You can tell he just loved it! :;):
I'm guessing most here have seen the Newsweek article, but, if not, here it is.
Brokeback Mountain
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Eric
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Ed has his say (with all the Oscar talk, this is the type of review I'm shamed to admit I've been waiting on for awhile):
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=1927
http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/film_review.asp?ID=1927
From The Hollywood Reporter:
Ang Lee's 'Brokeback' explores 'last frontier'
By Anne Thompson
There's no doubt that a $13 million quality movie like Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," which has wowed festivalgoers and reviewers in Telluride, Venice and Toronto, will play well in big movie markets around the country. The question is, how broad will it go?
No one knows that answer, because no one has ventured into this territory before. The movie is a groundbreaker. There's never been a homosexual cowboy movie, and while the indies have been supplying gay romances to the art house circuit for years, and gay series like "Queer as Folk" and "Will & Grace" have been pulling big numbers on TV, there hasn't been a mainstream gay love story since 1982's "Making Love," which bombed and was blamed by many for damaging Harry Hamlin's career. "It's the one last frontier," says Lee.
So what took Hollywood so long to make a gay love story?
It's been 12 years since Jonathan Demme's "Philadelphia," which starred Denzel Washington as a homophobic lawyer defending AIDS patient Tom Hanks, who won the Oscar; the movie grossed $77 million in North America. But "Philadelphia" was less a romance (the gay couple didn't kiss) than a courtroom drama about fighting for justice. Last year's "Alexander" was an epic adventure with a gay subplot, but Oliver Stone's movie didn't disappoint at the boxoffice just because of its candid depiction of a bisexual conqueror. It was a badly reviewed muddle of a movie.
In an industry that happily explores the outer limits of gore and violence, movies that smack of realistic intimacy are taboo -- especially between men. Gallup polls have shown Americans as growing increasingly tolerant of homosexuals, but movie audiences have never been confronted with a gay western. Conservative blogger Matt Drudge has already weighed in on "Brokeback Mountain," asking, "Will a movie even Madonna calls shocking sit with the heartland?"
"Brokeback Mountain" could be the mainstream gay romance that many people have been waiting for. One Toronto wag called it "the gay 'Gone with the Wind'." "Of all the gay-themed films I've watched," says Damon Romine of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, "this is the first one I've seen about two men in love, told in a way that straight people can relate to. People don't have to be gay to understand loss and longing and unrequited love. Hollywood churns out endless variations on the theme of forbidden love. This is a new take on that genre, a film that has tremendous potential to reach and transform mainstream audiences."
In the end, a Hollywood studio didn't greenlight "Brokeback Mountain." It took a studio specialty division, Universal's Focus Features, to back the movie. New York veteran indie producers James Schamus and David Linde, accustomed to setbacks in making challenging material, had been trying to make "Brokeback" for years. When they took over Focus in 2002, they brought along the script, which had been adapted by Western author Larry McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove") and screenwriter Diana Osana from Annie Proulx's 1997 short story.
As soon as Lee, who has collaborated with writer-producer Schamus on many of his movies ("The Hulk," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") agreed to direct the movie, Focus went ahead with the production, which was filmed near Calgary, Alberta. It helped that ever since 1997's "The Ice Storm," Lee's strong support from foreign markets has given him "more creative freedom," he says.
"Brokeback" got made because of the emotional power of the material. A tragic romance set in the '60s and '70s, "Brokeback" is about two lovers who can't overcome the obstacles to achieving a permanent union. The two rough-hewn ranch hands can express themselves physically, in secret, but they have no words for their feelings. They both suffer. And they ruin their lives. "The cultural obstacles to this kind of romance," says Osana, "are within each one of us."
Osana and McMurtry's script became known in the film community as one of the great unproduced screenplays. "It's a story of doomed love that is clearly about two homosexual men," says Osana. "It's also a story about the women who marry homosexual men," adds McMurtry.
Director Gus Van Sant ("Elephant") and producer Scott Rudin ("The Hours") tried to make "Brokeback Mountain" at Columbia Pictures, but they couldn't get any actors "to commit," says McMurtry. "They'd say it was the best thing they'd ever read, and then they'd waver and anguish. Their agents were afraid and steered them away from it." Eventually, says Osana, "Gus had to take a paying job."
