The 100 Greatest Gay Movies Of All Time
Every few years we asks readers to name their favorite gay films, and sort through the tens of thousands of submissions to compile a list of the Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies.
The goals are to see:
1) Which films have burnished their status as great gay films
2) Which titles have begun to lose their appeal to modern audiences
3) Which new gay films have broken through and are likely to endure—like The Normal Heart (2014), Philomena (2014), Kill Your Darlings (2013) and Pride (2014).
Below, we've noted how each film was ranked (if at all) in our last Greatest Gay Movies feature. Surprisingly, more than a quarter are making their first appearance on this list. In most cases, the new entries were released in the last three years, but in a few instances they represent older classics that have risen in your estimation.
There are some surprising inclusions and omissions, of course, so feel free to rail in the comments section. Without further ado, your Top 100 Greatest Gay Movies!
100. To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 26
Starring: Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo, Wesley Snipes, Stockard Channing
Summary: Three drag queens travel cross-country on their way to a pageant competition, but their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town.
99. Behind the Candelabra (2013)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Scott Bakula, Rob Lowe, Cheyenne Jackson
Summary: The story of flamboyant performer Liberace and his young lover, Scott Thorson.
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98. Bear City (2010)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 78
Starring: Stephen Guarino, Briane Keane, Gerald McCullouch, Kevin E. Smith
Summary: A funny, sweet story about several men who belong to the New York "bear" scene as they prepare for a huge party.
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97. I Love You Phillip Morris (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 34
Starring: Jim Carrey, Ewan McGregor, Oliver Martinez, Leslie Mann
Summary: A middle aged married man comes out of the closet and then resorts to various cons in order to finance his lavish new gay lifestyle. After being sent to prison, he falls madly in love with his cellmate "Phillip Morris" and goes to great lengths in order to be with him.
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96. Boys (Jongens) (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Gijs Blom, Ko Zandervliet, Jonas Smulders
Summary: Sieger is a quiet, athletic fifteen year old grappling with his feelings for his good friend Marc.
95. Death in Venice (1971)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Dirk Bogarde, Bjorn Andresen, Silvana Mangano
Summary: Composer Gustav von Aschenbach arrives in Venice and falls for an adolescent boy named Tadzio. Based on a Thomas Mann novella.
94. Six Dances in Six Weeks (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Cheyenne Jackson & Gena Rowlands
Summary: Elderly woman hires a gay dance instructor to give her private dance lessons -- one per week for six weeks. What begins as an antagonistic relationship turns into a close friendship as they dance together.
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93. Ciao (2008)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Chuck Blaum, Adam Neil Smith, Ethel Lung
Summary: Jeff and Andrea share memories of the deceased Mark.
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92. Beginners (2010)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 45
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Christopher Plummer
Summary: A man is stunned by two announcements from his elderly father: that he has terminal cancer, and that he has a young male lover.
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91. Philomena (2013
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Judi Dench, Steve Coogan
Summary: A journalist accompanies a woman on her search for her son, a child she was forced to give up when she became pregnant as an unwed teenager.
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90. Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom (2008)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 99
Starring: Daryl Stephens, Jensen Atwood, Rodney Chester, Christian Vincent, Doug Spearman
Summary: A movie sequel to the Logo series. After various complications, lead character Noah ties the knot with longtime boyfriend Wade.
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89. Transamerica (2005)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 53
Starring: Felicity Huffman, Kevin Zegers, Fionnula Flanagan
Summary: Bree is transitioning to female. She discovers that she sired a son who is now hustling in New York and she goes to try and help him.
88. The Sum of Us (1994)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 52
Starring: Jack Thompson, Russell Crowe, John Polson
Summary: The story of a father and son in Australia. The son, Jeff, works to balance loyalty to family with the search for love while his accepting father interferes in the most supportive way possible.
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87. A Home at the End of the World (2004)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 80
Starring: Colin Farrell, Dallas Roberts, Robin Wright
Summary: This movie chronicles the lives of two best friends from the 60's through the 80's and the challenges they face.
