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Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, George Moscone, Dan White

A documentary portrait of San Francisco's first openly gay politician, city supervisor Harvey Milk, The Times of Harvey Milk might not have been made but for the tragic circumstances of Milk's death. ... read more read more...On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former city supervisor who was desperate to regain his post, entered City Hall with a gun and murdered both San Francisco's mayor, George Moscone, and Milk. At the trial, White's lawyer skillfully turned the jury's attention away from his client's public anti-gay statements to focus on White's spotless record and his extremely agitated mental state on the day of the murders. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to a relatively brief jail term, sparking a demonstration and riot by gay supporters of the murdered men. The film considers Milk's accomplishments and his exceptional popularity; this is not an objective look at a man, but a celebration of a martyr. Winner of an Academy award for Best Documentary Feature, The Times of Harvey Milk was released while White was serving his sentence; he was paroled in 1984 and committed suicide the next year. Epstein's other major efforts included the documentaries Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989) (about the AIDS epidemic) and The Celluloid Closet (1995), about images of gay men and women in Hollywood films. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

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93% liked it

3,749 ratings

Critics

100% liked it

18 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 30 min.

Directed by: Robert Epstein, Rob Epstein

Release Date: January 1, 1984

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DVD Release Date: June 8, 2004

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Flixster Reviews (310)

  • FrizzDrop
    September 12, 2011
    FrizzDrop
    Having seen Milk before watching this; the first film to win Best Documentary at the Academy Awards, I was already ingratiated to the image and personality of the first openly gay politician in American history. Penn paints a picture of a working Joe, staunchly oppressed by the p... read moreolitical standards towards sexuality in his early days as a Wall Street broker, his relationships and personal life on display as a way to show his human side to a general audience. This documentary focuses on Milk's aspirations as a leader and less on his life outside of that world. The documentary also doesn't quite showcase the role of Anita Bryant in Prop 6, instead showing a lot of archived footage from newscasts and interviews with Briggs. We're given a small view of Milk, painting him as a responsible and justified politician, and not this multi-sided, intensely savage and yet peacemaker icon, his death more of a sacrilege than an assassination. The brutality of his death and the imagery of the candlelit march resonant better than a filmed sequence of events like in Milk. This is a tale of human rights being exemplified in the Castro district of San Francisco. This is about hatred, chaos, revenge, anarchy, the final resolution between the different peoples of the large scale cityscape, and the fact that discrimination reaches between race, sexual orientation, the disabled, and elderly, and it's all fear turned in on itself. Scary to watch, especially towards the end, if you're not crying or welled with emotion, there is something missing from your movie watching experience.
  • Stinger839
    September 1, 2009
    Stinger839
    http://content9.flixster.com/movie/10/87/44/10874435_tmb.jpg
  • jjnxn
    June 20, 2007
    jjnxn
    wonderful doc profiling someone who wanted to make a difference and the sad miscarriage of justice that followed his slaying.
  • streamofconsciousness
    May 28, 2010
    streamofconsciousness
    An excellent documentary. Very detailed look at Harvey Milk the man and the politician. I felt his life was celebrated, as it should be, without setting him up to be a saint or martyr, which really could have easily been the case.
    A really interesting look into an especially si... read moregnificant period in the gay rights movement, politics in general as well as the justice system in San Francisco.
    Dan White, the man who shot Harvey isn't painted him as a villan nor are his actions excused and the result is an incredibly fascinating look at a mentally disturbed man, who on the surface couldn't have appeared more average.
    I was very impressed with the array of news footage and home videos the filmmakers uncovered.
    This film really made me wonder why the gay rights movement isn't part of the history curriculum, just incredibly shortsighted to exclude it.
  • RemiLogan
    March 16, 2011
    RemiLogan
    Its amazing that such a groundbreaking time in American history has been virtually ignored by the public and media. Then again, it involves the history of gay civil rights, so I shouldn't be surprised. The only reason I had ever even heard of Harvey Milk was because of the Sean P... read moreenn biopic that came out recently.