Schamus and Linde took it over, and finally Lee decided to go forward with "Brokeback" in 2004 with young actors who are "innocent in the beginning." This time, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger jumped at the chance. "Actors want to have juicy parts," says Lee. "Heath is the brooding, macho, shy man whose temper holds a lot of fear. There is a lot of self-denial, guilt and twisted psychology in that character, a bit like the Hulk. Heath carries the elegiac mood, that sense of loss you read in cowboy poetry. Jake is a good counterpart. He is the more brave one who comes to accept the romance."
When the time came to shoot the first love scene, Lee was moved by the "exposed private feelings" shown by the two actors. "It's rare to see," he says.
For his part, Lee has always refused to play by the rules of any culture, be it his native Taiwan or Hollywood. His breakthrough movie, 1993's "The Wedding Banquet," a touching story about a gay man coming out to his family, broke boxoffice records in his native country. In 1995, Lee directed Emma Thompson's script of Jane Austen's romantic comedy of manners, "Sense and Sensibility," which earned seven Oscar nominations and won for best screenplay. "Repression is a main element of my movies," says Lee. "It's easier to work against something than along with something."
2000's Chinese action adventure "Crouching Tiger" mixed Western and Eastern movie aesthetics, grossed more than $213 million worldwide, scored 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won the best foreign-language Oscar. "People say I bend or twist genres," Lee says. "I think I'm twisted. It's a tricky thing for foreigners. You're not molded to cultural convention. You can do it as authentic as you want. That's the advantage of the outsider."
Talk about genre bending. The movie Western has long defined iconic American masculinity, from Gene Autry and John Wayne to Clint Eastwood. "You have Montgomery Clift. It's always there," says Lee, who insists that "Brokeback" is "not a Western. No gunslingers. I don't want to undermine the sanctified image of the American Western man. It's a love story of real people in the West."
Lee leaned on documentaries about rodeos, the photography of Richard Avedon and Western experts Proulx and McMurtry, who took the director around their haunts in Wyoming and Texas. The only Westerns Lee cared about were the ones based on McMurtry's books: "Hud" and "The Last Picture Show." "Everything he needed to know about the West," says McMurtry, "was in the screenplay."
Schamus is on a mission to prove that there is pent-up demand for this material. "We have never made an apology from the beginning for making this movie," he says, "which we believe will deliver an emotional experience to a larger audience than the art house. The movie gives us the tools to create that appeal. We're saying, 'Here's the movie, here's what it looks like, come join us.' "
Focus will release "Brokeback" in limited situations through the holidays -- as the big studio guns play themselves out -- and widen it in January. Since the trailer went out, Focus has placed a registration page for advance sales on the "Brokeback" Web site. The initial marketing push is to women and younger moviegoers. "You're looking for people who are empathetic," says Schamus, "and able to reach their emotions. And younger folks are way out ahead on this stuff. Overall, they are not worked up about gay issues." Becoming an Oscar contender should push "Brokeback" into must-see territory, as it did "Philadelphia."
Middle America will have plenty of gender-bending diversity to choose from this holiday season, from the big-budget studio musical "Rent" to Neil Jordan's "Breakfast on Pluto," starring Cillian Murphy as an Irish cross-dresser. "These are the movies with all the buzz," says Romine, "which should send a clear message to Hollywood that gays and lesbians are interesting people with interesting stories to tell. Films like 'Capote' and 'Brokeback' and 'Transamerica' show that the time has come for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters to come out on the big screen and take center stage."
Moviegoer response to these movies will finally give Hollywood the wealth of market data it so sorely needs.
Ang Lee's 'Brokeback' explores 'last frontier'
By Anne Thompson
There's no doubt that a $13 million quality movie like Ang Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," which has wowed festivalgoers and reviewers in Telluride, Venice and Toronto, will play well in big movie markets around the country. The question is, how broad will it go?
No one knows that answer, because no one has ventured into this territory before. The movie is a groundbreaker. There's never been a homosexual cowboy movie, and while the indies have been supplying gay romances to the art house circuit for years, and gay series like "Queer as Folk" and "Will & Grace" have been pulling big numbers on TV, there hasn't been a mainstream gay love story since 1982's "Making Love," which bombed and was blamed by many for damaging Harry Hamlin's career. "It's the one last frontier," says Lee.
So what took Hollywood so long to make a gay love story?
