Big Gay Picture Show

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema and more

Taking a look at the world of film through gay eyes - news, reviews, trailers, gay film, queer cinema & more

Children’s Film Foundation: London Tales (DVD)

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If you’re of a certain age, you’ll remember the Children’s Film Foundation. Starting in the 1950s, the British Film Industry came together under the direction of J. Arthur Rank, to produce wholesome kid’s entertainment under the CFF banner, which would provide more innocent fun than what was being imported from Hollywood. They were largely shown at Saturday Morning Pictures and matinees through the 50s, 60s and 70s, but as TV started to take hold and children had other things to do on a Saturday morning, CFF films got ever more marginalised until they eventually stopped producing short movies. [Read more…]

The Lacey Rituals (DVD)

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The Lacey Rituals is the sort of release that shows why we’re very lucky to have the British Film Institute. It’s a collection that will never appeal beyond a niche audience, but is something it’s more than worth collecting together and digitising for posterity. And without the BFI it’s unlikely it would ever have happened.

Bruce Lacey is seen by many as a seminal figure in the emergence of performance art in the 1950s and 1960s, with his influence perhaps best felt in those around him, such as The Goons, Ken Russell, Richard Lester, Peter Cook, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band and Monty Python. Things such as his work with the Albert Brothers (a small bit of which is included here, but which largely went undocumented) pointed the way towards a new form of anarchic, slightly homemade comedy, with a surreal bent but genuine thought and ‘meaning’ behind it. Lacey describes this is ‘the triumph of the amateur’, something that’s true of much of his career. [Read more…]

Falling Skies – Season 1 (DVD)

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It’s tough to make a successful sci-fi TV show. Many arrive each year but most quickly fall by the wayside, some getting cancelled because the ratings don’t justify the expense and others ending quickly because they’re simply not very good. Falling Skies however was a ratings hit on its US debut last year, and for the most part tells a compelling story.

In the aftermath of an alien invasion, the major cities have been destroyed, modern civilisation has fallen and only ragtag groups of survivors are around to resist the brutal extra-terrestrials. While he’s spent most of his life as a history professor, in this new world Tom Mason (Noah Wyle) has become second in command of the 2nd Massachusetts, a military unit fighting the ‘skitters’ and also sheltering a group of civilians. [Read more…]

Blue Briefs (DVD) (US Release)

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While we’ve mainly concentrated on the UK releases of gay interest entertainment, now we’ve got one from the US. Following on from last year’s release of Black Briefs comes Blue Briefs, a selection of six award-winning, gay-themed short films, ranging from looks at unrequited love to dealing with being gay in a restrictive environment. It’s a great selection. Let’s take a look at the shorts: [Read more…]

Covert Affairs – Season 1 (DVD)

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I think there must be a picture of Piper Perabo mouldering away in an attic somewhere, as she doesn’t look any older now than she did back in 2000 when she starred in Coyote Ugly. The 35-year-old make a perky and entertaining presence at the heart of the Doug Liman produced TV show, Covert Affairs.

She plays Annie Walker, who’s coming to the end of her training to work for the CIA when she’s called into international intelligence agency’s headquarters for a job that can use her language skills (and the fact she could plausibly pass as a hooker!). That’s just the start of her adventures, which take her around the world as she works to prevent the US’ overseas enemies from going through with their nefarious plans, as well as getting caught up in the murky morality of the world of spies she’s gotten herself into. [Read more…]

Boys On Film 8: Cruel Britannia (DVD)

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Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here

After two weeks in which we’ve been reviewing all the Boys On Film gay short film compilations, we’re finally come right up to date with Cruel Britannia. As the title suggests, all 10 shorts on the disc come from the UK and cover a broad range of gay-allied themes, most of which tend towards the darker side of life.

It’s a great selection, showing there’s a lot of talent out there in the UK working on LGBT themed film projects. Here’s what we thought of the shorts. [Read more…]

Boys On Film 7: Bad Romance (DVD)

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Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here.

With Boys On Film: Cruel Britannia out on Monday, we’ve been busy working our way through all eight of Peccadillo Picture’s great compilations of gay short films. You’d think we’d have had enough of them by now, but the series keeps coming up trumps, and this seventh outing, Bad Romance, is no exception (we’ll bring you our thoughts on Cruel Britannia tomorrow). With a loose theme of love gone wrong, these 10 films from around the world cover everything from horror to teen romance, and there’s even an Oscar winner thrown in for good measure.

Here’s what we thought of the shorts: [Read more…]

Boys On Film 6: Pacific Rim (DVD)

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Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here.

The Boys On Film DVD series of gay short film compilations heads to the opposite side of the world for an octet of movies from Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, South Korea and Hawaii. Perhaps a little less gay exclusive than previous releases, it’s a very eclectic bunch of films.

We’re reviewing all the Boys On Film discs ahead of the release of Boys On Film: Cruel Britannia on May 28th, so let’s take a look at the Pacific Rim shorts: [Read more…]

Boys On Film 5: Candy Boy (DVD)

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Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here.

It seems you guys can’t get enough of gay short films, as the Boys On Film reviews we posted last week have proved extremely popular. After Hard Love, In Too Deep, American Boy and Protect Me From What I Want, today we move on to the fifth in the great series, Candy Boy, which we’re reviewing ahead of the release of the eighth compilation, Boys On Film: Cruel Britannia, which is out May 28th (and which we’ll be reviewing later this week).

Candy Boy features nine shorts, so take a look at what we think of them below. [Read more…]

Boys On Film 4: Protect Me From What I Want (DVD)

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Read our reviews of the other Boys On Film short film collections here.

Nine more gay short films are brought together in this fourth disc in the Boy On Film series. Ahead of the release of Boys On Film: Cruel Britannia on May 28th, we’re looking at all the releases, which showcase some of the best gay-themed shorts from around the world. This fourth collection includes films from the US, UK, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and even Iceland, and while some are better than others, they’re definitely an interesting bunch.

Let’s take a look at the nine shorts: [Read more…]