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Word Is Out [Import]

Pat Bond , John Burnside , Andrew Brown , Nancy Adair    Unrated   DVD
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
Price: CDN$ 30.83 & this item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping. Details
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5.0 out of 5 stars Important, touching and fascinating documentary Jun 13 2010
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had never heard of 'Word Is Out' before it came out on DVD. This is a fantastic movie that invites you into the lives and experiences of a diverse group of gay men and women of all ages. Filmed in 1977, it relates the experience of being gay 30 years ago and earlier which is interesting, educational and still relatable today. For me, this film gives me an insight into the times before I was born, showing how the LGBT experience has changed but also how parts of it are still the same. It highlights positive changes we should all be grateful for and places where improvements still need to be made. The people interviewed are diverse (gender, age, race) and each have fascinating experiences and thoughts to share.

As in life, there is humour, hope and sadly some horror in these stories.

I think this is essential viewing, especially for all the young LGBT people who've grown up since these times to see where we've come from.

*In addition to the excellent original documentary, there are some great bonus features including some of the filmakers and subjects 30 years later!

If you have an interest in LGBT history, be sure to check out the incredible documentary "The Times of Harvey Milk". It's very hard to find on DVD but I got a fantastic 2-disc edition last year on ebay which I think came from Australia. (If you find a copy, just be sure it's Region 1 or 0 and NTSC).
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Amazon.com: 5.0 out of 5 stars  12 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Landmark Film, Finally On DVD April 5 2010
By Robert in NY - Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
I first saw this documentary in the late `70s, when it was shown on the local PBS station in San Francisco where I then lived. (I recall some PBS stations refused to broadcast it at the time).

I had just purchased one of the first vcr's, and I taped it. That tape has lasted me all these years, but its physical quality (color, sound etc) obviously has deteriorated. And so I've often wondered when if ever it would be available on dvd. Well, some thirty years later, its finally "coming out".

Simply put, it must be considered one of the great works in gay history (and herstory), and is required viewing for anyone interested in understanding the on-going struggle for basic human rights and personal dignity. Documentaries (even awful ones) provide a fascinating glimpse at finite periods in time. Fortunately, this is a great one. It's beautifully edited and presented, with interviews of gays and lesbians, ranging in age from 20-ish to 70-ish. I believe one of them is Harry Hay, who was a founder of The Mattachine Society in about 1950. (He is currently the subject of a wonderful Off-Broadway play "The Temperamentals"). Other names will be familiar as well (the participant's are identified by name only in the final credits, at least on the vhs tape version).

This film was made just ten years after Stonewall, and the participants are all admirable for their courage in stepping before the camera at a time when it was not only unfashionable, but possibly dangerous, to reveal personal details of a "life style" still illegal in most jurisdictions. To a person they are incredibly articulate. The film does not tell a chronological story, and has no point of view per se. Unlike other fine narrated documentaries, like "Before Stonewall" and "The Celluloid Closet", this one paints a vivid picture of a seminal point in time simply through the disparate stories of people living it: post-Stonewall, pre-Harvey Milk murder, and of course just three or four years before AIDS would be identified (though many were of course already infected).

I write this review before the actual release date of the dvd, so I do not know how it may have been re-edited or (hopefully) expanded.

I want to emphasize that while some of the stories are terribly sad (a woman who was subjected to electro-shock treatments for example), there is more than a little humor throughout and so no one should presume viewing the film will be a downer. In fact, I was exhilarated by it in the `70s, and I still am.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars GLBT living history Dec 8 2002
By "rorygould" - Published on Amazon.com
Format:VHS Tape
This is probably the best GLBT documentary ever made. It is poignant, funny, and provocative. While somewhat dated since so much has changed in the past 20+ years, the stories hold up and still speak to the human condition in a touching way. Also, it's probably just as necessary to give people a historical context of how far the community has come, not only since the film was made, but throughout the lives of the participants, including The Pioneer Harry Hay, who just died recently.

Anyone who has ever felt like an outsider or knows any GLBT people should appreciate this film. And any member of the GLBT community should consider this mandatory viewing as an obligation to their own history, and those who came before.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars What we've come to know and love from Epstein. Jan 29 2003
By The Doughball - Published on Amazon.com
Format:VHS Tape
This documentary is a great one. It carries the same feel as Epstein's other documentaries, COMMON THREADS: STORIES FROM THE QUILT, THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, and THE CELLULOID CLOSET to name a few.
The film is comprised of many gay, lesbian, and transgendered people basically talking about all aspects of their life. Epstein and his codirectors did a good job presenting a variety of lifestyles: Black, white, mothers and fathers, the very young to the quite old. This truly encompasses much of the GLBT experience, in an entirely unbiased way, with people simply speaking for themselves.
I recommend this to all people, but especially to gays and lesbians.
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