It's been 12 years since Jonathan Demme's "Philadelphia," which starred Denzel Washington as a homophobic lawyer defending AIDS patient Tom Hanks, who won the Oscar; the movie grossed $77 million in North America. But "Philadelphia" was less a romance (the gay couple didn't kiss) than a courtroom drama about fighting for justice. Last year's "Alexander" was an epic adventure with a gay subplot, but Oliver Stone's movie didn't disappoint at the boxoffice just because of its candid depiction of a bisexual conqueror. It was a badly reviewed muddle of a movie.
In an industry that happily explores the outer limits of gore and violence, movies that smack of realistic intimacy are taboo -- especially between men. Gallup polls have shown Americans as growing increasingly tolerant of homosexuals, but movie audiences have never been confronted with a gay western. Conservative blogger Matt Drudge has already weighed in on "Brokeback Mountain," asking, "Will a movie even Madonna calls shocking sit with the heartland?"
"Brokeback Mountain" could be the mainstream gay romance that many people have been waiting for. One Toronto wag called it "the gay 'Gone with the Wind'." "Of all the gay-themed films I've watched," says Damon Romine of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, "this is the first one I've seen about two men in love, told in a way that straight people can relate to. People don't have to be gay to understand loss and longing and unrequited love. Hollywood churns out endless variations on the theme of forbidden love. This is a new take on that genre, a film that has tremendous potential to reach and transform mainstream audiences."
In the end, a Hollywood studio didn't greenlight "Brokeback Mountain." It took a studio specialty division, Universal's Focus Features, to back the movie. New York veteran indie producers James Schamus and David Linde, accustomed to setbacks in making challenging material, had been trying to make "Brokeback" for years. When they took over Focus in 2002, they brought along the script, which had been adapted by Western author Larry McMurtry ("Lonesome Dove") and screenwriter Diana Osana from Annie Proulx's 1997 short story.
As soon as Lee, who has collaborated with writer-producer Schamus on many of his movies ("The Hulk," "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon") agreed to direct the movie, Focus went ahead with the production, which was filmed near Calgary, Alberta. It helped that ever since 1997's "The Ice Storm," Lee's strong support from foreign markets has given him "more creative freedom," he says.
"Brokeback" got made because of the emotional power of the material. A tragic romance set in the '60s and '70s, "Brokeback" is about two lovers who can't overcome the obstacles to achieving a permanent union. The two rough-hewn ranch hands can express themselves physically, in secret, but they have no words for their feelings. They both suffer. And they ruin their lives. "The cultural obstacles to this kind of romance," says Osana, "are within each one of us."
Osana and McMurtry's script became known in the film community as one of the great unproduced screenplays. "It's a story of doomed love that is clearly about two homosexual men," says Osana. "It's also a story about the women who marry homosexual men," adds McMurtry.
Director Gus Van Sant ("Elephant") and producer Scott Rudin ("The Hours") tried to make "Brokeback Mountain" at Columbia Pictures, but they couldn't get any actors "to commit," says McMurtry. "They'd say it was the best thing they'd ever read, and then they'd waver and anguish. Their agents were afraid and steered them away from it." Eventually, says Osana, "Gus had to take a paying job."
Schamus and Linde took it over, and finally Lee decided to go forward with "Brokeback" in 2004 with young actors who are "innocent in the beginning." This time, Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger jumped at the chance. "Actors want to have juicy parts," says Lee. "Heath is the brooding, macho, shy man whose temper holds a lot of fear. There is a lot of self-denial, guilt and twisted psychology in that character, a bit like the Hulk. Heath carries the elegiac mood, that sense of loss you read in cowboy poetry. Jake is a good counterpart. He is the more brave one who comes to accept the romance."
When the time came to shoot the first love scene, Lee was moved by the "exposed private feelings" shown by the two actors. "It's rare to see," he says.
For his part, Lee has always refused to play by the rules of any culture, be it his native Taiwan or Hollywood. His breakthrough movie, 1993's "The Wedding Banquet," a touching story about a gay man coming out to his family, broke boxoffice records in his native country. In 1995, Lee directed Emma Thompson's script of Jane Austen's romantic comedy of manners, "Sense and Sensibility," which earned seven Oscar nominations and won for best screenplay. "Repression is a main element of my movies," says Lee. "It's easier to work against something than along with something."
