerotic at parts I guess though.

 

 

It is the story of someone who's pretty unambiguously suggested to be a repressed gay man, which drives his behavior throughout. 

[Kalo]

As I have posted in this thread. I will be very quickly posting to 51# by the end the weekend (or Monday, end of my weekend). and the plan is to close this thread temporarily. so when I re-open beginning of December I can pre-write up some of the countdown and finish it quickly before Christmas (14 days is the plan). I have a lot going on this month and believe I can finish it quicker next month. I 

 

I do apologise for taking so long, I had hoped to finish the whole thing in a month, in hindsight sight I probably should have only done the originally planned top 50. 

 

Hopefully my closing it for a time with a planned timetable I can re-gain some interest and get it finished fast.

 

@Krissykins, @ringedmortality, @toutvabien, @TalismanRing, @JWR, @nydedan, @joselowe, @The Panda, @LegionWrex, @AN9815, @solaris, @Potiki, @Kalo, @Tower, @Fanboy, @Valonqar, @WorkingonaName, @Fancyarcher, @Arlborn, @Arsal, @Arsal, @Jake Gittes, @von Kenni, @Cap, @ListenHunnyUrOver, @across the Jat verse, @Barnack

 

Be ready for to get to #51 this weekend and for the true top 50 reveal beginning of next month.

Edited November 4, 2023 by Kalo

[Kalo]

#62 Crush (2022) - Directed by Sammi Cohen (USA)

 

155 Points | 2 Lists

 

 

Top 5 placements: 2

 Top 3 placements: 1 

 

About: 

Crush is a 2022 American coming-of-age romantic comedy film directed by Sammi Cohen (in her feature directorial debut) and written by Kirsten King and Casey Rackham. The film stars Rowan Blanchard and Auliʻi Cravalho in a story about a teenage girl joining her high-school track team to get closer to her crush, only to discover she is getting closer to another teammate. Crush was released digitally on April 29, 2022, on Hulu.

 

What I know about this film:

 

I knew almost nothing about this film before hand, I think I saw that it was on Netflix. it was only on 2 lists, but it was in both of their top 5 so they must have really liked it.

 

[Kalo]

I have to go to work, more later tonight.

[Kalo]

#61 Babylon (2022) - Directed by Damien Chazelle (USA)

155 Points | 3 Lists

 

 

Number 1 placement: 1

 

"Have you ever stopped to think why, when there's a house fire, the people die and the cockroaches all survive?"

 

 

 

About the film: 

Babylon is a 2022 American epic period black comedy-drama film written and directed by Damien Chazelle. It features an ensemble cast that includes Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Diego Calva, Jean Smart, Jovan Adepo, and Li Jun Li. The film chronicles the rise and fall of multiple characters during Hollywood's transition from silent to sound films in the late 1920s.

Chazelle began developing Babylon in July 2019, with Lionsgate Films as the frontrunner to acquire the project. It was announced that Paramount Pictures had acquired worldwide rights in November 2019. Much of the main cast joined the project between January 2020 and August 2021, and filming took place in Los Angeles from July to October 2021.

Babylon premiered at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Los Angeles on November 14, 2022, and was released in the United States on December 23, 2022. The film polarized critics, who generally praised its cinematography, score, editing, production design, lead performances and themes, but were sharply divided on its direction, screenplay, graphic content, and runtime. It was a box-office bomb, grossing $63 million against a production budget of $78–80 million.[6] Babylon received five nominations at the 80th Golden Globe Awards (including Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, winning Best Original Score), nine nominations at the 28th Critics' Choice Awards (including Best Picture), three nominations at the 76th British Academy Film Awards, and three nominations at the 95th Academy Awards.

