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Alvin Baltrop, Barton Benes, Tom Bianchi, Scott Bromley, Mel Cheren ... see more see more... , Arnie Kantrowitz , Larry Kramer , Roger McFarlane , Susan Tomkin , Ken Unger , Bob Alvarez , Robert Alvarez

In 1969, the Stonewall riots in New York City sounded the opening bell of the Gay Pride movement in America, and for many gay men it offered an opportunity to come out of the closet and live their liv... read more read more...es in the open for the first time. As the gay community sought to define itself, it's not surprising that sex, once furtive and approached with no small amount of fear and shame, suddenly became openly and publicly celebrated and sought after, and in a handful of American cities, the gay scene became the center of a wildly celebratory orgy that lasted until 1981, when the discovery of AIDS led many men to reexamine their sexual habits. Filmmaker Joseph Lovett, himself a gay activist who produced one of the first major investigative stories on AIDS to be broadcast on American television, interviewed a number of men who survived the '70s for his documentary Gay Sex in the '70s, which offers a sometimes witty and sometimes rueful look back at the discos, bathhouses, underground clubs, and gay-friendly resorts which dominated the social and sexual scene of the day, as well as the stories of the men who sought to declare their new identities through sex. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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59% liked it

920 ratings

Critics

71% liked it

28 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 7 min.

Directed by: Joseph Lovett, Joseph F. Lovett, Tom Bianchi

Release Date: November 4, 2005

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DVD Release Date: June 6, 2006

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Flixster Reviews (103)

  • Stinger839
    February 29, 2008
    Stinger839
    I'm biased towards this doc, as it is the only film I've screened in weeks (and I average 5 movies per day) during which I did not briefly think or seriously consider "Yeah, I'll watch the rest of this later. Right now, I'm puttin on a porn and wanking instead". This doc had all ... read morethe eye candy I needed to keep my complete mental attention, but that said, it is also an honest and illuminating examination of gay cruising scenes in the 70s up until the AIDS crisis. This is mostly a compilation of various interviews, and I can't recall any annoying overdone narration. This is an important document not just for gay men, but also anyone in human sexuality studies. And great asses abound ;D
  • hoganshero
    October 26, 2007
    hoganshero
    Really interesting title. By the way it means mostly Gay Men. And apparently people would photograph all of the secret underground places where men would meet. Also..I didn't fully grasp the weight of everyone pulling together so much in the wake of the HIV/AIDS epidemic..so real... read morely interesting film.

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Critic Reviews

Ann Hornaday
March 2, 2006
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

An engrossing piece of social history, a lively, astonishingly well-documented excavation of that period between June 1969 and June 1981 when gay men in New York experienced a bacchanalian burst of se... Full Review

Bruce Westbrook
February 17, 2006
Bruce Westbrook, Houston Chronicle

The faces of that movement are what sell this story -- with enthusiasm, not regret. Full Review

Wesley Morris
February 3, 2006
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

Despite the retrospective sensationalism, Lovett's 70-minute documentary is a sobering anti-erotic cautionary tale. Full Review

Robert K. Elder
January 27, 2006
Robert K. Elder, Chicago Tribune

... Lovett's tribute to a bygone era feels like it might resonate deeper if context and character overpowered story upon story of sexual excess. Full Review

Dana Stevens
December 6, 2005
Dana Stevens, New York Times

Lovett's nostalgic paean to the erotic utopia of his youth.

Kevin Thomas
December 6, 2005
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times

Lovett backs up his assertion that the decade bracketed by the 1969 Stonewall riots, marking the beginning of gay liberation, and the emergence of AIDS in 1981 was 'the most libertine period the Weste... Full Review

Kyle Smith
November 4, 2005
Kyle Smith, New York Post

The conclusion is that in this bare-chested band of brothers, what really matters is camaraderie.

John Anderson
November 3, 2005
John Anderson, Newsday

Lovett employs bittersweet but blissful recollections of men who can only be described as survivors. Full Review

Owen Gleiberman
November 2, 2005
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly

The director, Joseph Lovett, wants us to ask if there's such a thing as too much freedom, and he has the sobriety to say yes -- and no. Full Review

Ed Halter
November 1, 2005
Ed Halter, Village Voice

[The film] falls in line with the celebratory doc fare often found at gay film festivals: sub-TV production values, middling archival footage, and a hesitancy to separate history from nostalgia in the... Full Review

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