2000's Chinese action adventure "Crouching Tiger" mixed Western and Eastern movie aesthetics, grossed more than $213 million worldwide, scored 10 Oscar nominations, including best picture, and won the best foreign-language Oscar. "People say I bend or twist genres," Lee says. "I think I'm twisted. It's a tricky thing for foreigners. You're not molded to cultural convention. You can do it as authentic as you want. That's the advantage of the outsider."
Talk about genre bending. The movie Western has long defined iconic American masculinity, from Gene Autry and John Wayne to Clint Eastwood. "You have Montgomery Clift. It's always there," says Lee, who insists that "Brokeback" is "not a Western. No gunslingers. I don't want to undermine the sanctified image of the American Western man. It's a love story of real people in the West."
Lee leaned on documentaries about rodeos, the photography of Richard Avedon and Western experts Proulx and McMurtry, who took the director around their haunts in Wyoming and Texas. The only Westerns Lee cared about were the ones based on McMurtry's books: "Hud" and "The Last Picture Show." "Everything he needed to know about the West," says McMurtry, "was in the screenplay."
Schamus is on a mission to prove that there is pent-up demand for this material. "We have never made an apology from the beginning for making this movie," he says, "which we believe will deliver an emotional experience to a larger audience than the art house. The movie gives us the tools to create that appeal. We're saying, 'Here's the movie, here's what it looks like, come join us.' "
Focus will release "Brokeback" in limited situations through the holidays -- as the big studio guns play themselves out -- and widen it in January. Since the trailer went out, Focus has placed a registration page for advance sales on the "Brokeback" Web site. The initial marketing push is to women and younger moviegoers. "You're looking for people who are empathetic," says Schamus, "and able to reach their emotions. And younger folks are way out ahead on this stuff. Overall, they are not worked up about gay issues." Becoming an Oscar contender should push "Brokeback" into must-see territory, as it did "Philadelphia."
Middle America will have plenty of gender-bending diversity to choose from this holiday season, from the big-budget studio musical "Rent" to Neil Jordan's "Breakfast on Pluto," starring Cillian Murphy as an Irish cross-dresser. "These are the movies with all the buzz," says Romine, "which should send a clear message to Hollywood that gays and lesbians are interesting people with interesting stories to tell. Films like 'Capote' and 'Brokeback' and 'Transamerica' show that the time has come for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender characters to come out on the big screen and take center stage."
Moviegoer response to these movies will finally give Hollywood the wealth of market data it so sorely needs.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Matt Drudge trumpets Brokeback Mountain. Um, I've always thought that Matt was a big old closet case....
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
From what I remember, they are never seen completely naked, but the sex scenes - at least in the original version which I saw and which will be shown in Europe - are quite explicit - they suggest anal sex, not just kissing and cuddling, though of course there's lot of this, too. But if it were just about gay sex, the movie wouldn't be so schoking in the US - the problem is, of course, that it's about gay LOVE. This is why we get such hypochritical, defensive pieces like the one in "Variety" - and trust me, we will read more in the next months. Americans will never change - their passion (or, in the best cases, their acceptance) for war and violence is just a desperate way to forget the hate they feel for their inner feelings - for themselves. And before I get the usual childish replies, I'm talking about Americans in general - there are exceptions of course.
The Original BJ wrote:Penelope wrote:Nominated for seven Oscars and winning three, including picture, "Midnight Cowboy" stands as an example of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' openness to gay material.
Revisionist historian. The Academy's lack of openness toward gay material is so obvious, I'm surprised he didn't mention JFK and The Silence of the Lambs as supreme indicators of voters' willingness to reach out. Ha.
I have to admit, I kind of rolled my eyes at this one, as well. The homosexuality in Midnight Cowboy is only slightly more visable than the male/male romance between Robert Taylor and Van Heflin in Johnny Eager; and, although I was a wee babe at the time, I would assume that the marketing for Midnight Cowboy didn't advertise it as a gay romance.
Brokeback is clearly a male/male romance, and I do have to hand it to Focus for clearly indicating that this is what the movie is about (although, how could they not?).
I certainly hope that--assuming the film is as good as early reviews indicate and as good as I fervently hope it to be--I hope the Academy won't be homophobic in their reaction to the film. Right now, I'm running on faith that they will embrace it.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Reza wrote:Penelope wrote:From Variety:
After nabbing the top prize at Venice, "Brokeback" bowled over audiences at Toronto, where North American critics got their first glimpse of the handsome cowboys engaging in raw, passionate sex with one another, and their subsequent tragic love affair.