 

 

What I know about the film: 

 

I am a massive fan of Damien Chazelle, La La Land is my favorite musical of all time and in my top 5 favorite films of all time  and whiplash is easily in my top 50. so I was pretty excited for this movie, the only downside being I felt that first man was incredibly dull compared to his other two films. but this movie looked any thing but dull from he trailers, if not exactly like another La LA Land. in fact you could almost say it's the Anti- La La Land. where La LA Land is quaky clean this movie is filthy, but in a very film overwhelming way. I remember seeing it in an almost empty theater shortly after Christmas and I was a little overwhelmed by what I saw, and felt it was too long, but the more I thought it the more I started to like it and I'm not to the point where I would say it's something of a flawed masterpiece. I do think the 1920s golden age of films was probably pretty wild and Damon did his research for it. I love the era and while some of it may be a bit exaggerated it works for the message of the film. so yeah this is my third favorite Damon Chazelle film but it's still a solid A-. it probably could have been about 30 minutes shorter though.  oh and yes there is a lesbian storyline stuck in there that is almost so seamlessly brought into the story you kind of forgot about it.  

 

 

 

Edited November 4, 2023 by Kalo

[Kalo]

#60 Beautiful Thing (1996) - Directed by Hettie Macdonald (UK)

161 Points | 3 Lists

 

Sandra: You're pissed! From a bloody gay bar!
Jamie: How do you know it's a gay bar?
Sandra: Cos it's got a bloody great pink neon arse outside of it!

 

Top 10 Placements: 2

 

 

About the Film:

 

 

 

Beautiful Thing is a 1996 British romantic comedy film directed by Hettie MacDonald and released by Channel 4 Films.[2] The screenplay was written by Jonathan Harvey based on his own original play of the same name.

The film was originally intended for television broadcast only, but it was so well-received that it was subsequently released in cinemas. The atmosphere of the film is heavily influenced by a soundtrack consisting almost entirely of the music of The Mamas & the Papas and "Mama" Cass Elliot.

 

 

 

What I know about the film:
This movie is so freaking cute. it's a pretty started coming of age teen gay romance story. but it is very well done. It's been a while since I've seen this movie, but it is very much worth checking out if you haven't seen it. also as a big fan of the Mamma's and the Pappa's  you can't really beat it's soundtrack

 

 

 

 

[Kalo]

#59 Farewell My Concubine (1993) - Directed by Chen Kaige (China)

161 Points | 4 Lists

 

 

Top 10 Placements: 2

Top 3 placements: 1

 

About the film:

Farewell My Concubine is a 1993 Chinese historical drama film directed by Chen Kaige, starring Leslie Cheung, Gong Li and Zhang Fengyi. Adapted for the screen by Lu Wei, based on the novel by Lilian Lee, the film is set in a politically tumultuous 20th-century China, from the early days of the Republic of China to the aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. It chronicles the troubled relationships amongst two lifelong friends, the Peking opera actors Cheng Dieyi (Cheung) and Duan Xiaolou (Zhang), and Xiaolou's wife Juxian (Gong).

 

 

The film's themes include confusion of identity and blurred lines between real life and the stage, portrayed by the revered opera actor Dieyi, whose unrequited love for Xiaolou persists throughout. Commentators also noted themes of political and societal disturbances in 20th-century China, which is typical of the Chinese Fifth Generation cinema.

Farewell My Concubine premiered on 1 January 1993, in Hong Kong. Upon release the film received generally positive reviews from contemporary critics, and jointly won the Palme d'Or at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival,[note 1] becoming the first Chinese-language film to achieve the honour. It won further accolades, including a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and a BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language, and received two nominations at the 66th Academy Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Foreign Language Film.

 

 

What I know About the film:

I had it on my watchlist on Letterboxd. that's about all I can say about it, except that I knew it was an LGBT themed film. I will have to watch it at some point.

 

[Kalo]

#58 Pride (2014) - Directed by Matthew Warchus (UK)

161 Points | 5 Lists

 

"Every woman is a lesbian at heart/Every woman is a lesbian at heart/Every woman is a lesbian at heart..."

