"Brokeback Mountain" Out (sic!) on DVD April 4th!

Yep, that's what I ran into too, Wiz. Thanks for trying though!

I figured when they blocked the link that eventually it would not have any access. They are in business, after all. The publishers of the book (which I have if you want me to look anything up) doesn't want the online access. That is understandable. My interpretation of the story has changed with Ang Lee's film. I believe this is one case where the film is better than the story as far as impact.

Now we will have to wait to see if they can accomplish the same thing with "The Front Runner" and "The Dreyfus Affair."

WESTERN
1980-Present

Rank /Title /Studio/ Lifetime Gross/Theaters Opening/Theaters Date

1 Dances With Wolves Orion $184,208,848 1,636 $598,257 14 11/9/90
2 Maverick WB $101,631,272 2,537 $17,248,545 2,537 5/20/94
3 Unforgiven WB $101,157,447 2,087 $15,018,007 2,071 8/7/92
4 Back to the Future Part III Uni. $87,727,583 2,070 $19,089,645 2,019 5/25/90
5 Brokeback Mountain Focus $82,856,991 2,089 $547,425 5 12/9/05
6 Open Range BV $58,331,254 2,268 $14,047,781 2,075 8/15/03
7 Shanghai Noon BV $56,937,502 2,751 $15,607,034 2,711 5/26/00
8 Tombstone BV $56,505,065 1,955 $6,454,752 1,504 12/24/93
9 Young Guns Fox $45,661,556 1,416 $7,011,393 1,387 8/12/88
10 Young Guns II Fox $44,143,410 1,770 $8,017,438 1,770 8/3/90
11 Pale Rider WB $41,410,568 1,710 $9,119,111 1,710 6/28/85
12 Silverado Col. $32,192,570 1,190 $3,522,897 1,168 7/12/85
13 The Missing SonR $27,011,180 2,756 $10,833,633 2,756 11/26/03
14 Wyatt Earp WB $25,052,000 1,859 $7,543,504 1,859 6/24/94
15 Quigley Down Under MGM $21,413,105 1,094 $3,853,149 996 10/19/90
16 The Quick and the Dead Sony $18,636,537 2,158 $6,515,861 2,158 2/10/95
17 Geronimo: An American Legend Col. $18,635,620 1,636 $4,018,452 1,605 12/10/93
18 Posse Gram. $18,289,763 949 $5,311,902 949 5/14/93
19 The Long Riders UA $15,795,189 - $2,351,112 759 5/16/80
20 Bad Girls Fox $15,240,435 2,012 $5,012,200 2,008 4/22/94

GAY / LESBIAN
1980-Present
Movies that primarily deal with homosexual themes or where the main characters are gay.

Rank/Title/Studio/Lifetime Gross/Theaters Opening/Theaters Date

1 The Birdcage MGM $124,060,553 2,285 $18,275,828 1,950 3/8/96
2 Interview with the Vampire WB $105,264,608 2,604 $36,389,705 2,604 11/11/94
3 Brokeback Mountain Focus $82,856,991 2,089 $547,425 5 12/9/05
4 The Talented Mr. Ripley Par. $81,298,265 2,369 $12,738,237 2,307 12/25/99
5 Philadelphia TriS $77,446,440 1,604 $143,433 4 12/24/93
6 In & Out Par. $63,856,929 2,452 $15,019,821 1,992 9/19/97
7 The Crying Game Mira. $62,548,947 1,097 $101,107 6 11/27/92
8 The Hours Par. $41,675,994 1,010 $338,622 11 12/27/02
9 To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar Uni. $36,474,193 1,489 $9,019,180 1,294 9/8/95
10 Monster NM $34,469,210 1,093 $86,831 4 12/24/03
11 Alexander WB $34,297,191 2,445 $13,687,087 2,445 11/24/04
12 The Object of My Affection Fox $29,187,243 1,990 $9,725,855 1,890 4/17/98
13 Rent SonR $29,077,547 2,437 $10,016,021 2,433 11/23/05
14 Capote SPC $28,337,516 1,239 $324,857 12 9/30/05
15 Victor/Victoria MGM $28,215,453 615 $139,634 3 3/19/82
16 Frida Mira. $25,885,000 794 $205,996 5 10/25/02
17 Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil WB $25,105,255 1,312 $5,233,658 824 11/21/97
18 La Cage aux Folles MGM $20,424,259 - $18,709 5 3/30/79
19 Cruising MGM $19,784,223 - n/a - 2/15/80
20 Far From Heaven Focus $15,901,849 291 $211,279 6 11/8/02


Never sure how "Interview With a Vampire" should be included there -- it has vague homoerotic overtones between Brad Pitt's character and Tom Cruise's but really should not be on this list.

Ah, serendipity!

This evening, I was watching "From Here to Eternity" on TCM, one of Hollywood's greatest films, IMO.

In that movie, Montgomery Clift (who was said to be gay in real life) is a soldier. He meets a woman (Donna Reed) who works in a dance hall that is frequented by soldiers.

The woman's name is Laureen, which I found rather curious, since Laureen is not a common name. She tells Clift that Laureen is not her real name.................................., but a name that was given to her by the owner of the place. Her real name is Alma!