Is there male nudity involved or is the ''erotic'' coupling merely shown in shadows so as not to ''disturb'' the American public?
SPOILER:
My understanding is that in the "big" sex scene, both men are mostly clothed (it takes place in a tent on a cold night--which is how it occurs in Proulx's story). But there are a number of scenes of them kissing and cuddling in front a campfire.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
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The Original BJ
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- Posts: 4312
- Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:49 pm
Revisionist historian. The Academy's lack of openness toward gay material is so obvious, I'm surprised he didn't mention JFK and The Silence of the Lambs as supreme indicators of voters' willingness to reach out. Ha.Penelope wrote:Nominated for seven Oscars and winning three, including picture, "Midnight Cowboy" stands as an example of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' openness to gay material.
Is there male nudity involved or is the ''erotic'' coupling merely shown in shadows so as not to ''disturb'' the American public?Penelope wrote:From Variety:
After nabbing the top prize at Venice, "Brokeback" bowled over audiences at Toronto, where North American critics got their first glimpse of the handsome cowboys engaging in raw, passionate sex with one another, and their subsequent tragic love affair.
From Variety:
Range rovers
Subversive Western poses special challenge for Ang Lee and Focus
By ANTHONY KAUFMAN
"Brokeback Mountain" is out. Not in theaters, of course -- the film doesn't open until early December -- but its ill-fated love story about two gay cowboys has sprung from the closet.
In July, Focus Features released the film's one-sheet showing denim-clad stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger side by side with the provocative tagline: "Love is a force of nature." On Aug. 26, Focus rolled out trailers -- which show the young heartthrobs embracing -- on 1,200 screens. Earlier this month, Gyllenhaal graced the cover of Out Magazine and Ledger will be the newsstand face of the Advocate for December. And at fests from Venice to Telluride to Toronto, Ledger's performance in particular, as strong silent-type cowboy in longing Ennis Del Mar, has already been declared Oscar solid.
After nabbing the top prize at Venice, "Brokeback" bowled over audiences at Toronto, where North American critics got their first glimpse of the handsome cowboys engaging in raw, passionate sex with one another, and their subsequent tragic love affair. Reviewers liked what they saw: The film was hailed as no less than a "landmark" by the Village Voice's J. Hoberman and "a shift in scope and tenor so profound as to signal a new era" by the Guardian's B. Ruby Rich.
Variety's Todd McCarthy described the film as "marked by a heightened degree of sensitivity and tact, as well as an outstanding performance by Heath Ledger."
But during a time of increased homophobia across the U.S. (hate crimes based on sexual orientation have risen dramatically since 2003), the macho caballeros of "Brokeback" might be wrestling with prejudices more obstructive than thousand-pound bulls and runaway sheep.
Gay characters are no longer strangers to the mainstream, what with "Will & Grace," "Queer Eye" and '90s box office successes "In & Out" and "The Birdcage." But a serious love story about two men goes against the still popular portrayals of gays as comedic sidekicks; hustlers; psycho killers; or as in the case of Tom Hanks' Oscar-winning perf in "Philadelphia," men who keep their sexual desire offscreen.
Jon Gerrans, co-prexy of Strand Releasing, which distributes indie and gay-themed programming, acknowledges a greater acceptance of gay and lesbian characters, but "only in a safe way," he says. "We don't see our market growing. If you read a review and it says gay, gay, gay, then I've lost half my audience."
So while Focus is acknowledging the film's gay content and working with gay organizations, the thrust of its campaign extends much further. Marketed as a sweeping melodrama in the vein of "Gone With the Wind" and "Doctor Zhivago," the movie is being targeted heavily to the female demo, from women's progressive groups to book clubs to college coeds.
As director Ang Lee says in the film's press notes, "To me, 'Brokeback Mountain' is uniquely, and universally, a great American love story." The sentiment has been repeated at press conferences, on talkshows and in interviews.
"I always thought of it as a doomed young men story," explains novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, who adapted the E. Annie Proulx short story with Diana Ossana. "There's such a great tradition in American literature from 'The Great Gatsby' to 'The Sun Also Rises' to 'Miss Lonelyhearts' and I saw it like that."
"It's a doomed love story," echoes Ossana. "Maybe it's because we're writers we don't make those kinds of judgments (about gay vs. straight). It's more about real life."
