Synopses & Reviews
Frightening the Horses is the first accessible and inclusive account of gay and gay-themed cinema published in one accessible volume. Avoiding an overly dry and theoretical approach, Braun celebrates the achievements of cinema's gay icons from the years before gay men and lesbians could be openly depicted on the screen - and carries the story right through the introduction of the Production Code in 1930, through the 'undercover' gay icons of the forties and fifties, to the sexual revolution of the sixties and seventies - and beyond. Chapters include: Forbidden Topics, Circumventing the Censor, Gay Icons, Public versus Private Lives and Out of the Closet. Frightening the Horses embraces all movies and themes from movies dealing with overtly gay themes (mainly from the sixties and after), as well as the subtexts, in-jokes and coded messages which run through Hollywood and other film cultures. Extended treatment is given to all the major gay icons - from Judy Garland and Joan Crawford via James Dean and Marlon Brando, right through to River Phoenix, Keanu Reeves and Madonna.
Synopsis
Now fully updated, a sweeping illustrated survey of gay and gay-themed cinema, with 150 photos and posters and a comprehensive filmography. Frightening the Horses is a celebration of gay cinema, from the "undercover" icons of the 40s and 50s, and the sexual revolution of the 60s and 70s, to more recent acclaimed and Oscar-honored movies, like American Beauty, Capote, and Brokeback Mountain. Chapters include: Forbidden Topics, Circumventing the Censor, Gay Icons, Public Versus Private Lives, and Out of the Closet, and extended treatment is given to cult stars like James Dean, Judy Garland, Joan Crawford, and River Phoenix. Featuring 150 photos, film stills, and posters, as well as an extensive filmography, this is a fabulous guide to some of the most subversive and provocative films of the last hundred years.