Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "homosexual-history"
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1. Fellow Travelers (2023)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, Romance
Follows the lives and volatile romance of two different men, through purges, wars, protests, and plagues, overcoming obstacles in the world.
Stars: Matt Bomer, Jonathan Bailey, Jelani Alladin, Linus Roache
Votes: 10,744
2. Rustin (2023)
PG-13 | 106 min | Biography, Drama, History
Activist Bayard Rustin faces racism and homophobia as he helps change the course of Civil Rights history by orchestrating the 1963 March on Washington.
Director: George C. Wolfe | Stars: Colman Domingo, Chris Rock, Glynn Turman, Aml Ameen
Votes: 12,552
3. Milk (I) (2008)
R | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American gay activist Harvey Milk, who fought for gay rights and was elected as California's first openly gay official.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Emile Hirsch, Diego Luna
Votes: 179,888 | Gross: $31.84M
4. A Very English Scandal (2018)
TV-14 | 56 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
British Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe is accused of conspiracy to murder his gay ex-lover and forced to stand trial in 1979.
Stars: Hugh Grant, Ben Whishaw, Alex Jennings, Patricia Hodge
Votes: 16,260
5. Kinsey (2004)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A look at the life of Alfred Kinsey, a pioneer in the area of human sexuality research, whose 1948 publication "Sexual Behavior in the Human Male" was one of the first recorded works that saw science address sexual behavior.
Director: Bill Condon | Stars: Liam Neeson, Laura Linney, Chris O'Donnell, Peter Sarsgaard
Votes: 50,972 | Gross: $10.21M
6. Wilde (1997)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The turmoil in poet/playwright Oscar Wilde's life after he discovers his homosexuality.
Director: Brian Gilbert | Stars: Stephen Fry, Jude Law, Vanessa Redgrave, Jennifer Ehle
Votes: 18,130 | Gross: $2.16M
7. Gay Sex in the 70s (2005)
Not Rated | 67 min | Documentary
A chronicle of gay culture in New York during the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDs era.
Director: Joseph F. Lovett | Stars: Robert Alvarez, Alvin Baltrop, Barton Benes, Tom Bianchi
Votes: 925 | Gross: $0.25M
8. A Very British Sex Scandal (2007 TV Movie)
85 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A docu-drama which chronicles the experiences and actions of Peter Wildeblood which eventually led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Great Britain.
Director: Patrick Reams | Stars: Nicholas Le Prevost, Harriet Eastcott, Sam Heughan, Barny Clevely
Votes: 880
9. When We Rise (2017)
TV-14 | 85 min | Drama
A chronicled re-telling of the gay rights movement in the United States, beginning with the Stonewall riots in 1969.
Stars: Rachel Griffiths, Austin P. McKenzie, Mary-Louise Parker, Emily Skeggs
Votes: 3,376
10. Stonewall (2015)
R | 129 min | Drama, History
A young man's political awakening and coming of age during the days and weeks leading up to the Stonewall Riots.
Director: Roland Emmerich | Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Jonny Beauchamp, Joey King, Caleb Landry Jones
Votes: 4,463 | Gross: $0.19M
11. Queers (2017)
TV-14 | Drama
Eight short monologues were written for this series in response to the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which decriminalized homosexual acts in private between two men aged 21 or over.
Stars: Alan Cumming, Russell Tovey, Ben Whishaw, Gemma Whelan
Votes: 622
12. The Celluloid Closet (1995)
R | 102 min | Documentary, History
A documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Susie Bright, Arthur Laurents
Votes: 7,518 | Gross: $1.51M
13. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
Director: Rob Epstein | Stars: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann
Votes: 6,580 | Gross: $0.01M
14. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,358 | Gross: $0.13M
15. Welcome to Chechnya (2020)
TV-MA | 107 min | Documentary
A group of activists risk their lives fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in Chechnya.