 

Top 10 placements: 1

 

 

About the film:

Pride is a 2014 British historical comedy-drama film written by Stephen Beresford and directed by Matthew Warchus. Based on a true story, it depicts a group of lesbian and gay activists who raised money to help families affected by the British miners' strike in 1984, at the outset of what would become the Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners campaign.

It was screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival,[3][4] where it won the Queer Palm award.[5] Writer Stephen Beresford said a stage musical adaptation involving director Matthew Warchus was being planned.[6]The film was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and for the BAFTA for Best British Film, Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Imelda Staunton and for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

 

 

What I know about the film:
I love this movie, it is so hopefully and funny. I love these stories of  kind of two opposite things coming together like Gay and Lesbians' on strike for miners and it was a true story! it's been a few years since I've seen this movie but It is just a great time, please check it out if you haven't, truly a LGBT classic.

 

 

 

[Kalo]

#57 Saving Face (2004) - Directed by Alice Wu (USA)

 

166 Points | 4 Lists

 

 

"Kiss me. Now. In front of all these people."

 

#1 Placements: 1

 

About the film:

Saving Face is a 2004 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Alice Wu, in her feature-length debut.The film focuses on Wilhelmina, a young Chinese American surgeon; her unwed, pregnant mother; and her dancer girlfriend. It was the first Hollywood movie that centered on Chinese Americans since The Joy Luck Club (1993).

The name itself is a reference to the pan-East Asian social concept of face.

 

 

What I know about the film:

Not really much of anything, I haven't watched it and didn't hear of it before this countdown, it has good reviews though and sounds like a sweet story so I will have to check it out.

 

 

 

 

[Kalo]

#56 Midnight Cowboy (1969) - Directed John Schlesinger (USA)

 

168 Points | 6 Lists

 

 I'm walking here! I'm walking here!

 

Top 3 placements: 1

 

About the Film: 

Midnight Cowboy is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel of the same name by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, John McGiver, Brenda Vaccaro, Bob Balaban, Jennifer Salt, and Barnard Hughes. Set in New York City, Midnight Cowboy depicts the unlikely friendship between two hustlers: naïve sex worker Joe Buck (Voight), and ailing con man Rico Rizzo (Hoffman), referred to as "Ratso".

At the 42nd Academy Awards, the film won three awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay. Midnight Cowboy is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture. It has since been placed 36th on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 greatest American films of all time, and 43rd on its 2007 updated version.

In 1994, Midnight Cowboy was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry

 

 

What I know about the film:
Is this the first mainstream gay romance film ever and did it win the 3 most coveted awards at the Oscars in 1969? Yes it did win the awards and yes the main character is a hustler and does service woman and men in the film. And yes it is a love story, but is it just two lonely bros who love each other or is it something more? it was 1969 so the romance is never directly referenced and there are many close platonic male friendships, so I feel like you could go either way with this one. but it is a very very sad, well made movie, and I think I need to watch it again before saying how I feel about that, I do know that this film was actually given an R rating by the MPAA, before being self rated by the US for it's homosexual content and given an X rating.

 

This movie is not X rated (in fact the film has since be re-certified  with an R rating. but it's interesting to see how much hysteria there was in those days about any gay content at all. it also shows how much progress had taking place from 1960-1969. this film would just not been able to be released the same way if it had been made just a couple years from, watching 1960s and 1970s films it's interesting how quick the shift was in films, I believe this has something to do with an ease on restrictions in 1968. and that is where it shows, 1960s films had been quite tame and pretty non-explicit until this change came out, sure there were a few darker, more bloody or and sexual films, but there were certain subjects, such as homosexuality that you could just not talk about in much of any detail. but once the floodgates were open, the 1970s gave way to a plethora of content that hadn't film explored due to censorship and a couple late 60s films since as "Midnight Cowboy" were the beginning of this trend.   

