As summer officially winds down, Hollywood is dumping a number of its less-than-sure-fire projects ( Piranha 3D, Flipped, Nanny McPhee Returns ) into theatres—all the better to compete with the stuff that's still hanging on ( Eat Pray Love, The Expendables, Inception ) . There are reasons to see each of these but, for LGBT film audiences, two new DVD releases easily trump interest in what the Cineplex is offering.
Orlando, the re-release of Sally Potter 1992's art-house indie and 2009's Dorian Gray, offbeat English historical costume dramas both, have much to offer queer audiences. First, of course, each film is based on a classic novel by a queer writer—Virginia Woolf and Oscar Wilde, respectively. Second, both feature central characters that blur traditional sexual boundary lines—something emphasized in each movie ( spectacularly so in Orlando ) . Finally, both feature queer-friendly casts and plenty of male and female eye candy.
Tilda Swinton, who is having a spectacular year thanks to the superlative I Am Love ( out on DVD this October ) , stars as Orlando, the English nobleman who is commanded by his queen ( portrayed by gay icon Quentin Crisp ) in 1600 to "never grow old" and, for 400 years, Orlando obeys. Potter gives us an overview of English history through Orlando's eyes and at times Swinton's blank faced lad who becomes a lassie directly addresses the camera. But though Swinton delivers her typical ice-princess performance, this artsy movie isn't about acting or historical drama.
Instead, we focus on Potter's fabulous film aesthetics—the sumptuous costumes and set pieces. ( The opening section set on the frozen Thames with everyone and everything on skates is particularly stunning, ) Also, there's the gorgeous music ( with gay singer Jimmy Sommerville trilling an aria at the opening and closing of the film ) , and the hunky Billy Zane as Orlando's lover once Swinton morphs from male to female ( a feat accomplished without need for explanation ) . As the centuries pass, Potter's color scheme changes—something that's immediately apparent in this new print. Unavailable for over 10 years on DVD, this new edition has lots of new and old background featurette material to offer.
I'd hoped that this new edition of Dorian Gray, with a raft of English actors—Ben Barnes ( of Easy Virtue ) in the title role, A Single Man's Colin Firth as Dorian's morally decayed benefactor, Ben Chaplin as the painter who captures Dorian's beauty and unwittingly sets the curse in motion, et al—would get a stateside release, but such was not the case. After viewing the film, helmed by Oliver Parker ( who also made the little seen but winning Britcom St. Trinian's with Rupert Everett in drag as the head mistress of a female Animal House ) in this DVD version, I'm even more disappointed as the movie's visually gorgeous with a Tim Burton-esque inky black Victorian England color palette.
The all-too-familiar story of Dorian, a young innocent morally corrupted by Henry—his acidic benefactor who urges him to indulge his increasingly sadistic pleasures leaving nary a mark on his pristine outer beauty while his portrait shows the inner, monstrous decay—is given much more visual bite than the classic 1945 MGM version. Though Parker makes sure Dorian's sexual indulgences are made explicit ( there is no doubt that this Dorian likes men, rough trade and has a taste for S&M ) , the movie never quite catches fire.
That has more to do with the okay but not great performances rather than the lavishly dressed and costumed film. The perfectly capable Barnes is pretty to behold but he doesn't have the glint eyed, vacant stare of the somnambulistic Hurd Hatfield and Firth's Henry is arch but never decadent and in a comparison with the especially sardonic George Sanders of the MGM version, Sanders easily takes the prize as does Angela Lansbury portraying the luckless innocent Sybil Vane. Nevertheless, modern audiences may find more to love in this new Dorian Gray ( though thankfully, the gore is kept to a minimum ) than the classic version ( I, of course, recommend a double feature screening with both editions ) . Entertaining and visually arresting, Dorian Gray is a welcome addition to the queer movie canon along with Orlando, which is sure to find fresh fans thanks to this new DVD edition.
Film notes:
—You heard it here first: Camp Midnight, the group dedicated to presenting "the best of the worst in cinematic trash," returns to the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport, on Friday, Sept. 24, with a special prime-time screening of 1967's Valley of the Dolls. This movie is based on a best-seller story of three girlfriends who claw their way to the top of the show biz heap amidst booze, dope ( aka "dolls" ) and plenty of boy toys; it is widely considered the Mt. Everest of camp movies. The film stars Oscar winner Patty Duke, Barbara Parkins, Sharon Tate and Susan Hayward as Helen Lawson, the tough as nails Broadway star. Like all Camp Midnight presentations, the audience interactive screening will include a festive pre-show hosted by my alter ego Dick O'Day and feature Hand Bag Productions artistic director David Cerda and other Hand Bag players. Best of all, the original Neely O'Hara herself aka Patty Duke will appear in person for a post-screening Q&A with the audience hosted by yours truly. Advance tickets $14, $17 at the door if available. www.musicboxtheatre.com
—On Saturday, Aug. 28, Knowledge Wisdom Productions will present an event titled "HIV: Myth, Hoax or Reality?" The event takes place in the Wishnick Hall Auditorium at the Illinois Institute of Technology, 3255 S. Dearborn, and begins at 4:30 p.m. with a DVD screening of the documentary Deconstructing the Myth of AIDS followed by a 6 p.m. panel discussion led by a consortium of female researchers and authors headed by Keidi Obi Awadu. The panel will tackle a range of questions under the topic heading "Rethinking HVI." "Who is killing black women?" is the provocative, overriding question the event will purport to answer. The fee is $5 for the screening only, $15 for panel discussion. Phone Azziza Jafari at 630-929-7288 for further information.
Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter Web site.