Director: David France | Stars: Olga Baranova, David Isteev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Maxim Lapunov
Votes: 3,144
16. The Naked Civil Servant (1975 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 77 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
The life and times of Quentin Crisp, an outrageous and flamboyant homosexual, coming of age and growing into old age in conservative England.
Director: Jack Gold | Stars: John Hurt, Liz Gebhardt, Patricia Hodge, Stanley Lebor
Votes: 1,902
17. The Trials of Oscar Wilde (1960)
PG | 123 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of Oscar Wilde's libel suit against the Marquis of Queensberry and the tragic turn his life takes because of it.
Director: Ken Hughes | Stars: Peter Finch, Yvonne Mitchell, James Mason, Nigel Patrick
Votes: 1,120
18. Commitment to Life (2023)
115 min | Documentary
Against a rich Hollywood backdrop, "Commitment to Life" documents the true story of the fight against HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles - and how an intrepid group of people living with HIV/AIDS, ... See full summary »
Director: Jeffrey Schwarz | Stars: Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Mark Wahlberg, Robin Williams
Votes: 48
19. Saturday Night at the Baths (1975)
R | 86 min | Comedy, Drama
A musician from Montana finds work and other things at The Continental Baths in New York City, 1974.
Director: David Buckley | Stars: Robert Aberdeen, Ellen Sheppard, Don Scotti, Steve Ostrow
Votes: 515
20. Citizen Cohn (1992 TV Movie)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama
As lawyer and power broker Roy Cohn lies dying of AIDS in a private hospital room, ghosts from his past visit him as he reflects on his life and loves.
Director: Frank Pierson | Stars: James Woods, Joe Don Baker, Joseph Bologna, Ed Flanders
Votes: 1,517
21. We Were Here (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A deep and reflective look at the arrival and impact of AIDS in San Francisco and how individuals rose to the occasion during the first years of this unimaginable crisis.
Directors: David Weissman, Bill Weber | Stars: Ed Wolf, Daniel Goldstein, Guy Clark, Eileen Glutzer
Votes: 2,280
22. For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)
Unrated | 95 min | Documentary, Romance
An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.
Director: Daniel G. Karslake | Stars: Imogene Robinson, Victor Robinson, Gene Robinson, Isabella 'Boo' McDaniel
Votes: 4,519 | Gross: $0.31M
23. Stonewall (1995)
R | 99 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A group of homosexual people try to live with dignity and self-respect while events build to the opening battle in the major gay rights movement.
Director: Nigel Finch | Stars: Guillermo Diaz, Frederick Weller, Brendan Corbalis, Duane Boutte
Votes: 1,740 | Gross: $0.62M
24. Mondo Homo: A Study of French Gay Porn in the '70s (2014)
97 min | Documentary
Between 1975 and 1983 a new kind of film could be seen in French cinema : home-grown gay pornography. The films were shot in 16mm and most of them were passed and given certificates by the ... See full summary »
Director: Hervé Joseph Lebrun | Stars: François About, Philippe Vallois, Jean-Michel Sénécal, Piotr Stanislas
Votes: 18
25. An Englishman in New York (2009)
Not Rated | 75 min | Biography, Drama
The later years of Quentin Crisp's life in New York City.
Director: Richard Laxton | Stars: John Hurt, Denis O'Hare, Jonathan Tucker, Cynthia Nixon
Votes: 1,592
26. Paragraph 175 (2000)
Not Rated | 81 min | Documentary, History, Romance
Historian Klaus Müller interviews survivors of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals because of the German Penal Code of 1871, Paragraph 175.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Rupert Everett, Klaus Müller, Karl Gorath, Pierre Seel
Votes: 2,192 | Gross: $0.07M
27. Brother to Brother (2004)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
A drama that looks back on the Harlem Renaissance from the perspective of an elderly, black writer who meets a gay teenager in a New York homeless shelter.
