The Times of Harvey Milk 1984

I wanted to review a gay themed movie to commemorate the landmark legalization of same-sex marriages and the subsequent marriages of homosexual couples here in California. America is the land of progress and America just got a little more American.

Milk was the first openly gay city Supervisor in American history. He had been an activist for the famous Castro St. gay community. He was so well-known and well-respected, he was nickname The Mayor of Castro St. He was outspoken in his single-mindedness and his support for liberal causes.

Milk knew very well there was a distinct possibility of his being assassinated for being a beacon of the gay community. The bitter irony is that his murderer acted more out of selfish and vindictive motives than any particular objection to Milk's sexuality. Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were brutally murdered thirty years ago this November. The murderer, a conservative, clean-cut, straight white family man named Dan White was found guilty of two counts of manslaughter via the "twinkie defense" and served less than six years in jail for premeditated murder. White committed suicide less than two years after being released.

This is an excellent documentary. It is narrated by the first openly gay American actor, Harvey Fierstein. In only 90 minutes, it is a surprising thorough biography of Harvey Milk from childhood to activist to campaign to death. Unfortunately, no major politician was interviewed for the movie. News footage is used to present context throughout and friends and coworkers are interviewed. I would have appreciated more footage of Milk speaking about his past as a neighborhood activist and about his opinions on non-gay social & political issues. The 20th anniversary collector's edition comes with a commentary and a second disk of over three hours of extras.

Harvey Milk spoke out for the dignity and rights of a maligned and misunderstood minority. He championed the idea that gay Americans deserve a voice and deserve to be treated like the Americans they are. He was and is an inspriration to everyone, gay or straight.

"The Times of Harvey Milk" and "Common Threads" are excellent documentaries and well worth having in your collection but take my advice and buy them separately and don't waste money on "Where Are We?". The premise of "Where..." is the directors traveling through parts of the country that might not be so receptive to an openly gay couple. Well, from the interviews you can't even tell if the subjects know they are being interviewed by two gay men. At no time do the directors identify themselves on the audio as being Gay. I rented "Where..." from Netflix and feel that it isn't up to the standards of their other documentaries. Rent it if you have to but don't waste money on it.

This movie is the signature example of how to make an excellent documentary. The story is astounding, embracing, funny, thought-provoking, and tragic. This DVD is a must for your personal collection. You will return to it time and time again, and you will want all your friends to experience it, as well.

Skillful storytelling and period footage portray the new and exciting affirmation of the homosexual lifestyle in 1970s San Francisco. The film also creates a lump in the throat as we know where it's leading. Milk is seen for what he was: a bright, warm, community-minded citizen who wanted to help reverse the age-old repression of gays, while making his city a better, safer place. For pursuing this cause, he and Moscone both earned a fanatic's bullet, but also a proud place in history.

"THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK"

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride


One of the finest gay documentaries to come along in the last few years is undoubtedly "The Times of Harvey Milk". Through interviews with his friends, acquaintances and people from the world of politics, the film brings Milk to life and shows him to be the inspiration that he was when he was alive. The movie pens with a very moving shot of Diane Feinstein announcing that "Mayor Moscone and supervisor Harvey Milk have been shot and killed. From here we re taken on a tour of Milk's life and find out who the man was. As we look at the life of Milk very strong emotions come into play and the gay perspective of an openly gay elected official shot down in his prime looms before us. There is no gay propaganda here and both sides of the coin are looked at with fairness.
It seems as if the goal of the film is turn Milk into a martyr, and in a sense he was. He knew he would be assassinated. Even though, when the announcement comes that he has been shot down, there s a shock to be felt, especially when you see the reporters who upon hearing the announcement cry out in disbelief. What is even more shocking is that Dan White, who shot Milk, was found guilty any of voluntary manslaughter and eventually set free after only five and a half years in jail.
This is a stunning film and it is quite remarkable the way the story of Milk's life s pieced together and retold. The film covers a piece of America that few know about and everyone should. The movie is for all people, not just gays. It is a film about politics or San Francisco. It is about a man who was murdered at the prime of his life who happened to be a gay San Franciscan politician. The move takes you in and shows you how Milk affected lives including the life of the man who assassinated him. Just as Harvey Milk's life is impotent to us, the aftermath of his death is jest as important as seen in this amazing film. As an openly gay politician, Milk filled an important place in history. Milk was an intense person as to how he dealt with human rights. How he fit into society is amazing.
The director, Robert Epstein, has made a movie he can be proud of and the fact that it won an Oscar is validation of that. This straightforward portrait of Harvey Milk is fascinating and inspirational. It shows the tenaciousness of a man who was articulate, charming and intelligent. With gay rights being the biggest issue facing him, he fought equally of other disenfranchised groups and recognized their need to come together to fight for the rights of all. He was a hero of the entire movement for human rights and the film shows how much has changed since the film was made in 1984. Harvey Milk is a part of the history that we as members of the GLBT community have to be proud of and as long as we have this film to remind us, we know that everything is possible.