“Brokeback Mountain” is being touted as one of the first mainstream movies centered on a gay love story, but it’s not the first with gay characters. From the victim to the killer to the “sissy” sidekick, gay and lesbian characters have long been featured on the silver screen. Notice how the roles have changed over the years.
[ REDEYE, CONTRA COSTA TIMES ]The victims
“Suddenly, Last Summer” (1959): A demonized gay man is killed by a group of boys in front of a screaming Elizabeth Taylor.
“The Children’s Hour” (1961): Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn play two teachers accused of being lesbian lovers.
“The Boys in the Band” (1970): The sense of camaraderie among the gay characters hadn’t been shown before, but it also showed them as bitchy, vindictive, self-loathing queens.
“Philadelphia” (1993): Tom Hanks (right) won an Oscar playing an AIDS victim. Gay audiences were angered that Hanks and onscreen love Antonio Banderas were never shown kissing.
“Boys Don’t Cry” (1999): Hilary Swank won her first Oscar for playing the real-life Brandon Teena, a cross-dressing teen who was raped and murdered.
THE PSYCHOS
“The Detective” (1968): Frank Sinatra’s detective had to slog through seedy bars and cruising spots filled with gays who were desperate, unhappy and murderers.
“Cruising” (1980): The gay community protested this violent thriller that put Al Pacino in a leather jacket and tight jeans to hunt a gay killer in New York’s gay bars.
“The Fan” (1981) and “Windows” (1980): Two more films that showed gay characters who were no longer victims, but victimizers–psychopaths who murder the objects of their affections.
“Basic Instinct” (1991): The slick thriller starring Sharon Stone (right) was knocked for portraying bisexuals and lesbians as nut jobs or homicidal maniacs.
“Monster” (2003): Charlize Theron won an Oscar for playing a lesbian … who kills.
“SISSIES” OR DRAG QUEENS
“Kiss of the Spider Woman” (1985): William Hurt’s fey, transgendered prisoner who pined for his cellmate earned the actor an Oscar.
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“Torch Song Trilogy” (1988): Harvey Fierstein plays witty gay man Arnold Beckoff who’s searching for love and respect in a world not exactly accepting of him.
“The Birdcage” (1996): (above) Robin Williams and Nathan Lane (doing drag) are gay dads about to meet the in-laws.
“Flawless” (1999): Phillip Seymour Hoffman played FAB-ulous as a drag performer.