Pat Rocco Dared

Pat Rocco made movies. Way back when. And they featured beautiful men. And the beautiful men were frolicking, walking through the woods, holding hands, kissing, and caressing each other. The affection, romance, and pure beauty of the men is still an amazing statement today. No tattoos, no piercings, no waxed and shaved bodies, no dirty talk or rough treatment. These men love and respect themselves and each other.

The filmmakers interivewed Pat Rocco shortly before he died and found vintage footage of him to include in this tribute. Unfortunately, they also recorded interviews with "experts" to tell the audience what to think and how to react. The unintentional incongruity between the appearances of the "experts" and the men in Pat Rocco's movies shows how far we have strayed from our natural bodies in an effor to be "edgy" or fashionable.

It would have been far better to let Pat Rocco's romantic, playful, joyous work speak for itself instead of bombarding viewers with folks telling us that this work was groundbreaking, important, etc. Don't you think we can see that for ourselves?

The added interviews make the movie feel padded. Repeating some of the vintage footage only adds to this feeling. And it is a shame because there must have been hours of additional shots they could have used instead of showing us the same clips two or three times.

If you are a gay man, treat yourself to this movie if you can find it. But you might want to fast forward through the talking heads.

Pat Rocco was an artist, a visionary, an advocate. And after watching Charlie David's documentary "Pat Rocco Dared", it's clear to me, Mr. Rocco was also one heck of a fine person.

Wow, what a ton of natural charm! The documentary is filled with scenes of Pat Rocco serenading Mr. David with "Cheer Up Charlie", laughing over memories of his friends and coworkers, and sharing some of his most memorable film clips.

It's a treat to get an inside look at where Charlie David drew some of his inspiration. "Pat Rocco Dared" is a beautifully presented, informative, and personal tribute to a very important person in our history.

I'd never given much thought to the first male/male kiss in cinematic history. And I certainly had never thought about the artistic representation of homosexuality on the big screen.

Charlie David's new documentary about Pat Rocco opened my eyes to so many different things. Not just Pat's films - but to his activism, his charitable works and, I think most importantly, his 45 year relationship to his husband David.

I enjoyed the clips of the films, of course, but I really found the discussions between Charlie and Pat the most engaging. I'm so glad Charlie got such great footage.

This documentary is for anyone who loves cinema, gay representation, or just to see a trailblazer in action. I highly recommend it.

I had been curious about this since I saw it available for streaming and when offered the opportunity to review it for Gay Romance Reviews, I jumped at the chance. I enjoyed it so much, I purchased it. There were lots of things I enjoyed but three things made me purchase it to watch again. First, the personality of Pat Rocco and his enthusiasm for making movies was infectious and a joy to watch. Second, it was wonderful to know that during those times, he was making films where gay characters were in love and happy rather than as they were depicted in so much fiction of the time as having to die, be the villains or have other awful things happen to them. Finally, I lived in LA during several of the years depicted in the films and the biographical parts about Rocco's life and it was surprisingly moving to relive those times through the shots in this film. A joy to watch all the way around.

Another fantastic documentation of the queer community by Charlie David.

Pat Rocco was a visionary, an artist, an advocate; a servant even. Overall a seemingly fine example of humanity, Pat was an incredible person who deserves to be remembered for his trailblazing filmmaking and LGBTQ+ activism.

I'll be completely honest in admitting that {before watching this documentary} I knew very little regarding Pat Rocco. However I enjoy everything I've ever seen by Charlie David and am always looking to educate myself more regarding LGBTQ+ history ... 'Pat Rocco Dared' was an absolute #winwin for me!!