Identifying the film's experience as one that can touch all individuals is an age-old Hollywood tactic, according to Ron Gregg of the U. of Chicago's Committee on Cinema and Media Studies. "Ever since 'The Children's Hour' (1961) and 'Advise and Consent' (1962), they would say this isn't a lesbian or gay thing, but a universal thing. Even with 'Boys in the Band,' of all films, you get William Friedkin saying in interviews, 'This isn't a gay film. All people will identity with these struggles.' "
Gregg also suggests the actors' "Oscar-worthy" performances are partially based on the actors being straight. "Like the strategy of 'Philadelphia' and 'Monster,' they're isolating performance from character, and assuring the audience that the actors are stretching their talent."
Furthermore, critic and author B. Ruby Rich says, "I don't believe they would have ever allowed an openly queer director to make this movie, nor do I believe that actors of this caliber would have signed on. In a long line of ironic outcomes, it took these guys with impeccable heterosexual credentials to make this kind of breakthrough."
Some film scholars have connected "Brokeback Mountain" to a handful of Westerns that they say include homoerotic undertones. For instance, Chris Packard, an adjunct professor at N.Y.U. and author of "Queer Cowboys," claims Howard Hawks' "Red River" -- with its "pistol-as-penis handling and the crotch-cruising between Montgomery Clift and John Ireland" -- can be seen as a precedent.
But Rich points out, "the brilliance of 'Brokeback Mountain' is that's it's not subtextual. That's what's so groundbreaking about it."
A clearer antecedent, argues Rich, is John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "which picked up on the appeal of the cowboy and queer desire," she says.
But the Dustin Hoffman-Jon Voight drama is markedly different from "Brokeback," she argues, in that neither Ratso Rizzo nor Joe Buck has the "nobility" of the Ledger and Gyllenhaal characters.
Nominated for seven Oscars and winning three, including picture, "Midnight Cowboy" stands as an example of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' openness to gay material.
Gerrans, an Academy member, points to another multiple Oscar nominee "Kiss of the Spider Woman." "That was a small film that had nothing behind it, but look at how the Academy embraced it and acknowledged it. That's a good example of the Academy not having those phobias."
General audiences, on the other hand, might be a different matter.
While GLAAD president Neil Giuliano sees the film's honesty and realistic portrayal as a "positive opportunity for a greater dialogue about sexual orientation issues," Ossana sees the challenges in getting people to see the movie.
"But I guarantee you this," she says, "you can have all the preconceived notions you want, but when you go see that film, by the end a lot of those notions will be shattered."
Range rovers
Subversive Western poses special challenge for Ang Lee and Focus
By ANTHONY KAUFMAN
"Brokeback Mountain" is out. Not in theaters, of course -- the film doesn't open until early December -- but its ill-fated love story about two gay cowboys has sprung from the closet.
In July, Focus Features released the film's one-sheet showing denim-clad stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger side by side with the provocative tagline: "Love is a force of nature." On Aug. 26, Focus rolled out trailers -- which show the young heartthrobs embracing -- on 1,200 screens. Earlier this month, Gyllenhaal graced the cover of Out Magazine and Ledger will be the newsstand face of the Advocate for December. And at fests from Venice to Telluride to Toronto, Ledger's performance in particular, as strong silent-type cowboy in longing Ennis Del Mar, has already been declared Oscar solid.
After nabbing the top prize at Venice, "Brokeback" bowled over audiences at Toronto, where North American critics got their first glimpse of the handsome cowboys engaging in raw, passionate sex with one another, and their subsequent tragic love affair. Reviewers liked what they saw: The film was hailed as no less than a "landmark" by the Village Voice's J. Hoberman and "a shift in scope and tenor so profound as to signal a new era" by the Guardian's B. Ruby Rich.
Variety's Todd McCarthy described the film as "marked by a heightened degree of sensitivity and tact, as well as an outstanding performance by Heath Ledger."
But during a time of increased homophobia across the U.S. (hate crimes based on sexual orientation have risen dramatically since 2003), the macho caballeros of "Brokeback" might be wrestling with prejudices more obstructive than thousand-pound bulls and runaway sheep.
Gay characters are no longer strangers to the mainstream, what with "Will & Grace," "Queer Eye" and '90s box office successes "In & Out" and "The Birdcage." But a serious love story about two men goes against the still popular portrayals of gays as comedic sidekicks; hustlers; psycho killers; or as in the case of Tom Hanks' Oscar-winning perf in "Philadelphia," men who keep their sexual desire offscreen.