Director: Rodney Evans | Stars: Anthony Mackie, Roger Robinson, Alex Burns, Kevin Jackson
Votes: 1,262
28. Breaking the Surface: The Greg Louganis Story (1997 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 95 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Breaking the Surface is about the tough times Greg Louganis had on his way to becoming one of the world's top Olympic divers. Some topics discussed were Greg's childhood problems, his homosexuality, and him contracting the HIV virus.
Director: Steven Hilliard Stern | Stars: Mario Lopez, Michael Murphy, Jeffrey Meek, Rosemary Dunsmore
Votes: 716
29. Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989)
79 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A collection of profiles of people dead from AIDS who are remembered in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Sara Lewinstein, David Mandell, Suzi Mandell, Sallie Perryman
Votes: 1,086
30. Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992)
85 min | Documentary
Ten women, most of them in Vancouver or Toronto, talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first ... See full summary »
Directors: Lynne Fernie, Aerlyn Weissman | Stars: Keely Moll, Stephanie Ozard, Ann Bannon, Reva Hutkin
Votes: 320
31. Oscar Wilde (1960)
Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
Playwright Oscar Wilde's homosexuality is exposed when he brings a libel action against his lover's father, leading to his own prosecution.
Director: Gregory Ratoff | Stars: Robert Morley, Phyllis Calvert, Ralph Richardson, John Neville
Votes: 631
32. Strip Jack Naked: Nighthawks II (1991)
Unrated | 91 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Ron Peck talks about his experiences of growing up as a gay man, the attitudes to homosexuality in Britain, and his journey towards making his film Nighthawks (1978).
Director: Ron Peck | Stars: Ron Peck, John Brown, John Daimon, Nick Bolton
Votes: 124
33. Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria (2005)
57 min | Documentary
Documentary about transgender women and drag queens who fought police harassment at Compton's Cafeteria in San Francisco's Tenderloin in 1966, three years before the famous riot at Stonewall Inn bar in NYC.
Directors: Victor Silverman, Susan Stryker | Stars: Ray Baxter, Elliot Blackstone, Aleshia Brevard, Felicia Elizondo
Votes: 199
34. Before Stonewall (1984)
Unrated | 87 min | Documentary, History
The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement.
Directors: Greta Schiller, Robert Rosenberg | Stars: Rita Mae Brown, Bruce Nugent, Henry Otis, Donna Smith
Votes: 1,190 | Gross: $0.02M
35. Killing Patient Zero (2019)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, History
Gaetan Dugas was openly gay. In early 1980s he contracted what was termed "gay cancer". He provided blood samples and 72 names of his former sex partners. Dugas was demonized for his promiscuity and wrongfully identified as patient zero.
Director: Laurie Lynd | Stars: Richard Berkowitz, Richard Bisson, Anita Bryant, Marcus A. Conant
Votes: 325
36. Execution of Justice (1999 TV Movie)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama
The story of an assassin who killed a mayor in the 1970's in what was known as the "Twinkie Defense".
Director: Leon Ichaso | Stars: Tim Daly, Peter Coyote, Khalil Kain, Tyne Daly
Votes: 274
37. Boys Beware (1962)
10 min | Short, Crime, Drama
This anti-homosexual social "scare" short film focuses on the dangers of young boys talking to strangers.
Star: Sid Davis
Votes: 637
38. The Lavender Scare (2017)
77 min | Documentary
With the United States gripped in the panic of the Cold War, President Dwight D. Eisenhower deems homosexuals to be "security risks" and orders the immediate firing of any government ... See full summary »
Director: Josh Howard | Stars: Glenn Close, David Hyde Pierce, Cynthia Nixon, Zachary Quinto
Votes: 174
39. Stonewall Uprising (2010)
Unrated | 80 min | Documentary, History
This film tells the story of the massive police raid of Stonewall in June 1969.
Directors: Kate Davis, David Heilbroner | Stars: Paul Bosche, Alfredo del Rio, John DiGiacomo, Dana Gaiser
Votes: 620 | Gross: $0.13M
40. Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)
83 min | Documentary, Biography
Documentary on Bayard Rustin, best-remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington.