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86. Priest (1994)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 47
Starring: Linus Roache, Robert Carlyle
Summary: Father Greg Pilkington struggles with his calling as conservative Catholic priest and his own sexual orientation.
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85. The History Boys (2006)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Samuel Anderson, Richard Griffiths, Stephen Campbell Moore, Francis de la Tour, Russell Tovey
Summary: A group of brilliant yet undisciplined British school boys get a new teacher whose job it is to make them ready for Oxford and Cambridge.
84. Far From Heaven (2002)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 68
Starring: Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert
Summary: 1950's housewife Cathy Whitaker is unprepared for discovering her husband kissing another man. She turns to the African-American gardener, Raymond, in an affair that violates all of societies rules.
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83. I Killed My Mother (J'ai Tu Ma Mere) (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 66
Starring: Anne Dorval, Xavier Dolan, François Arnaud
Summary: A young man named Hubert struggles to cope with the contentious relationship he has with his mother.
82. Burnt Money (Plata Quemada) (2000)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 74
Starring: Eduardo Noriega, Leonardo Sparaglia, Pablo Echarri
Summary: Nene, Angel and Cuervo are three bank robbers who flee Argentina to Uruguay after a robbery goes bad. There they must lay low until Angel recovers from his injuries.
81. The Boys in the Band (1970)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 40
Starring: Kenneth Nelson, Laurence Luckinbill, Leonard Frey
Summary: A group of gay New Yorkers gather together for a birthday party. Alcohol and recriminations flow. Based on the off-Broadway play by Mart Crowley and directed by William Friedkin (who also directed Cruising), this is one of the first films ever to revolve around gay characters.
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80. Bent (1997)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 63
Starring: Lothaire Bluteau, Clive Owen, Mick Jagger
Summary: Max and Horst are gay victims of the Nazi Regime sent to the Dachau concentration camp. Max denies he is gay and manages to get a yellow label that designates him as Jewish instead. Horst, in contrast, wears his pink triangle with pride.
79. Yossi and Jagger (2002)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 41
Starring: Ohad Knoller, Yehuda Levi
Summary: Two Israeli soldiers in a secret gay romance find comfort and respite from the conflict around them.
78. Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 38
Starring: Ewan McGregor, Jonathan Rhys Meyers
Summary: Co-written and directed by Todd Haynes, the film chronicles the story of a 1970's British glam rock star loosely based on David Bowie's 'Ziggy Stardust' persona.
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77. The Imitation Game (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightly
Summary: Word War II drama loosely depicting the life of brilliant mathematician Alan Turing.
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76. Lilting (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Ben Whishaw, Pei-pei Cheng
Summary: A Cambodian mother and a young British man must cross the barriers of language and culture to share memories of a dead loved one.
75. The Opposite of Sex (1998)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 87
Starring: Christina Ricci, Martin Donovan, Ivan Sergei, Lisa Kudrow
Summary: When 16 year-old Dede comes to visit her gay half-brother, chaos comes with her.
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74. Making Love (1982)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 48
Starring: Harry Hamlin, Michael Ontkean, Kate Jackson
Summary: A doctor falls in love with a gay man and agonizes over the breakup of his marriage.
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73. Gods and Monsters (1998)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 60
Starring: Ian McKellen, Brendan Fraser, Lynn Redgrave
Summary: A film about the last days of Frankenstein director James Whale. He reflects on his successes and failures and the difficulty of being gay in early Hollywood.
72. The Broken Hearts Club (2000)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 23
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Dean Cain, Zach Braff
Summary: A group of gay men, all members of a West Hollywood softball team, rely on each other for friendship and support as they search for love and deal with loss. Written and directed by Greg Berlanti.
71. North Sea Texas (Noordzee, Texas) (2011)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 65
Starring: Ben Van den Heuvel, Eva van der Gucht, Thomas Coumans
Summary: Teenage romance about self-discovery, growing up and falling for the boy next door.
