Out Austin | ALGPC

Here, we have even more obscure but brilliant gay-themed films for you to check out:

Directed by Paul Verhoeven, you can’t help but be reminded of Basic Instinct, a film that Verhoeven directed many years after this one. Running constant through both is a beautiful, sexy, and potentially dangerous blonde, the man that falls into her trap, hot passion, and a particularly sharp instrument that – if handled properly – can cause a bit more than a nasty cut. After viewing this film, two overused expressions come to mind: “don’t run with scissors”, and “it’s always funny until someone loses an eye”!

This film centers on the burgeoning attraction between an unpopular teenaged boy and a more popular athletic boy. Not only do they have to deal with the confusion they feel as they slowly realize their growing attraction to each other, they then have to contend with their family and neighborhood finding out. It’s a beautifully realized, tender love story that rings so true, it’s almost painful. And for some, enlightening.

Directed by Alain Berliner, this brave little gem of a film is – similar to the previously reviewed FAR FROM HEAVEN – a wondrous visual feast of primary colors. Digging deeper than surface, it’s also a moving film center around young Ludo, who can’t wait to grow up to be a woman, and talks about marrying his neighbor’s son. Only “problem”, as far as Ludo’s family and neighbors are concerned, is Ludovic’s a young cross-dressing boy.

This 1961 film starring Dirk Bogarde was extremely controversial in its day. Why? Well, it was the first British film where characters used the word “homosexual”, for one thing. The story follows a successful, married barrister who is blackmailed into revealing his sexual preferences. This film originally garnered an “X” rating by the British Film Board due to its thematic content, but has recently be re-released on DVD with a PG-rating!