The Celluloid Closet

The Celluloid Closet is a documentary about how gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have been portrayed in cinema, mainly in Hollywood. Drawing on a wide range of film clips, it traces a history that runs from early silent pictures through the restrictive years of the Production Code, when same-sex desire could only be suggested indirectly, and on to the more open and politically engaged filmmaking that emerged from the 1970s onward. The film also considers how secrecy shaped early depictions, how the AIDS crisis affected the image of gay communities on screen, and how attitudes gradually moved toward acceptance. Lily Tomlin narrates, and figures including Tony Curtis, Susan Sarandon, Gore Vidal, Whoopi Goldberg and Antonio Fargas appear as themselves.

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman directed, with a screenplay by Armistead Maupin; Epstein, Friedman and Caroline Spry produced. For Epstein it followed The Times of Harvey Milk, and it was the first of three features he and Friedman made together, ahead of Howl and Lovelace. The production involved companies in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, and it took about one million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.8 from around 8,000 votes, while on TMDB it has 7.3 from 122 votes. A critics' rating of 7.9 from 92 reviews places it slightly above both audience scores.