Jon Gerrans, co-prexy of Strand Releasing, which distributes indie and gay-themed programming, acknowledges a greater acceptance of gay and lesbian characters, but "only in a safe way," he says. "We don't see our market growing. If you read a review and it says gay, gay, gay, then I've lost half my audience."
So while Focus is acknowledging the film's gay content and working with gay organizations, the thrust of its campaign extends much further. Marketed as a sweeping melodrama in the vein of "Gone With the Wind" and "Doctor Zhivago," the movie is being targeted heavily to the female demo, from women's progressive groups to book clubs to college coeds.
As director Ang Lee says in the film's press notes, "To me, 'Brokeback Mountain' is uniquely, and universally, a great American love story." The sentiment has been repeated at press conferences, on talkshows and in interviews.
"I always thought of it as a doomed young men story," explains novelist and screenwriter Larry McMurtry, who adapted the E. Annie Proulx short story with Diana Ossana. "There's such a great tradition in American literature from 'The Great Gatsby' to 'The Sun Also Rises' to 'Miss Lonelyhearts' and I saw it like that."
"It's a doomed love story," echoes Ossana. "Maybe it's because we're writers we don't make those kinds of judgments (about gay vs. straight). It's more about real life."
Identifying the film's experience as one that can touch all individuals is an age-old Hollywood tactic, according to Ron Gregg of the U. of Chicago's Committee on Cinema and Media Studies. "Ever since 'The Children's Hour' (1961) and 'Advise and Consent' (1962), they would say this isn't a lesbian or gay thing, but a universal thing. Even with 'Boys in the Band,' of all films, you get William Friedkin saying in interviews, 'This isn't a gay film. All people will identity with these struggles.' "
Gregg also suggests the actors' "Oscar-worthy" performances are partially based on the actors being straight. "Like the strategy of 'Philadelphia' and 'Monster,' they're isolating performance from character, and assuring the audience that the actors are stretching their talent."
Furthermore, critic and author B. Ruby Rich says, "I don't believe they would have ever allowed an openly queer director to make this movie, nor do I believe that actors of this caliber would have signed on. In a long line of ironic outcomes, it took these guys with impeccable heterosexual credentials to make this kind of breakthrough."
Some film scholars have connected "Brokeback Mountain" to a handful of Westerns that they say include homoerotic undertones. For instance, Chris Packard, an adjunct professor at N.Y.U. and author of "Queer Cowboys," claims Howard Hawks' "Red River" -- with its "pistol-as-penis handling and the crotch-cruising between Montgomery Clift and John Ireland" -- can be seen as a precedent.
But Rich points out, "the brilliance of 'Brokeback Mountain' is that's it's not subtextual. That's what's so groundbreaking about it."
A clearer antecedent, argues Rich, is John Schlesinger's "Midnight Cowboy" (1969), "which picked up on the appeal of the cowboy and queer desire," she says.
But the Dustin Hoffman-Jon Voight drama is markedly different from "Brokeback," she argues, in that neither Ratso Rizzo nor Joe Buck has the "nobility" of the Ledger and Gyllenhaal characters.
Nominated for seven Oscars and winning three, including picture, "Midnight Cowboy" stands as an example of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' openness to gay material.
Gerrans, an Academy member, points to another multiple Oscar nominee "Kiss of the Spider Woman." "That was a small film that had nothing behind it, but look at how the Academy embraced it and acknowledged it. That's a good example of the Academy not having those phobias."
General audiences, on the other hand, might be a different matter.
While GLAAD president Neil Giuliano sees the film's honesty and realistic portrayal as a "positive opportunity for a greater dialogue about sexual orientation issues," Ossana sees the challenges in getting people to see the movie.
"But I guarantee you this," she says, "you can have all the preconceived notions you want, but when you go see that film, by the end a lot of those notions will be shattered."
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Lord of the Flies was mandatory reading at my high school. That was in the mid-nineties, and we even watched the movie (I personally objected to use of the new version, appreciating that the original was more faithful to the book; I made the teacher show the 1963 version instead of the 1990 movie she intended to show by voicing that opinion).
Anyway, it shouldn't be so controversial. It's a wonderful story.
Anyway, it shouldn't be so controversial. It's a wonderful story.