70. Just a Question of Love (2000)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 27
Starring: Cyrille Thouvenin, Stéphan Guérin-Tillié
Summary: Two gay men's conflict over whether the younger man should come out to his parents. Originally a French TV movie.
69. Hedwig & The Angry Inch (2001)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 21
Starring: John Cameron Mitchell, Miriam Shor, Stephen Trask, Michael Pitt
Summary: An East German transgender rock musician chases after an ex-lover who plagiarized her songs.
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68. Harvest (Stadt Land Fluss) (2011)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Lukas Steltner, Kai Michael Müller
Summary: German film about two agricultural apprentices working together south of Berlin.
67. Gayby (2012)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Jenn Harris, Mathew Wilkas
Summary: A gay man and a straight woman, best friends since college, decide to have a baby together.
66. Edge of Seventeen (1998)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 42
Starring: Chris Stafford, Andersen Gabrych
Summary: A teenager copes with his sexuality in the last days of school in 1984.
65. Another Gay Movie (2006)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 57
Starring: Michael Carbonaro, Jonathan Chase, Mitch Morris and Jonah Blechman
Summary: A send-up not only of "American Pie" but of popular gay teen movies as well, this is the story of four gay friends graduating high school looking for what most high school boys look for--a chance to get laid.
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64. The Trip (2002)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 51
Starring: Larry Sullivan, Steve Braun
Summary:Chronicles the long and difficult relationship of Tommy and Alan through the 70's and into the 80's as they try to find common ground between their differing world views.
63. Out in the Dark (2012)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Nicholas Jacob, Michael Aloni
Summary: Love story between a Palestinian student and an Israeli lawyer.
62. Summer Storm (Summersturm) (2004)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 28
Starring: Robert Stadlober, Kostja Ullmann
Summary: A German coming of age film about two teenage boys - both members of a rowing club. Tobi is in love with Achim, but does Achim feel the same?
61. Stranger by the Lake (L'Inconnu du lac) (2013)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Pierre Deladonchamps, Christophe Paou
Summary: Erotic French romance about a man who falls for a murderer.
60.Shortbus (2006)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 22
Starring: Peter Stickles, Jay Brannan
Summary: A sexually graphic and largely improvised romp with an ensemble cast - all supposed frequenters of a fictional underground New York City sex salon.
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59. Hawaii (2013)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Manuel Vignau, Mateo Chiarino
Summary: When Martin comes to work for childhood friend Eugenio, feelings develop between them.
58. Eating Out (2004)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 56
Starring: Scott Lunsford, Ryan Carnes, Jim Verraros, Emily Brooke Hands
Summary: Caleb wants to date Gwen, but she only dates gay guys, so he has to pretend to be interested in Gwen's BFF Marc.
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57. C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 24
Starring: Michel Côté, Marc-André Grondin
Summary: A young gay man deals with homophobia and heterosexism while growing up with four brothers and a conservative father in 1960s and 1970s Quebec.
56. Keep the Lights On (2012)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Thure Lindhardt, Zachary Booth, Marilyn Neimark
Summary: New Yorkers Erik and Paul struggle to navigate their turbulent relationship.
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55. Rent (2005)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 46
Starring: Anthony Rapp, Adam Pascal, Rosario Dawson, Jesse L. Martin, Indina Menzel
Summary: The film version of the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning musical about Bohemians in the East Village of New York City.
54. In & Out (1997)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 84
Starring: Kevin Kline, Tom Selleck, Joan Cusack
Summary: High School English teacher Howard Brackett gets outed by a former student when the young man is accepting an Academy Award. Brackett now has to deal with being out in an American small town.
53. Guys and Balls (Männer Wie Wir) (2004)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Leon Breitenborn, Dietmar Bär
Summary: After being ousted by his team for being gay, Ecki forms an all-gay team to challenge his former teammates.
52. Lilies (Les Feluettes) (1996)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Marcel Sabourin, Aubert Pallascio, Matthew Ferguson, Jason Cadieux, Danny Gilmore
Summary: A movie about schoolboys in love and the tragedies that follow.
