The Times of Harvey Milk
1984 Directed by Rob Epstein
Synopsis
He was powerful, charismatic, compassionate and gay. After eleven months in office he was assassinated.
A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay councilor.
Popular reviews
More-
Harvey Milk was assassinated 35 years ago, this documentary was made 29 years ago and it saddens me, sickens me and angers me that what Milk stood for, what Milk fought for is still a hot debate topic in the United States of America. How long will people need to have it drilled into their heads that just because a person is a homosexual does not make them a monster, freak or second-class citizen?
The human rights movement has definitely made progress since Milk's time on the Board of Supervisors for San Francisco. He was a pioneer in the gay rights agenda and what he says in the footage used in this documentary is the very foundation of what people…
-
Why is being gay even an issue? While I have to ponder the effects of religious morality and puritanism on American politics, there was one question that troubled me even more than this: Why has a sexual fetish become a lifestyle? Harvey Milk was defined by his sexual fetish in the bedroom, but why was that. My answer would probably be that American puritanism leads to the repression of sexuality which pushes it to extremes to define the citizens. Hopefully someday we will care less about the sexuality and differences of others and push forward to look into more important issues.
Also I don't understand why he was treated as such a martyr. The guy who shot him did so…
-
Really great documentary about Harvey Milk and the fight for the rights of gays. Great interviews and insights and a very moving story. I liked this better than the film about his life, even though Milk was a good biopic. I guess nothing is as good as real life.
And here is an interesting trivia:
"White served five years of his seven-year sentence at Soledad State Prison and was paroled on January 7, 1984... On October 21, 1985, less than two years after his release from prison, White committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage by running a garden hose from the exhaust pipe to the inside of his car. White's body was discovered by his brother, Thomas, shortly before 2 pm the same day."
I wonder how much this Oscar winning documentary helped him there. I guess serving only five years was maybe worse punishment than staying in prison.
-
Thoughtful & composed film about a unique politician – a popular man doing a decent job – caught up in other peoples’ hysteria; murdered for nothing.
Recent reviews
More-
The final 20 minutes (following the absurdity of Dan White's trial and his verdict, and the various responses people had to them) were the most interesting, powerful, and resonant. I was left with many questions about Milk, and about White, that would not have been too difficult for the filmmakers to take some time to draw out and answer.
-
A must see documentary. One that ignites both outrage and hope. So much better than Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black's film MILK.
-
Thoughtful & composed film about a unique politician – a popular man doing a decent job – caught up in other peoples’ hysteria; murdered for nothing.
-
Goddamn heartbreaking. Lots of tears.
-
Capable of eliciting a wide range of emotions, especially outrage at the Dan White trial that the film's fictional counter-part left to a snide coda. At the same time, the film sometimes gets in its own way, not letting its most poignant moments speak for themselves.
-
Why is being gay even an issue? While I have to ponder the effects of religious morality and puritanism on American politics, there was one question that troubled me even more than this: Why has a sexual fetish become a lifestyle? Harvey Milk was defined by his sexual fetish in the bedroom, but why was that. My answer would probably be that American puritanism leads to the repression of sexuality which pushes it to extremes to define the citizens. Hopefully someday we will care less about the sexuality and differences of others and push forward to look into more important issues.
Also I don't understand why he was treated as such a martyr. The guy who shot him did so…
-
Harvey Milk was assassinated 35 years ago, this documentary was made 29 years ago and it saddens me, sickens me and angers me that what Milk stood for, what Milk fought for is still a hot debate topic in the United States of America. How long will people need to have it drilled into their heads that just because a person is a homosexual does not make them a monster, freak or second-class citizen?
The human rights movement has definitely made progress since Milk's time on the Board of Supervisors for San Francisco. He was a pioneer in the gay rights agenda and what he says in the footage used in this documentary is the very foundation of what people…
-
A great primer for Gus Van Sant's "Milk". Harvey Milk was a great man, and a fantastic path-forger as the first openly gay elected official in San Francisco, and possibly anywhere, and it's a shame his life ended as suddenly as it did. The praise is a little overdone (he was only in office seven months, after all), but there is no doubting the ground he broke. The live TV debate about the ordinance to ban gay teachers is his finest moment.
-
Really great documentary about Harvey Milk and the fight for the rights of gays. Great interviews and insights and a very moving story. I liked this better than the film about his life, even though Milk was a good biopic. I guess nothing is as good as real life.
And here is an interesting trivia:
"White served five years of his seven-year sentence at Soledad State Prison and was paroled on January 7, 1984... On October 21, 1985, less than two years after his release from prison, White committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage by running a garden hose from the exhaust pipe to the inside of his car. White's body was discovered by his brother, Thomas, shortly before 2 pm the same day."
I wonder how much this Oscar winning documentary helped him there. I guess serving only five years was maybe worse punishment than staying in prison.