Word Is Out

Clunky, earnest early document of the gay movement, pre-AIDS. A lot of unintentional humor--and a few scenes that, in retrospect, have an equally unintended horror. Briefly celebrated when it was released, the film seems to have vanished entirely.

Far from a "clunker," "Word Is Out" is a beautifully edited collective portrait of a moment in gay and lesbian history in the US. The film captures the optimism of the late 1970s after the early headiness of the g/l movement and before the horrors of HIV/AIDS. Most documentaries focus on a small number of subjects, but "Word" manages to weave together the stories of 26 men and women of different ages and backgrounds, primarily from the SF Bay Area and the Northeast, but with some reference to the Southwest and the South. The effect is to demonstrate that no single narrative of g/l life is adequate.

Displaying humor, tact and candor, the film is a "must see" for younger g/l/b/t people for whom 1977 is ancient history. Rumor has it that the film will be released on DVD with updates on most of the participants this fall.

Documentary which has 26 gay men and lesbian discussing growing up gay and how they dealt with it. Some of the stories are horrific--one man was institutionalized and given shock treatment to "cure" him! Another women lost custody of all her children when she started to live with her lesbian lover. That never happens today. Still--this isn't all doom and gloom. All of them made it clear that they went through hell--but they made it and weren't backing down.

For 1978 it was a groundbreaker. I think all the 26 people were very courageous to do this. This came out when I was a closeted high school student. I couldn't see it (it was R rated and I was only 16 and looked 12!) and missed it when it played on PBS a year later. Finally--after 30 YEARS--I finally saw it. Yes it's dated and has plenty of dull spots but I was never really bored. Also this film tries to show all nationalities--there are white, black, Asian and American Indian participants. There was also a shot of an interracial couple which must have been shocking in 1978. It's tame by todays standards (it would get a PG-13 easy) but is still compelling. I think everyone should see this--ESPECIALLY GLBT youth. Some of them take for granted what us older people went through. A 10 all the way.

Word Is Out (1977) was directed by Nancy Adair, Andrew Brown, and Rob Epstein. This film is an outstanding documentary about the lives and experiences of LGBT people, who look back on their past and look ahead to their future. The directors chose to show us interviews with about two dozen "ordinary" people, all of whose lives were greatly affected by their sexual orientation.

The film was made less than ten years after the Stonewall Rebellion, and equal rights for the lesbian and gay community appeared then to be moving forward in a linear fashion. This belief in progress to come gave the film a hopeful quality. The movie also has a poignant quality, because so many of the people interviewed had suffered terrible discrimination, especially those who had been in the military.

Now, over 30 years later, we know that LGBT rights have moved ahead at a two-steps-forward-one-step-back pace, and almost all LGBT people are still facing discrimination, especially, of course, in the military.

Word is Out can stand on its own as an excellent documentary. If you care about the rights of LGBT people, it's a must-see film.

We saw the movie at the Dryden Theatre, as part of the splendid ImageOut: Rochester Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. The festival had obtained a newly restored 35mm print. Word is Out will work well on DVD and, apparently, the DVD version of the restored film is now available. Be sure to find it and watch it--it's an excellent film.

Times have changed and movies like this are why. It's a very important movie historically rather than because it was particularly great. But it celebrates and humanizes people who weren't at that time and is a valuable time capsule. Would like to see some kind of update on what happened to those in this movie. I'm sure a few died tragically during the AIDS epidemic.