Although media experts are telling us that DVDs and Blu-rays are soon to go the way of other home-viewing dinosaurs like Beta and VHS, I'm not convinced. Neither, I'm guessing, are a lot of holiday shoppers ( or retailers, for that matter ) looking for the perfect gift for their favorite cinemaphiles.
After all, there's nothing like a multi-disc boxed set, complete with a batch of bonus features, reproductions of lobby cards, scripts, etc. to whet the appetite of movie fans, right? You can't exactly wrap a movie via Video on Demand and stick it under the tree ( although a gift card for just this service is probably a reality ) . So, in the meantime, here are a few suggestions for your shopping list. ( These titles are already in stores or will arrive and/or ship in time for Christmas. )
Tis the season
Make the Yuletide Gay, though a tad on the thin side, is one of the few queer-themed holiday movies that hasn't made me want to toss my eggnog. It's being released on Blu-ray and reportedly a sequel is in the works.
Classics
Bisexual director Vincente Minnelli's 1944 film Meet Me In St. Louis, a masterpiece of nostalgia and artifice, showcases the height of the Dream Factory's superlative abilities and is also one of legendary entertainer Judy Garland's acknowledged classics. Minnelli's film, a Technicolor triumph from beginning to end, has been released in an eye-popping Blu-ray edition that includes all the bonuses from the previous DVD version ( including Fricke's cogent commentary ) and features the holiday standard "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
The amount of queer talent involved in creating the original musical and the 1961 movie version of West Side Story is rather stunning on reflection and for the rabid show tune queen on your list the gift of the four-disc, 50th-anniversary edition on Blu-ray ( which includes a DVD copy ) is a no-brainer. The lavishly packaged set includes a keepsake booklet, reproductions of international film posters and two bonus discs of extra content.
Malice in Wonderland, a 1985 TV movie, is far from a classic but it focuses on two of Hollywood's most memorable characters from its Golden Agegossip girls Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper. Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Alexander have a rip-roaring good time playing the duo in this dishy biopic that details the decades-long feud between the two old biddies and their rise to power.
Recently in theaters
The Help, one of summer's biggest hits, based on the best selling female centric novel starring Viola Davis, Emma Stone, out comedic actor Leslie Jordan, and helmed by out director Tate Taylor, arrives in time to make a lot of chick flick fans happy for the holidays.
Queer audience fave James Franco stars in one of the summer's biggest box office and critical hits, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and ( for once ) the use of stop-motion animation is expertly utilized in creating the character of the talking monkey that grows up to lead a revolution. Parts of the film are surprisingly moving and, of course, it's also filled with dazzling action sequences.
Cowboys & Aliens, the odd hybrid of the western and sci-fi genres that didn't bowl over audiences or critics, is still worth checking out ( I liked it a lot more than my fellow critics ) and it's got hunky Daniel Craig. Ditto Fright Night, which removes a lot of the queer subtext from the 1985 cult fave but is nevertheless a nice reimagining of the original and features another hunk, Colin Farrell, as the nasty vampire/lothario at its center.
Documentary
One of the most fascinating documentaries this year had to be Crayton Robie's Making the Boys, in which the young queer filmmaker detailed the creation of both Mart Crowley's groundbreaking play The Boys in the Band and the subsequent 1970 film version. Both were the first mainstream endeavors to attempt to present the "homosexual lifestyle" to mass audiences as something more than a stereotypical freak show. Robie's entertaining documentary doesn't skimp on character and situational problems within Crowley's work while lauding both events as the queer cultural landmarks they were. Also, the movie is a tribute to the brave actorsmany of whom later succumbed to AIDSwho dared risk career suicide by taking the parts.
Queer-themed
Here's yet another shout out for writer-director Mike Mills' autobiographical Beginners, the bittersweet dramedy about a father's coming out at 75 after becoming a widow and its impact on his relationship phobic heterosexual son. Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor shine in this deeply tender film.
Circumstance, one of the year's most compelling lesbian romances, focuses on two teenage girls in conservative Iran. It's a rewarding drama that exposes a lot of the female/queer prejudices inherent in Iranian culture and also spotlights the country's thriving underground.
Mangus!a comedic parody with lots of white-trash characters and situations produced and costarring out actor Heather Matarazzo ( yet another recent film shown at Reeling ) is also out on DVD in time for the holidays.
Velvet Goldmine, queer writer-director Todd Haynes' under appreciated 1998 homage to the bisexual glitter rock craze starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ewan McGregor, Christian Bale, and Toni Collette comes to Blu-ray.
Wolfe Video is helping you get into the gift-giving spirit with two separate queer romance collections from its extensive LGBT film library. The Big Gay Love Collector Set includes East Side Story, the charming and sexy Hollywood je t'aime, Mr. Right and Chicago's own enchanting musical, Were the World Mine. For the ladies, there's The Big Lesbian Love Collector Set, which includes The Four-Faced Liar, My Normal, And Then Came Lola and the hilarious Itty Bitty Titty Committee.
TV time
There's The L Word: The Complete Seriesa whopping 25-disc set that delivers the entire lesbian-themed cable series, along with a batch of special features delivered in fetching coffee table book-type packaging. Ladies, you may start your engines.
Happy holiday shopping to one and all.