Parting Glances

Parting Glances

Film poster
Directed by Bill Sherwood
Produced by Nancy Greenstein
Paul L. Kaplan
Yoram Mandel
Arthur Silverman
Written by Bill Sherwood
Starring Richard Ganoung
John Bolger
Steve Buscemi
Adam Nathan
Kathy Kinney
Patrick Tull
Production
company
Rondo Productions
Distributed by Cinecom
Release dates
 19 February 1986
Running time
 90 min.
Country  United States
Language English
Parting Glances released on VHS format in 1998

Parting Glances is an American film shot in 1984 and released in 1986. With its realistic look at urban gay life in the Ronald Reagan era and at the height of the AIDS crisis, many film critics consider it an important movie in the history of gay cinema. It was also one of the first American films to address the AIDS/HIV pandemic. First-time director Bill Sherwood died of complications due to AIDS in 1990 without ever completing another film.

Description

The story revolves around a gay male couple, Robert and Michael, in their late twenties, living in New York City. Robert (John Bolger) is leaving for two years on a work assignment in Africa while his partner, Michael (Richard Ganoung), stays behind. Michael's ex-boyfriend, Nick (Steve Buscemi), for whom Michael cooks, looks after and still loves, has AIDS.

Parting Glances plays out over a 24-hour period with scenes taking place at a farewell party for Robert hosted by the couple's friend, Joan (Kathy Kinney), and at a dinner party hosted by Robert's employer, Cecil (Patrick Tull), and his wife, Betty (Yolande Bavan), who have an unconventional marriage.

While classified as a drama, the film also contains many comedic moments. Critics praised the movie's witty, realistic dialogue and detailed evocation of gay and gay-friendly urbanites in 1980s Manhattan. Parting Glances was also one of the first motion pictures to deal frankly and realistically with the subject of AIDS, and the impact of the then relatively new disease on the gay community. In one scene, Nick talks fondly of the 1970s and early 1980s era of decadence to a younger, college-aged gay man.

Bronski Beat songs "Love and Money," "Smalltown Boy" and "Why" are included in the film.

Preservation and restoration

In 2006, Outfest and the UCLA Film and Television Archive announced that the film would be the first to be restored as a part of the Outfest Legacy Project.

On Monday, July 16, 2007 as a part of the Outfest Legacy Project, a restored print of Parting Glances received its world premiere at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles. The four major stars of the film, Richard Ganoung, John Bolger, Steve Buscemi and Kathy Kinney were all in attendance, and participated in a panel discussion after the viewing.

The restoration print received its New York City premiere on October 29, 2007 at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

Reviews and recognition

Parting Glances gave Steve Buscemi his first major movie role. "It is to both his and the film's credit," wrote Janet Maslin in her New York Times review, "that the anguish of AIDS is presented as part of a larger social fabric, understood in context, and never in a maudlin light."[1] Time Out London wrote “Sherwood brings a notable grace and droll humour to his story of two male lovers parting against the backdrop of a friend dying of the Big A.” [2]

References

  1. ↑ Maslin, Janet (February 19, 1986). "NY Times Review, Screen: A couple's Parting Glances" Check |url= value (help). The New York Times. Retrieved January 16, 2006.
  2. ↑ Alexander Ryll. "Essential Gay Themed Films To Watch, Parting Glaces". Gay Essential. Retrieved 7 February 2015.

See also

External links

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