Directors: Nancy D. Kates, Bennett Singer | Stars: Bayard Rustin, Dorothy Jackson, John Rodgers, Louis John
Votes: 226
41. That Man: Peter Berlin (2005)
Unrated | 81 min | Documentary, Biography
This intimate film reveals the legendary man with the white saran wrapped pants, undersized leather vests, and Dutch-boy haircut who is the iconic Peter Berlin.
Director: Jim Tushinski | Stars: Peter Berlin, Armistead Maupin, John Waters, Jack Wrangler
Votes: 424 | Gross: $0.06M
42. Consenting Adults (2007 TV Movie)
80 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
This movie is a BBC Four television dramatization of the events of the Wolfenden committee, whose report led to the decriminalization of homosexuality in Britain. Set in the 1950s, this ... See full summary »
Director: Richard Curson Smith | Stars: Matt Ryan, Jamie Martin, Charles Dance, Sean Biggerstaff
Votes: 118
43. Word Is Out (1977)
124 min | Documentary, Biography, History
26 diverse lesbian and gay people are interviewed about their lives and the challenges they experience in a homophobic culture. A groundbreaking documentary is now an artefact of a different time.
Directors: Nancy Adair, Andrew Brown, Rob Epstein | Stars: Pat Bond, John Burnside, Sally M. Gearhart, Elsa Gidlow
Votes: 539
44. Making the Boys (2011)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Romance
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of the Gay Rights Movement, the film explores the drama, struggle and enduring legacy of the first-ever gay play and subsequent Hollywood movie to ... See full summary »
Director: Crayton Robey | Stars: Edward Albee, Joe Allen, Matt Baney, David Carter
Votes: 712 | Gross: $0.03M
45. Eye on the Guy: Alan B. Stone & the Age of Beefcake (2006)
48 min | Documentary
A look at the homo-erotic photography of Alan B Stone.
Directors: Philip Lewis, Jean-François Monette | Stars: Gérald Desfossés, Ross Higgins, Gwyneth Jones, Gilles Léonard
Votes: 30
46. Deep Water: The Real Story (2016)
87 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Up to 80 murders, 30 unsolved cases, thousands of assaults. In the 1980s and 1990s a murderous epidemic grips Sydney. The attackers are united by contempt. Their targets united by their ... See full summary »
Director: Amanda Blue | Stars: David McMahon, Sue Thompson, Peter Russell, Ted Russell
Votes: 152
47. Continental (2013)
95 min | Documentary
The story of Continental Baths, a well-known New York City establishment for gays during the late '60 to 1974.
Director: Malcolm Ingram | Stars: Bette Midler, Jaye P. Morgan, Melissa Manchester, Holly Woodlawn
Votes: 268
48. Gen Silent (2011)
TV-PG | 70 min | Documentary, Biography, History
LGBT people who fought the earliest battles for equality now face so much fear about discrimination, or worse, in health care/long-term care that they hide their past lives, are afraid to ... See full summary »
Director: Stu Maddux | Stars: Claire Barden, Lois Johnson
Votes: 72
49. The Colour of His Hair (2017)
23 min | Documentary, Short, History
An examination of the Lesbian and Gay News Media Archive in London interspersed with recollections of the Homosexual Law Reform Society and a meditation on life under discriminatory law.
Director: Sam Ashby | Stars: Sean Hart, Josh O'Connor, John Alcock, Matt Cook
Votes: 134
50. Improper Conduct (1984)
112 min | Documentary
An examination of Cuba's "moral purges" that began in 1964 with UMAP camps for those suspected of or found guilty of "improper conduct." Key moments brought outside attention to these ... See full summary »
Directors: Néstor Almendros, Orlando Jiménez Leal | Stars: Lorenzo Monreal, Jorge Lago, Julio Medina, César Bermudez
Votes: 129