Gay Sex in the 70s

It was almost deja vu for me, watching what lifestyle was like in those heady days of Gay sex in the 70's.

The thing about it was that it really happened just like that - not only in NYC but around the world! I lived in Perth, Australia and it was all happening here as well! This is a very good archive of a time in history and valuable in today's world.

It was fun to see all the pretty young things in their heyday who are all past middle age, yet knowing that they'd come a long way to get here.

I enjoyed it and highly recommend it to anyone who was around at the time.

For those unfamiliar with the topic, this documentary offers good information. For those already familiar with, or who lived through or participated in it, the film's a trip down memory lane.

Joseph Lovett has assembled some period footage and photo stills to help depict his subject. But the film mostly consists of "talking heads": men in their 60s, sharing personal experiences on the atmosphere, attitudes and action from the 70s. A couple of women in their 30s also offer reflective remarks.

What a rare opportunity for people in the Northeast area of the country to be able to see this film locally, at Cleveland's unique Cinematheque. Not yet available on video or DVD, and rarely shown outside of New York, these Ohio screenings are all the more valuable.

The diverse and appreciative audience was very interested in the subject, and reacted to the humor audibly. While all this is now history, the 70s represents for many a time of liberation, experimentation, exploration and fulfillment. --h/76

Probably the first documentary ever done about gay sex before AIDS hit. It has interviews with various men who lived through the 1970s and some incredible film footage and photographs. It shows how Stonewall liberated gays and made them fight back. It opened the doors for gay bars, bathhouses and virtual nonstop anonymous sex. The movie doesn't pass judgment on the subjects. It just shows it how it was.

I was born in 1962 so when I came out in the 1980s AIDS was in full effect. I've heard how great the 70s were and this documentary shows me a time we'll probably never see again. It doesn't shy away from the dark side--it makes it clear people were robbed or beaten (or killed) and there were plenty of STDs being passed around. Also it shows the rampant drug abuse going on. I honestly can't say that I personally agree with the nonstop sex and drugs, but it does show gay men having sex and not apologizing for it--and that's just great.

This is obviously not for everybody--it's unrated but no one under 18 is admitted--and some of it may be too graphic for some (there's PLENTY of sex and nudity). Still, it chronicles an important time in gay and US history and is invaluable. I give it an 8 because it does have its slow spots.

This film is phenomenal. Although I didn't experience this moment in history, the film takes you back both elegantly and poignantly. Through incredible footage, photos, and other memorabilia, I relived this incredible period of time. The interviews and personal stories shed an unbiased light on an important era. The film asks the questions - how did this moment in time influence the shape of the gay community for decades to come? Was this just one long hedonistic party or did this help create a sense of gay community? There are a lot of documentaries out there, but this is definitely one not to miss.

Reid Williams

A no holds barred look back at a hedonistic time of freedom for sexual awareness and discovery... it can almost make this thirty something long for a time pre AIDs. It posed a lot of questions for me like, which came first, the gay sexual carnivore, or the backlash against sexual persecution. At a screening, an audience member wished they had been old enough to have enjoyed in the decadent madness that seemed pervasive by the movie's content... and I was left to wonder, how different it was then (men having sex with strangers in bathhouses and the back of trucks and piers) to how it is now (men arranging sex dates with others online). What a wake up call to reality.