Cruising the Movies

This month on Cruising the Movies, Liz and KJ take a look at what is undoubtedly one of the most controversial lesbian films ever made: cinematographer-turned-director Gordon Willis's 1980 film, Windows. Talia Shire stars as Emily, a mousy stutterer who endures a bizarre assault at the hands of a stranger after returning home from work one night. While she initially finds comfort and protection in poet Andrea (Elizabeth Ashley), she later comes to find out there's more to her friend than meets the eye. Over the course of the episode, we compare the final film to its radically different originaly screenplay and talk about how it fits in with the other three controversial queer New York films from 1980: Can't Stop the Music (dir. Nancy Walker), Cruising (dir. William Friedkin), and Dressed to Kill (dir. Brian De Palma). And if you're in the New York area, we'll be presenting a very rare 35mm screening of the film at IFC on Monday, November 24th at 7pm!

This month on CRUISING THE MOVIES, Liz and KJ take a look at two very different—but similar!—riffs on Alfred Hitchcock's analyzed-to-death PSYCHO: William Castle's 1961 film HOMICIDAL and Mark Oates and Tom Rubnitz's 1985 video short, PSYKHO III: THE MUSICAL. In HOMICIDAL, the kind-hearted Miriam Webster is framed for the cold-blooded murder of a justice of the peace just as her absent brother Warren returns home from a long trip to Denmark after the death of their father. As tensions begin to flare over who will inherit the sizable fortune, Warren’s mysterious new wife will stop at nothing to make sure it doesn’t go to his sister. With its insanely twisted take on gender and winkingly campy tone (not to mention the "Fright Break"—one of filmmaker William Castle's signature gimmicks), HOMICIDAL plays like something of a drag parody of Hitchcock's original film. Meanwhile, PSYKHO III: THE MUSICAL actually is a drag parody: a videotaped version of Mark Oates' musical adaptation of the Hitchcock film originally staged at the legendary Pyramid Club.

On this episode of CRUISING THE MOVIES, Liz and KJ discuss what they consider one of the best documentaries of all time, regardless of topic: Rosa Von Praunheim's ARMY OF LOVERS OR REVOLT OF THE PERVERTS. Made by the prodigious German filmmaker in the aftermath of his groundbreaking and controversial IT IS NOT THE HOMOSEXUAL WHO IS PERVERSE BUT THE SOCIETY IN WHICH HE LIVES—and at the same time as several other of his New York-based features—ARMY OF LOVERS documents the peaks and valleys of gay liberation in the US during the 1970s. Along the way, Praunheim meets both the historical catalysts of gay liberation as well as a cavalcade of characters, including Rev. Troy Perry, sex god Fred Halsted, and more than one person on the fringes of acceptability. Tune in as we talk about Rosa's longstanding fascination and celebration of the United States, warts and all, his distinctive storytelling style, and this documentary still feels provocative and salient five decades later.

On this episode of CRUISING THE MOVIES, our hosts dive into another queer film classic: Edward D. Wood, Jr..’s GLEN OR GLENDA. Calling anything Ed Wood made a genuine “classic” is a relatively new phenomenon in many film circles. Ed Wood used to be the laughingstock of lazy (and bigoted) critics—his name being shorthand for poorly done and confusing work. Now, amid what would’ve been the filmmaker’s 100th birthday, many more people are seeing his films as fascinating looks at gender, desire, and dreamlike feelings that can’t even be put into words. At once earnest and surreal, we make the case that GLEN OR GLENDA should be seen as a foundational trans film—and how Wood’s personal life shaped some of the storylines you see onscreen. We then continue this conversation with Willow Catelyn McClay, co-author of CORPSES, FOOLS, AND MONSTERS: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF TRANSNESS IN CINEMA. Liz, KJ, and Willow all discuss how you don’t get to David Lynch without Ed Wood, why domesticity is a recurring tension in trans film images, and where trans cinema may (hopefully) go next.  You can watch a rare 35mm print (!) of GLEN OR GLENDA with us at the IFC Center on Tuesday, August 20 at 7PM. We are pairing it with the short VALERIE, which is a gem of a short about a Black trans woman in 1970s Ohio. CORPSES, FOOLS, AND MONSTERS is  available wherever you do reputable book business.