    This documentary chronicles the life and career of Harvey Milk, San Francisco's openly gay city supervisor who was, of course, assassinated because his very existence rattled the status quo in the 70s. Watching this doc made me feel like a window had been opened into this man's life through the people he befriended during his political career. I was also fascinated by San Francisco and California before my own existence. While I enjoyed the Sean Penn film, I feel like it should be accompanied by this film. I definitely recommend if you're a fan of civil rights documentaries or are just interested in learning about a little piece of California history.
  • SunilJawahir
    December 14, 2008
    SunilJawahir
    An awesome documentary that does an amazing job of sucking you into it's web. It's hard to not find Harvey Milk a very lovable man of the people.
  • toejambaseball24
    April 25, 2008
    toejambaseball24
    A gripping documentary about a rising political star whose life ended in tragedy. I wish it was more balanced with the interviews though. There was a trial and the verdict was depicted as unjust, and the only opinions the film gave were those of Milk's closest friends (who, of co... read moreurse, would view the verdict as unjust). I was interested in the motives and the defense's argument of Dan White (the killer), but it didn't elaborate much on that. It's an interesting watch though.
  • KLFilmmaker
    January 13, 2008
    KLFilmmaker
    Won best documentary Oscar in 1984 and rightfully so. This tells the story of a man who helped change the rules for gay rights in America. A nice slice of some political history.
  • PatienceSmatience
    February 19, 2010
    PatienceSmatience
    This is an excellent documentary about the political and personal life of Harvey Milk and his fight for civil rights and equal opportunity. This film is simultaneously tragic and uplifting.
  • philliprenke
    February 16, 2009
    philliprenke
    I haven't seen the Sean Penn version of Milk, but I always prefer to see a real documentary if available. Not having known the history of Harvey Milk, I was pretty surprised at what happened to him. This movie gives a sense of the gay communities struggle to be treated as equals ... read moreand the even greater forces driving to supress them.

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Critic Reviews

James Kendrick
March 28, 2011
James Kendrick, Q Network Film Desk

a finely structured and deeply moving portrait of not just a man, but, as the title suggests, the times in which he lived and how he affected, and was affected by, them Full Review

S. Jhoanna Robledo
December 31, 2010
S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media

Thought-provoking look at a charismatic politician's life. Full Review

David Ehrenstein
February 12, 2009
David Ehrenstein, L.A. Weekly

A lot has happened in the 25 years between Rob Epstein's Oscar-winning 1984 documentary and Gus Van Sant's biopic, but the subject of the nation's signal gay rights leader is as relevant as ever. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
December 8, 2008
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Superb documentary about slain political activist Harvey Milk. Full Review

John A. Nesbit
November 22, 2008
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

Throughout the film, Epstein keeps Milk's political agenda in mind Full Review

David Nusair
November 5, 2008
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...tremendously entertaining and surprisingly moving... Full Review

Douglas Pratt
June 15, 2007
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser

White comes across, even if one ignores his political and social opinions, as a Travis Bickle who used his outward persona to achieve the first rung of public office. The interviews with him are far m...

Emanuel Levy
January 9, 2007
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com

A chronicle of a significant chapter in gay history as well as a portrait of an endearing figure. Full Review

Sarah Chauncey
July 23, 2004
Sarah Chauncey, Reel.com

Must-see for anyone interested in human rights.

Matt Brunson
June 25, 2004
Matt Brunson, Creative Loafing

A richly detailed film that takes the story beyond White to create a vivid impression of a specific time and place. Full Review

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The Times of Harvey Milk Trivia

  • "Milk" - the Life and Times of Harvey Milk- In the film's opening scene Harvey first met his future lover Scott Smith, played by James Franco. The date '1970' was superimposed over the scene. Where did this meeting take place?   Answer »
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