A Bit Of Scarlet (1997)
A Bit of Scarlet excavates clips from Britain's cinema archives to create a moving and humorous testament to the closeted gay and lesbian images from filmmaking's earliest days.
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So much average
Absolutely Fantastic
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.
Andrea Weiss has produced an extremely entertaining and empowering documentary of the queer side of British film history which compliments The Celluloid Closet beautifully (they were both works in progress, by pure coincidence, at the same time - but are very different in style and purpose). I interviewed Andrea when she was in town to present her film on 2nd August '97 at the Brisbane International Film Festival and she was deservedly proud of this feature, however she was shocked when the projectionist showed the last few reels out of order (that's one problem which cannot happen these days with digital projection). In November 2008 Andrea released a very good quality "burn on demand" DVD edition of "A Bit Of Scarlet" through Jezebel Productions and I loved viewing the entire film as Andrea intended.Ian McKellen's beautiful narration is a key element - and with Ian being a genuine veteran queer rights activist, there is no more eminently qualified actor for that role. "A Bit Of Scarlet" is a very welcome celebration and appreciation of queer identity in film (especially from the British viewpoint), rather than an attempt to define the history of that element.