51. Christopher and His Kind (2011)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 96
Starring: Matt Smith, Imogen Poots, Lindsay Duncan, Tobey Jones
Summary: The story of author Christopher Isherwood (played by Doctor Who's Matt Smith) in 1930's Berlin and the friends and lovers that he encounters there.
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50. Geography Club (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Cameron Deane Stewart, Justin Deeley, Alex Newell, Andrew Caldwell
Summary: The film adaptation of Brent Hartinger's beloved Young Adult novel, Geography Club chronicles the life of Russel Middlebrook as he comes out and falls in love for the first time.
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49. Philadelphia (1993)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 31
Starring: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington
Summary: Tom Hanks won his first Oscar for his role in this film playing a gay lawyer with AIDS who takes his former law firm to court for firing him.
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48. The Skeleton Twins (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Bill Hader, Kristin Wiig, Luke Wilson
Summary: Estranged twins reunite after cheating death and work to fix their lives.
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47. Parting Glances (1986)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 35
Starring: Richard Ganoung, Steve Buscemi, John Bolger
Summary: A gay couple in New York prepare for a two-year separation because of work while dealing with their circle of eccentric friends - one of whom is living with AIDS.
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46. Mambo Italiano (2003)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 50
Starring: Luke Kirby, Peter Miller, Ginette Reno, Paul Sorvino
Summary: The son of Italian immigrants struggles to find the best way to come out to his family while trying to hold onto his closeted boyfriend.
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45. Make the Yuletide Gay (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 75
Starring: Keith Jordan, Adam Ruggiero, Hallee Hirsh
Summary: Gunn is out and proud at college, but back home he is in the closet. The barriers between his college life and his home life crumble, however, when his boyfriend Nathan shows up unexpectedly to share the holiday with him.
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44. Jeffrey (1995)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 30
Starring: Steven Weber, Patrick Stewart, Sigourney Weaver
Summary: Based on Paul Rudnick's play, a young gay New Yorker decides that sex is too dangerous and tries celibacy. Then he meets the man of his dreams - who happens to be HIV positive.
43. Love is Strange (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: John Lithgow, Alfred Molina
Summary: After four decades together, Ben and George get married. Directly afterwards George loses his job and the pair must struggle to find housing.
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42. All Over the Guy (2001)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 49
Starring: Dan Bucatinsky, Richard Ruccolo
Summary: 20-somethings thrown together by their respective best friends try to sort out their dysfunctional backgrounds in order to have a meaningful relationship
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41. La Cage Aux Folles (1978)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 73
Starring: Ugo Tognazzi, Michael Serrault, Claire Maurier
Summary: A gay couple running a drag cabaret are met by the return of their grown son. He is now engaged and wants to introduce his fiancée and her very conservative parents to his family, but wants to bring back his estranged mother and pretend he has straight parents while hiding his drag star "step-mother" completely.
40. Kill Your Darlings (2013)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Dane Dehaan, Michael C. Hall
Summary: The story of Alan Ginsburg and some of the founding member of the Beat Generation.
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39. Undertow (Contracorriente) (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 33
Starring: Manolo Cardona, Cristian Mercado
Summary: A deeply romantic tale of a married fisherman and his male lover.
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38. The War Boys (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 83
Starring: Victor Rasuk, Brian J. Smith, Benjamin Walker
Summary: Three friends, David, George and Greg, steal a tractor owned by David's father. What they find inside are not the televisions they expected.
37. Private Romeo (2011)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 71
Starring: Seth Numrich, Matt Doyle, Hale Appleman
Summary: The film is set at an all-male military academy and a group of cadets are reading
"Romeo and Juliet" in class. Outside of the classroom, things tilt towards magical realism as they frequently live out scenes and dialog from the play.
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36. Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Mathew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, Jared Leto
Summary: Story of Ron Woodroof, homophobic drug-user who contracts HIV and sets out to get himself and other victims of the disease the medication they need to survive.
Related:
TheBacklot Interview: Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Garner, and Jared Leto Talk “Dallas Buyers Club”
35. Victor Victoria (1982)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 58
Starring: Julie Andrews, James Garner, Robert Preston
Summary: Set in 1934 Paris, when talented soprano Victoria can't get a job as a singer, she and her new friend Toddy come up with a scheme. She will pretend to be a man pretending to be a woman on stage.
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34. The Wedding Banquet (1993)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 37
Starring: Mitchell Lichtenstein, Winston Chao
Summary: Before Brokeback Mountain, Ang Lee directed this film about a gay Asian landlord who agrees to a marriage of convenience with a female tenant in order to satisfy his traditional parents.
33. The Bubble (2006)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 44
Starring: Ohad Knoller, Yousef 'Joe' Sweid
Summary: Director / Writer Eytan Fox's cinematic response to those who claim that Tel Aviv residents live in a "bubble": isolated from the violence and turmoil in the rest of Israel. The movie follows a group of young people, gay, straight, Jewish and Arab.
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32. Patrick Age 1,5 (2008)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 32
Starring: Gustaf Skarsgård, Torkel Petersson
Summary: A gay couple uneasily settled in a suburban neighborhood anxiously await the arrival of their adopted baby. Complications ensue when the child they are sent is actually a troubled 15-year-old boy.
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31. G.B.F. (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Michael Willett, Paul Iacano, Megan Mullally
Summary: Teen high school comedy about a gay guy named Tanner who finds himself outed and then courted by the school's "Queen Bees" to be their Gay Best Friend.
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30. My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 39
Starring: River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves
Summary: Two hustlers embark on a journey of self discovery filled with random bouts of Shakespeare.
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29. Boy Culture (2006)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 36
Starring: Derek Magyar, George Jonson
Summary: An upscale gay hustler yearns for something more substantial in his love life.
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28. Plan B (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 54
Starring: Manuel Vignau, Lucas Ferraro, Mercedes Quinteros
Summary: Bruno gets dumped by his girlfriend Laura. He hatches a plan to get her back, which involves befriending her new beau. The plan jumps the tracks and suddenly he finds himself in bed with his ex's new boyfriend.
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27. Torch Song Trilogy (1988)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 25
Starring: Harvey Fierstein, Matthew Broderick, Ann Bancroft, Brian Kerwin
Summary: The life and loves of a Jewish drag queen (and singer of torch songs) in the late 1970s and 1980s. Starring Harvey Fierstein and based on his three act play of the same name.
26. The Way He Looks (Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho) (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Ghilherme Lobo, Fabio Audi, Tess Amorim
Summary: A blind boy finds friendship and more when Gabriel moves into town.
25. Mysterious Skin (2004)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 13
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brian Lackey
Summary: Two young boys who are sexually abused by their baseball coach meet again as emotionally scarred teenagers. From director Gregg Araki
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24. My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 14
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Saeed Jaffrey
Summary: A young Indian man in Margaret Thatcher's London takes over his uncle's laundrette business while conducting a secret romantic relationship with a white punk.
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23. Prayers For Bobby (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 16
Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Scott Bailey, Ryan Kelley
Summary: A Christian woman who refused to accept her son's sexual orientation must deal with the guilt she feels after he commits suicide. Based on a true story.
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22. Longtime Companion (1989)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 20
Starring: Dermot Mulroney, Bruce Davison
Summary: The film's title comes from the phrase The New York Times began using in the eighties to describe the surviving same-sex partner of someone who had died of AIDS. This was the first major film to deal with the subject of AIDS.
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21. Get Real (1998)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 12
Starring: Ben Silverstone, Brad Gorton
Summary: A gay teenager decides to come out to the world, much to the chagrin of his would-be boyfriend.
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20. Wild Reeds (Les Rouseaux Sauvages) (1994)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 69
Starring: Élodie Bouchez,, Gaël Morel, Stéphane Rideau
Summary: Set in 1962 southwestern France, this tells the story of Maite and Francois and Serge. Francois must navigate the difficult path of being gay and finding love at the age of 18.
19. The Birdcage (1996)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 18
Starring: Robin Williams, Nathan Lane
Summary: The U.S. remake of La Cage Aux Folles. A flamboyant gay couple go to comic lengths so as not to embarrass their son to his fiancee's staunchly conservative family.
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18. Bad Education (La Mala Educacion) (2004)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 43
Starring: Gael García Bernal, Fele Martínez
Summary: An examination on the effect of Christian schooling and sexual abuse on the lives of two longtime friends.
17. Angels in America (2003)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 15
Starring: Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Emma Thompson
Summary: A six-part miniseries from HBO adapted from Tony Kushner's two-play political epic about the AIDS crisis during the mid-1980s.
16. Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 7
Starring: Terrence Stamp, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce
Summary: Two drag queens and a transsexual take an eventful road trip, meeting up with homophobes, Aborigines and true love while grooving to a near limitless supply of ABBA tracks.
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15. Cabaret (1972)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 77
Starring: Liza Minnelli, Michael York
Summary: Based on Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories," this is set in 1930's Berlin as the Nazi regime is taking over. Sally Bowles falls in love with bisexual Brian Roberts. But they are both seduced by Maximillian von Heune and Sally winds up pregnant.
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14. Were the World Mine (2008)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 11
Starring: Tanner Cohen, Nathaniel David Becker
Summary: A gay high school musical fantasy inspired by A Midsummer Night's Dream
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13. Trick (1999)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 17
Starring: Christian Campbell, J.P. Pitoc, Tori Spelling
Summary: Two boys and a very long night in New York City.
How hard can it be to find a place to have sex? For hapless Gabriel and his gorgeous one-night stand Mark, it’s pretty hard. But this movie isn’t really about having sex; the real “trick” is to somehow find love.
There’s so much to praise about this movie, whether it’s Tori Spelling’s utterly fearless performance as a clueless, no-talent wannabe, Steve Hayes delightful turn as the wonderful and wise Perry, or Coco Peru’s delightfully surreal cameo in the men’s restroom. But ultimately, the night belongs to that freshest of all fresh faces, Christian Campbell as the aptly named Gabriel, and smoldering John Paul Pitoc as Mark. The evening may not end in sex, but when Gabriel emerges into the sunlight of a new morning, he finally figures out the missing lyric to his song and the whole city seems to sing. We do too. -- TheBacklot
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12. Big Eden (2000)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 19
Starring: Arye Gross, Eric Schweig ,Tim DeKay
Summary: A succesful gay artist returns to his hometown in Montana to care for his ailing grandfather. There he meets up with his old childhood crush, as well as a shy Native American shopkeeper who has a crush on him.
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11. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 3
Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick
Summary: The cult musical about a mad transvestite scientist and his dumb, beefy, gold hot pants wearing monster.
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10. A Single Man (2009)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 8
Starring: Colin Firth, Nicholas Hoult, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode
Summary: A middle aged gay man in 1960's Los Angeles searches for a reason to continue living himself after the love of his life dies in a car accident. From the Christopher Isherwood novel.
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9. Pride (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton, Dominic West
Summary: Gay activists unite with striking mine workers to defy Margaret Thatcher.
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8. The Normal Heart (2014)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: N/A
Starring: Matt Bomer, Mark Ruffalo, Jonathan Groff, Taylor Kitsch, Julia Roberts
Summary: The story of the beginnings of the fight against the AIDS epidemic.
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7. Maurice (1987)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 7
Starring: James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Hugh Grant
Summary: Two male English school chums fall in love while at Cambridge, but then take very different paths. From the posthumously published E.M. Forster novel.
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6. Latter Days (2003)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 5
Starring: Wes Ramsey, Steve Sandvoss, Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Summary: A young and promiscuous gay man sets his sights on seducing his Mormon missionary neighbor. The resulting affair changes both their lives.