"From Here to Eternity," yet another tragic love story. "Anna Karenina," "Red Shoes," and we could go on and on about tragic love stories. This is a tradition in literature and movies, and belies that fact that this is not the just that it is a gay love story but naturally follows in that tradition. Some would want the "happily ever after" ending but what does that accomplish? It believe it is a film that will make anybody of any sexual persuasion perhaps work a little harder at their relationship. It isn't going to "turn people gay" as I just read on another forum by some escapee from a trailer court.

LW- Didn't you catch the coincidence in the names? I was totally floored!

I agree that Brokeback is a magnificent reworking of many love stories, which differs only in the particulars.

There is a sensitivity in the original story and on the screen which is remarkable and somehow the ending brought back that image of the ballerina throwing herself into the uncoming train in "Red Shoes." Not that Ennis or Jack could ever do a convincing ballet.

LW- I very rarely get so involved in a movie that I feel compelled to write and talk about it. Brokeback was that wonderful exception. Somehow, it touched a primal, universal chord in me.

I think that one needs to expect some negative feedback from a film on the artistic level of Brokeback, especially from people who are threatened by their own sexuality. People who are secure in whom they are, would never make a stupid remark like fearing that the movie would "turn people gay". I would suggest that the person who wrote that was him/herself affected by the movie, and it scared the hell out of him/her.

You got that right! The film has scared the pants of those people and they ain't even in a tent. However, they still feel screwed. Sorry, momentary lapse of dark humor.

LW- I think that I am going to modify my remarks. I don't think that Brokeback would TURN a person gay. What it might do, is to open an entire new avenue of thought for those who might very well have a core gay sexuality, that might have been repressed by societal norms.

I think that in some cases, there are people who are constitutionally gay, but because of their upbringing, may not have even considered, or even been able to conceive of the concept, that they might be sexually attracted to a person of the same sex. To those individuals, Brokeback might prove to be an "aha" moment, and quite frightening.

Do you remember a scene in "Night of the Iguana", where Richard Burton was discussing Grayson Hall, who was chaperoning a teenage Sue Lyons? Appparently Grayson was doing her damndest to make sure that Sue did not get herself into trouble with the boys.

A remark was made about the intensity of the older woman's protectiveness. Another remark was made that indicated that Burton believed her to be a lesbian, with an emotional attachment to Lyons. Then Burton remarks,

"Miss Fellowes is a highly moral person. If she ever recognized the truth about herself it would destroy her."

You're hitting the nail on the head. Actually, the way the troll poster put it was that for the gays not to expect the film to turn people gay. He may or may not be the classic closeted gay where this film especially becomes threatening.

Of course, Tennesee Wiliams being gay himself inserted such references into nearly all his plays, the most famous being "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" even though that film was self-consciously skirting around the issue. Paul Newman owned the screen rights to "The Front Runner," incidentally, and was never able to get it produced. The most well known closeting of a gay theme is in "King's Row," where Ronald Reagan saw to it that his character's gayness was supplanted. He was a notorious homophobe in his Screen Actor's Guild days, even instigating an internal witch hunt for gays in the organization.

I also appreciated the artistic merit of "Brokeback" on DVD of the cinematograph and the soundtrack. Whether depicting that the two were really falling in love in paradise or the ending scenes in Jack's parental home. Those had the look of Andrew Wyeth paintings.

The most amazing thing about the movie is really the chemistry Jake and Heath generate. That alone should have relinquished more than a British Oscar for Jake.

I remember first seeing "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" when it first came out. I think that I (and my friends) understood the implications, but only in an oblique fashion. For Pete's sake, that was 1958!



Damn, you are right. I think that I am going to have to buy the flick. There are just so many layers to it. The last time that I got so involved in a film was "2001, A Space Odyssey", and that was some time ago!

I've stated this before but the two shirts at the end of the film is as iconic as the Star Child in "2001."

(Aw, crap -- I had almost had a Freudian slip and wrote "two skirts.")

That scene at the end with the shirts was so touching. The way that he caressed them, held them and smelled the fragrance of his friend was a very powerful image.

You really had the sense that Ennis (first time that I heard that name, it sounded like "innocence" to me) had begun to come to grips with how strongly he really felt about Jack.

In the book, Jack's scent had dissapeared even while Ennis searched for any faint trace of it. I think this is a film where one can read the story and have an equal appreciation of both because of the way they are presented. The short story really untangles the gay bashing scene -- it's a vision in Ennis' head which I interpret as a rationalization on his part.

Here's an enthralling forum discussion at Ultimate Brokeback about whether Jack and Ennis were both gay or not.

http://davecullen.com/forum/index.php?topic=19.0

LW- Have you seen this?

http://web.mac.com/sic3/bbm/f/galeria.htm

The Brokeback discussion site is very scary. Not because of the material, but because they let you know how much time that you have been on their site. It is one thing to know that I am can become a bit compulsive, it is quite another to see it in writing!

I am glad that they don't have that feature on A2K!

I started to read the thread that you mentioned, and there are some wonderful insights. I have already ordered the story to screenplay book from my library. Do you want to make a bet that I will buy it before the library gets in in? ((The books are on order)

Don't forget that for a limited time Target has the film with the audo CD of the story read by Campbell Scott. $16.99 when I was in the store on Tuesday but that price won't last much longer.