 

 

 

Edited November 5, 2023 by Kalo

[TalismanRing]

On 11/4/2023 at 4:16 AM, Jake Gittes said:

 

It is the story of someone who's pretty unambiguously suggested to be a repressed gay man, which drives his behavior throughout. 

 

Also present in Melville's novella Billy Budd.

 

Herman Melville who was in love with the older Nathaniel Hawthorne

[Kalo]

Just now, TalismanRing said:

 

Also present in Melville's novella Billy Budd.

 

Herman Melville who was in love with the older Nathaniel Hawthorne

 

I figured that was the case. but aside from the ending scene, I just didn't really feel it conveyed that very well. that might have something to do with the minimalistic style of the film I suppose though.

[Kalo]

#55 A Single Man (2009) Directed By Tom Ford (USA)

173 Points | 4 Lists 

"A few times in my life I've had moments of absolute clarity, when for a few brief seconds the silence drowns out the noise and I can feel rather than think, and things seem so sharp. And the world seems so fresh as though it had all just come into existence. I can never make these moments last. I cling to them, but like everything, they fade. I have lived my life on these moments. They pull me back to the present, and I realize that everything is exactly the way it was meant to be."

 

Top 10 placements: 1

 

 

About the film:

A Single Man is a 2009 American period romantic drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, the film stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of George Falconer, a depressed gay British university professor living in Southern California in 1962.

 

The film premiered on September 11, 2009, at the 66th Venice International Film Festival, and went on the film festival circuit. After it screened at the 34th Toronto International Film Festival, The Weinstein Company picked it up for distribution in the United States and Germany. An initial limited run in the United States commenced on December 11, 2009, to qualify it for the 82nd Academy Awards with a wider release in early 2010.

 

 

What I know About the film: 
A Single man was one of the first gay I've I had seen, it may not have had quite the same impact as "Brokeback" but it came close, it is a gorgeous film to watch and contains the most visually romantic and gorgeous scene I have ever seen of two men sharing a cigarette, which is kind of silly because cigarettes' are terrible for you, but damn do they make some good aesthetics for a film scene.  I've always found Collin Firth a little overrated when it comes to sex appeal, but he is quite sexy here as a closeted 1960s teacher, and of course brilliant another emotional drama for the ages. I love this movie, please do you yourself a favor and give it a watch. 

 

 

 

 

[Kalo]

#54 God's and Monsters (1998) Directed By Bill Condon (UK, USA)

174 Points | 3 Lists 

 

 

"He's never met a princess, only queens"

Top 3 placements: 1

 

 

About the film:

Gods and Monsters is a 1998 period drama film written and directed by Bill Condon, based on Christopher Bram's 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein. The film stars Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave, Lolita Davidovich, and David Dukes. Its plot is a partly fictionalized account of the last days of the life of film director James Whale (McKellen), known for directing Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935). A veteran of World War I, the aged Whale develops a complicated relationship with his gardener, Clayton Boone (Fraser), a fictitious character originally created by Bram for the source novel.

An international co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, Gods and Monsters is produced by Paul Colichman, Gregg Fienberg, and Mark R. Harris; Clive Barker served as executive producer. As well as featuring reconstructions of the production of the Bride of Frankenstein, the film's title is derived from a scene in Bride of Frankenstein, in which the character Dr. Pretorius toasts Dr. Frankenstein, "To a new world of gods and monsters!"

Gods and Monsters was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for McKellen and Best Supporting Actress for Redgrave, and won for Best Adapted Screenplay. Despite receiving positive reviews, the film was a box office failure. It was later adapted as a play of the same name which premiered in London at the Southwark Playhouse in February 2015.