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5. Weekend (2011)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 6
Starring: Tom Cullen, Chris New
Summary: A drunken and drug-fueled one-night stand becomes something more over the course over a weekend.
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4. Milk (2008)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 9
Starring: Sean Penn, James Franco, Josh Brolin
Summary: The story of gay activist Harvey Milk, from his arrival in San Francisco, to becoming California's first openly gay elected official, to his eventual assassination.
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3. Beautiful Thing (1996)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 4
Starring: Glen Berry, Scott Neal
Summary: Two teenage boys in a London housing estate fall deeply in love with each other.
What is it about this little U.K. charmer that turned it into such a gay classic? The answer may be its subject matter: gay teens. This 1996 film was the first in a virtual tidal wave of movies and books in which the sensitive teen misfit with a best female friend falls for the jock who turns out to be gay. But hey, haven’t most of us been there, on one side or other of the misfit/jock divide? This movie, based on a stage play by Jonathan Harvey (who also wrote the film’s screenplay), was originally intended for television, but it was so successful that the producers decided to give it a theatrical release. And let’s not forget the inspired soundtrack of Mama Cass songs — an example of a perfect fit between music and movie subject matter. Make your own kind of music, indeed. -- TheBacklot
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2. Shelter (2007)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 1
Starring: Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe
Summary: A young man reexamines his decision to forgo his own dreams in order to take care of his family when he falls in love with the gay brother of his best friend.
The film that claimed "Greatest Gay Movie" bragging rights back in 2012 comes in second this year-- still plenty impressive for this indie gem. Some folks call it “the gay surfer movie,” but it’s ultimately as much about surfing as Brokeback Mountain is about animal husbandry. Instead, Shelter is a riveting family drama and a story of first gay love set in a working class world. Starring Brad Rowe and Trevor Wright, there are no gay bars in Shelter, no drugs, no drag queens, no circuit anthems, no gay-bashings, no AIDS scares, and no screaming parents to speak of. And we gay folks loved it anyway. Or maybe, because it was so fresh and different, that’s why we loved it. -- TheBacklot
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1. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Ranking on 2012 Poll: 2
Starring: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal
Summary: In the 1960's two Wyoming ranch hands embark on a beautiful but ultimately doomed lifelong romance. Based on the short story by E. Annie Proulx.
Ferragamos or Birkenstocks? Mojitos or good ol’ beer? Gay men don’t seem to agree on much. But with this year's poll a clear majority of you consider Brokeback to be the greatest gay movie of all time. And how could it be otherwise? “It’s not ‘gay,’” said some, trying to broaden the film’s appeal, “it’s a ‘universal love story’!”
But is it really? Plenty of heterosexuals have had the experience of hiding a love affair, but how many of them know what it’s like to be forced by society to deny themselves the very possibility of love? This is the daring and fundamentally “gay” question at the heart of Ang Lee’s 2005 masterpiece: can two men simply allow themselves to love each other? And though the movie is set in the past, it is, ultimately, a choice many gay men still must make.
Jake Gyllenhaal is flawless as Jack Twist in, arguably, the movie’s most difficult role. But Heath Ledger’s heartbreaking portrayal of Ennis Del Mar, a walking cautionary tale of homophobia’s logical end result, is a revelation — a total acting transformation made all the more tragic by Ledger’s death. But the indignities and injustices that Jack and Ennis faced did not end at Brokeback Mountain’s closing credits. Upon the film’s release, the movie’s makers and fans were subjected to a six-month orgy of tasteless jokes from clueless comedians and bile-filed commentary from right-wing pundits. All of this negativity culminated when the movie, long considered the Oscar front-runner, lost Best Picture to a fine but unremarkable movie called Crash, perhaps the most egregious upset in Oscar history and almost certainly the result of lingering homophobia in Hollywood’s old guard.
But that fusillade of ridicule and outrage has faded into the gloom of a bigoted past while the movie’s artistry and quiet power shine brighter than ever. --- TheBacklot
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