basta323
11th April 2011, 07:26 PM
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Description
A documentary portrait of San Francisco's first openly gay politician, city supervisor Harvey Milk, The Times of Harvey Milk (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/the+times+of+harvey+milk) might not have been made but for the tragic circumstances of Milk's death. On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former city supervisor who was desperate to regain his post, entered City Hall with a gun and murdered both San Francisco's mayor, George Moscone, and Milk. At the trial, White's lawyer skillfully turned the jury's attention away from his client's public anti-gay statements to focus on White's spotless record and his extremely agitated mental state on the day of the murders. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to a relatively brief jail term, sparking a demonstration and riot by gay supporters of the murdered men. The film considers Milk's accomplishments and his exceptional popularity; this is not an objective look at a man, but a celebration of a martyr. Winner of an Academy award for Best Documentary Feature, The Times of Harvey Milk (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/the+times+of+harvey+milk) was released while White was serving his sentence; he was paroled in 1984 and committed suicide the next year. Epstein (http://www.allmovie.com/search/artist/epstein)'s other major efforts included the documentaries Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/common+threads%3A+stories+from+the+quilt) (1989) (about the AIDS epidemic) and The Celluloid Closet (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/the+celluloid+closet) (1995), about images of gay men and women in Hollywood films.
Description
A documentary portrait of San Francisco's first openly gay politician, city supervisor Harvey Milk, The Times of Harvey Milk (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/the+times+of+harvey+milk) might not have been made but for the tragic circumstances of Milk's death. On November 27, 1978, Dan White, a former city supervisor who was desperate to regain his post, entered City Hall with a gun and murdered both San Francisco's mayor, George Moscone, and Milk. At the trial, White's lawyer skillfully turned the jury's attention away from his client's public anti-gay statements to focus on White's spotless record and his extremely agitated mental state on the day of the murders. White was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to a relatively brief jail term, sparking a demonstration and riot by gay supporters of the murdered men. The film considers Milk's accomplishments and his exceptional popularity; this is not an objective look at a man, but a celebration of a martyr. Winner of an Academy award for Best Documentary Feature, The Times of Harvey Milk (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/the+times+of+harvey+milk) was released while White was serving his sentence; he was paroled in 1984 and committed suicide the next year. Epstein (http://www.allmovie.com/search/artist/epstein)'s other major efforts included the documentaries Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/common+threads%3A+stories+from+the+quilt) (1989) (about the AIDS epidemic) and The Celluloid Closet (http://www.allmovie.com/search/work/the+celluloid+closet) (1995), about images of gay men and women in Hollywood films.