Brokeback Mountain tops poll of gay movies
The readers of gay entertainment website AfterElton.com have selected queer cowboy classic Brokeback Mountain as the Greatest Gay Movie Of All Time.
570 films were nominated, with a British effort, Beautiful Thing, coming in second, with Shelter third.
British films Maurice and Get Real also made the top ten.
“Except for two films, The Boys in the Band (1970) and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), every movie on this list was produced in the 1980s or later,” said AfterElton.
“What’s this? Don’t gay people like classic films? A more likely explanation, of course, is that gay-related content rarely existed on film until the 1980s — and if it did, it was almost invariably offensive.”
The top ten:
1) Brokeback Mountain
2) Beautiful Thing
3) Shelter
4) Latter Days
5) Maurice
6) Trick
7) Get Real
8) Big Eden
9) The Broken Hearts Club
10) The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Click here to see the full top 50 list.
Released in 2005, Brokeback Mountain was an international hit and won three Oscars, with Ang Lee picking up best director. It also won best adapted screenplay and best music.
Jake Gyllenhall won a Bafta for his portrayal of Jack Twist, who meets and falls in love with fellow rancher Ennis del Mar, played by Heath Ledger.
This year Cuban state television showed its support for the International Day Against Homophobia by screening the gay love story.
Brokeback star Heath Ledger was found dead in his New York apartment on January 22nd, setting into motion a media firestorm of speculation and accusation on the actor’s apparent drug use.
Though initial reports suggested Ledger may have attempted suicide, New York Police Department investigators quickly confirmed they found no evidence of foul play or suicide.
A Brokeback opera is scheduled to premiere in spring 2013 and, like the film version, it will feature a dramatic musical score.
