Stonewall

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

The birth of the gay rights movement gets a fictionalized treatment in this drama based loosely on the acclaimed documentary of the same name by Martin Duberman. In 1969, Matty Dean (Fred Weller) arrives in New York City's Greenwich Village hoping that life there will provide the sexual liberation forbidden to him by his small town upbringing. Matty falls in love with LaMiranda (Guillermo Diaz), a cross-dresser who introduces him to the regulars at the infamous Stonewall Inn, a popular gay bar. He is shocked, however, to learn that the NYPD regularly raids the Stonewall, harassing the clientele and closeted owner Vinnie (Bruce MacVitte). After one such incident, Matty ends up in jail, where he's attracted to Ethan (Brendan Corbalis), a gay activist preaching a moderate policy of conformity and peaceful protest. The latter is not possible, however, when police storm the Stonewall yet again and, led by Vinnie's lover Bustonia (Duane Boutte), enraged drag queens fight back in a riot of historical significance. ~ Karl Williams, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Screen: Color
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Guillermo Diaz - LaMiranda
       Frederick Weller - Matty Dean
       Brendan Corbalis - Ethan
       Bruce MacVittie - Vinnie
       Luis Guzman - Vito
       Aida Turturro - Bar Waitress

• Director:

  Nigel Finch

• Producer:

  Ruth Caleb, Christine Vachon

• Screenwriter:

  Ricky Beadle-Blair

• Book Author:

  Martin Duberman

• Cinematographer:

  Chris Seager

• Composer (Music Score):

  Michael Kamen

• Songwriter:

  Michael Kamen

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Randall Poster

• Editor:

  John Richards

• Production Designer:

  Therese DePrez

• Executive Producer:

  George Faber, Anthony Wall

• Set Designer:

  Charles Ford

• Costume Designer:

  Michael Clancy

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Coll Anderson

• Makeup:

  Jason Rail

• Casting:

  Kerry Barden, Billy Hopkins, Suzanne Smith

• Music Producer:

  Stephen McLaughlin

REVIEW:

• Part historical drama, part gay melodrama and part mythic drag fantasia, Stonewall tries to be too many things at once. Although screenwriter Rikki Beadle Blair and director Nigel Finch deserve credit for not turning the film into a dour political treatise, they lose points for indulging in post-Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert camp. The film is completely upfront about its anachronisms and poetic license, but that doesn't necessarily make them valid artistic choices. That said, the cast works wonders with the all-over-the-place material, especially Guillermo Diaz, who adds another indelible character to his diverse resume in the form of La Miranda, a cross-dressing prostitute who finds love with Frederick Weller's corn-fed idealist. Duane Boutte, who would go on to appear in the Harlem Renaissance drama Brother to Brother, also excels as Bostonia, a put-upon transsexual whose grief-fuelled defiance helps incite the famous riots. It's fitting that, as with the actual Stonewall uprising, the most powerful element of Stonewall would be the drag queens. Unfortunately, they're thrown into a film that mines them for generic fabulousness as often as it explores their pathos and dignity. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi