Before Heartstopper!

#movie #film #cinema
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[bramptonjeff]

I came out in 98. This movie gave me so much hope

[BrianOh-ucgm]

And the outdoor dance scene at the end of the movie, magnifique.

[jojabe]

Has always been my favorite gay film. It's such a gentle, tender, and perfect coming-of-age film.

[phillipthomas-sam]

The first LGBT film I ever watched... I was 13 and it helped me so much. ❤

[WhitePhoenixCrown]

I love the friend singing Mamas and the Papas. If you can do a piece on Get Real (1999) another British film. It helped me come out.

[BobSmith-funn]

I'm so glad you finally got to see this film. Jonathan Harvey, who taught school in Thamesmead, the housing estate where it was filmed, adapted the screenplay from his play. The portrayal of working class Brits is similar to the way they are portrayed in British soaps like "Coronation Street". Ben Daniels (Tony, mum's boyfriend) was recently Santiago in "Interview with a Vampire" and "Benediction" and is out.

[RobOlivierbjr]

I can’t tell you how many times I have watched this film over the last 15 years and it still gets to me emotionally each and every time👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🌈😎

[errantrazor]

I was 19 when this came out, and was just coming out myself, but I only watched it this year. I really could have used this at that time. It would have meant the world to me and a huge comfort to have this as one of my formative queer movies in 1996.

[SkyhawkTurbo]

This was a great movie, saw it years ago.

[dlinkster]

Beautiful Thing is such an amazing movie. It was not the typical LGBTQIA+ movie of the era — it wasn’t HIV/AIDS focused and nobody was gay bashed — and that’s why I like it. The characters felt real and I love this darned movie so much.

[MegaMgrady]

Im gen z and this was one of the first gay movies i ever watched. It was foundational

[billyt]

Great video, Anthony! I am really glad you watched this film! It has become one of my very favorite gay themed films. I can see the comparison to Heart Stopper being more of fantasy version of this Beautiful Thing, but other than both taking place in England, that's where it ends probably. I guess the source material of both films (HS - a series of YA graphic novels vs. BT - a stage play) being about high school age young men is very similar as well. I actually saw a production in the late 90's of Beautiful Thing off-broadway. It was okay, but not as good as the film. Beautiful Thing will always have a place in my heart. Don't get me wrong, I like Heart Stopper but Beautiful Thing is a wonderful thing. Also thanks for letting us know that it's now on blu-ray! I have had it on DVD for years now. I would love to see the Criterion collection put it out on 4K one day!

[donlevy]

I think at the time it was a groundbreaking movie. I love this film.

[CarbonSpire]

This movie was a huge deal for gay kids in the late 90s.

[BrownsBacker]

It's a beautiful slice of life film. The matter of fact way these boys' lives are presented is unusual in films of this time and before, and reminds me of a Mike Leigh film in terms of style. The music of Cass Eliot is superb and sets a nostalgic mood that makes it feel like a memory of things past rather than a contemporary setting, which, to me, brings a feeling that despite difficulties, this time is a fond memory and that everything will be ok for the protagonists beyond the ending of the film. It's a film of working class problems and challenges of the present, while also presenting hopes of a better future. I have loved this film for nearly 30 years now.

[donabaypro]

This was groundbreaking when it came out. The charters reminded me of people I know, I could understand them.

Another good film from that time is “ mysterious skin”. It deals with child rape and ways people handle it. It is not a feel good story. However it is powerful and deals with a topic most producers won’t touch.

[blueocean]

My favorite movie to watch as a teen along with get real

[bajanyaoikaizer]

Advertising, Timing and Over-obsessed fangirls is the true difference between "Beautiful Thing" and "Heartstopper"

Everyone isn't dealt the same cards in life, so while a lot see heartstopper as fantasy, there could very well be a good handful of guys who were treated more in line with that than being tormented and struggling through the gutter. And if its the gutter you want: Shank {2009}, Shameless UK and US, Spartacus {2010-2013}, Starred Up {2013}, Beach Rats {2017}, Teenage Kicks {2016}, Shed My Skin {2015}, Struggle {2010}, Wrecked {2009}, O Fantasma {2000}, Eismeyer {2022}, Clapham Junction {2007}, Skins {2007-2013}, Sugar {2004}, Like Cattle towards Glow {2015}, Locked Up {2004}

[cram]

10 year old me is thankful to the Sundance indi film channel for expanding my universe.

[lawrenceking]

At the time this movie was released, you would have had to be in the loop to hear about gay movie releases. I was lucky enough to live in a town that had an LGB video/book store as well as a yearly Gay Film Festival. If i hadn't stumbled upon that little bookstore I would have never known about anything gay related going on in that city. And the biggest plus was they had the ability to order gay themed movies music and books you couldn't find anywhere else. If it was in distribution, they could get it. Little out of the way gay businesses like that were a god send for little closeted gays looking for any type of acknowledgement that they weren't the only one.