"Because here’s the thing about life: There’s no accounting for what fate will deal you. Some days when you need a hand. There are other days when we’re called to lend a hand." -- President Joe Biden, 01/20/2021
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Big Magilla
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The first FYC (for your consideration) ads are out, with Jake Gyllenhaal being touted for supporting actor, giving Heath Ledger a clear shot at best actor. Both Anne Hathaway and Michelle williams are being touted for supporting actress.
The Memoirs of a Geisha and Rent ads do not single out any performers and the new Cinderalla Man ads tout the ensemble cast, presumably going more for the SAG awards than the Oscars.
The Memoirs of a Geisha and Rent ads do not single out any performers and the new Cinderalla Man ads tout the ensemble cast, presumably going more for the SAG awards than the Oscars.
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OscarGuy
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I'm very excited to see it and after the first trailer of the film I've seen, I can't wait...unfortunately, I don't know that it will ever come to middle america unless it's recognized. I just hope Focus loves us critics as much as they have in the recent past.
Wesley Lovell
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." - Benjamin Franklin
I saw "Brokeback Mountain" a few weeks ago, in a movie theatre in Rome. The reaction of the viewers (gay and straight) was the same as in Venice: a sustained, convinced, committed applause. I don't want to create too much expectation for a movie that I personally loved but that, I'm afraid, will not be as successful in the US as it will be here in Europe. And this despite the fact that it's a deeply American movie, by the way - an American analysis of American myths, and of the usually implied, unconscious homosexuality which was part of those myths. Only here it's not implied, it's not unconscious - and it will be interesting to see how Americans - those who don't live in New York or San Francisco - will react to it. For once, in a mainstream American drama, the gay guy isn't a suicidal sad English director or a Brazilian transvestite (confortably "alien" types) - the gay guys here are prototypical American machos: two cowboys in love with each other.
I don't know if an American director could have done such a good job from Annie Proulx's intelligent, affecting story. I doubt. Ang Lee's sober, intimate, yet bold treatment of it may not be always perfect, but comes often close. His Asian dislike for unnecessary images (no sugary flashbacks) and - even more important here - unnecessary words works extremely well - because what happens between the two main characters, while emotionally powerful, can't find the right words to express it. It can't, of course, because in that time, in that place, those words didn't exist - if they existed, if the characters had translated into words what they felt, what they wished, their lives would have probably been easier, happier, at least less complicated. Ang Lee's portrayal of a repressive society and its unwritten laws is also, I think, a result of his native culture - this is a movie about the influence of society on human instincts and about the confused, contradictory, desperate rebellion to this influence. The two cowboys can't win if they fight it - but they are bound to lose even when they try to comform to it.
The two actors are well chosen. Jake Gyllenhaal, as Jack Twist, is the more gifted of the couple. But Heath Ledger plays Ennis Del Mar, and Ennis Del Mar is one of those characters that an actor would be very lucky to find even just once in his career. Ang Lee makes a great use of this young actor's probably limited expressiveness - it suits the character. The result is a performance which is more than good - a performance that stays with you long after the movie is over. Come Oscar time, it could be among the final five.
I don't know if an American director could have done such a good job from Annie Proulx's intelligent, affecting story. I doubt. Ang Lee's sober, intimate, yet bold treatment of it may not be always perfect, but comes often close. His Asian dislike for unnecessary images (no sugary flashbacks) and - even more important here - unnecessary words works extremely well - because what happens between the two main characters, while emotionally powerful, can't find the right words to express it. It can't, of course, because in that time, in that place, those words didn't exist - if they existed, if the characters had translated into words what they felt, what they wished, their lives would have probably been easier, happier, at least less complicated. Ang Lee's portrayal of a repressive society and its unwritten laws is also, I think, a result of his native culture - this is a movie about the influence of society on human instincts and about the confused, contradictory, desperate rebellion to this influence. The two cowboys can't win if they fight it - but they are bound to lose even when they try to comform to it.
The two actors are well chosen. Jake Gyllenhaal, as Jack Twist, is the more gifted of the couple. But Heath Ledger plays Ennis Del Mar, and Ennis Del Mar is one of those characters that an actor would be very lucky to find even just once in his career. Ang Lee makes a great use of this young actor's probably limited expressiveness - it suits the character. The result is a performance which is more than good - a performance that stays with you long after the movie is over. Come Oscar time, it could be among the final five.