 

 

What I know about the film:

I actually watched this movie before I watched either Frankenstein or Bride of Frankenstein which I kind of wish I had first because they are brilliant movies, crazy how after making such iconic pieces of art a man is shunned from society and his career is pretty over after being outed for being homosexual, but that was the 1930s for you I guess. and 40s 50s ect.. I don't know exactly how historically accurate this film was, but it's was incredibly engrossing and a fun watch none the less with very good acting from both Ian McKellen and Brenden Fraser. any fan of Frankenstein should watch it or heck anyone with any interest in queer history, or a young Brenden Fraser half naked.. (and not at all like The Whale)  and you definitely should watch both Frankenstein and Bride and of Frankenstein if you haven't those are like essential classics.

 

 

 

[Kalo]

#53 The Matrix (1999) Directed By Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski (USA)

 

175 Points | 2 Lists 

 

 

 This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.

Top 3 Placements: 1

Top 5 placements: 2

 

 

About the film:

The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis.[a] It is the first installment in the Matrix film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantoliano, and depicts a dystopian future in which humanity is unknowingly trapped inside the Matrix, a simulated reality that intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source.[7] When computer programmer Thomas Anderson, under the hacker alias "Neo", uncovers the truth, he joins a rebellion against the machines along with other people who have been freed from the Matrix.

 

 

What I know about the film: 

First off, I know I said I wasn't going to accept this film on the countdown, but after receiving the ballots, there ended up only being two films that made the top 100 and you couldn't 100 say were directly LGBT, and out of the top this one does have a tons of queer metaphors and trans allegory, which considering that both Wachowski siblings are both trans and have undergone transitioning is not really that surprising, so I just made two people very happy and perhaps a few very upset. but The Matrix is one of the best action and sci-fi films ever made it is on numerous best films of all time lists (ranks 16 on IMDB) and beat The Phantom Menace in 1999 for the best visuals Oscars  (although TPM probably had better visuals, just not as good of story).

 

 

I absolutely adore this film it is in my top 50 of favorite films of all time and there is a lot of allegory into about the world we live in, being queer ect. it is probably the most well known film in the entire countdown and I promise it is the last film on this countdown that's only LGBT content is brief, allegory or metaphor 

 

 

 

[Kalo]

#52 tick, tick... BOOM! (2021) Directed By Lin-Manuel Miranda (USA)

176 Points | 4 Lists 

 

 

"Lately, I've been hearing this sound. Everywhere I go, like a tick, tick, tick..."

Top 3 Placements: 1

 

About the film:

Tick, Tick... Boom! (also stylized as tick, tick... BOOM!) is a 2021 American biographical musical film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda in his feature directorial debut. Written by Steven Levenson, who also serves as an executive producer, it is based on the stage musical of the same name by Jonathan Larson, a semi-autobiographical story about Larson writing a musical to enter into the theater industry. The film stars Andrew Garfield as Larson, alongside Robin de Jesús, Alexandra Shipp, Joshua Henry, Judith Light, and Vanessa Hudgens.

 

 

Tick, Tick... Boom! had its world premiere at the AFI Fest on November 10, 2021, and began a limited theatrical release two days later, before streaming on Netflix on November 19. The film received acclaim for Garfield's performance, the editing, and Miranda's direction. It was named one of the best films of 2021 by the American Film Institute, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy at the 79th Golden Globe Awards, and Best Picture at the 27th Critics' Choice Awards. For his performance, Garfield earned numerous awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

 

 

What I know about this film:

Well I watched this film almost solely because it stared Andre Garfield, he is one of the most talented younger actors out there and one of my favorites, I had not even seen RENT, or any of Jonathan Larson's content before watching this, and I liked it so much I ended up watching rent.. this movie is better by long shot. Garfield is truly stunning in the lead role and boy can he sing. Robin de Jesus is also incredible though, the whole cast is great, and Lin-Manuel Miranda is of course great in his directorial film debut, but after seeing Hamilton I wasn't really surprised. 

 

Fun fact: Andrew Garfield sings a song titled 30/90 about turning 30 in 1990, I was born in 1990 and turned 30 in 2020. the year the film and that song was filmed. and the film was released in November 2021. the month I was born.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Kalo