Before Stonewall (1984) - Plot Summary - IMDb Fred Sargeant:The press did refer to it in very pejorative terms, as a night that the drag queens fought back. Jimmy hadn't enjoyed himself so much in a long time. Mike Wallace (Archival):Two out of three Americans look upon homosexuals with disgust, discomfort or fear. Not even us. There was all these drags queens and these crazy people and everybody was carrying on. Available on Prime Video, Tubi TV, iTunes. NBC News Archives Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:They were sexual deviates. Raymond Castro:New York City subways, parks, public bathrooms, you name it. Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary "Before Absolutely, and many people who were not lucky, felt the cops. But we're going to pay dearly for this. He brought in gay-positive materials and placed that in a setting that people could come to and feel comfortable in. There's a little door that slides open with this power-hungry nut behind that, you see this much of your eyes, and he sees that much of your face, and then he decides whether you're going to get in. Before Stonewall. This was a highly unusual raid, going in there in the middle of the night with a full crowd, the Mafia hasn't been alerted, the Sixth Precinct hasn't been alerted. I learned, very early, that those horrible words were about me, that I was one of those people. Abstract. This, to a homosexual, is no choice at all. And the Stonewall was part of that system. Alexis Charizopolis I made friends that first day. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We told this to our men. The shop had been threatened, we would get hang-up calls, calls where people would curse at us on the phone, we'd had vandalism, windows broken, streams of profanity. Interviewer (Archival):Are you a homosexual? Raymond Castro:Society expected you to, you know, grow up, get married, have kids, which is what a lot of people did to satisfy their parents. Because if you don't have extremes, you don't get any moderation. Just let's see if they can. Her most recent film, Bones of Contention, premiered in the 2016 Berlin International Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:We didn't have the manpower, and the manpower for the other side was coming like it was a real war. Danny Garvin:Everybody would just freeze or clam up. We didn't expect we'd ever get to Central Park. My last name being Garvin, I'd be called Danny Gay-vin. Barbara Gittings and Kay Tobin Lahusen Gay History Papers and Photographs, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox and Tilden Foundations John O'Brien:And deep down I believed because I was gay and couldn't speak out for my rights, was probably one of the reasons that I was so active in the Civil Rights Movement. Before Stonewall 1984 Unrated 1 h 27 m IMDb RATING 7.5 /10 1.1K YOUR RATING Rate Play trailer 2:21 1 Video 7 Photos Documentary History The history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement. I mean I'm talking like sardines. The award winning film Before Stonewall pries open the closet door, setting free the dramatic story of the sometimes horrifying public and private existences experienced by gay and lesbian Americans since the 1920s. And a whole bunch of people who were in the paddy wagon ran out. A New York Police officer grabs a man by the hair as another officer clubs a man during a confrontation in Greenwich Village after a Gay Power march in New York. You needed a license even to be a beautician and that could be either denied or taken away from you. Don't fire until I fire. Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. Sign up for the American Experience newsletter! Transcript of Re-Release: The Stonewall | Happy Scribe William Eskridge, Professor of Law:Ed Koch who was a democratic party leader in the Greenwich Village area, was a specific leader of the local forces seeking to clean up the streets. So gay people were being strangled, shot, thrown in the river, blackmailed, fired from jobs. The men's room was under police surveillance. "You could have got us in a lot of trouble, you could have got us closed up." It meant nothing to us. So you couldn't have a license to practice law, you couldn't be a licensed doctor. Fred Sargeant:When it was clear that things were definitely over for the evening, we decided we needed to do something more. The film brings together voices from over 50 years of the LGBTQ rights movement to explore queer activism before, during and after the Stonewall Riots. Richard Enman (Archival):Well, let me say, first of all, what type of laws we are not after, because there has been much to-do that the Society was in favor of the legalization of marriage between homosexuals, and the adoption of children, and such as that, and that is not at all factual at all. Barney Karpfinger Paul Bosche We went, "Oh my God. WGBH Educational Foundation Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:If someone was dressed as a woman, you had to have a female police officer go in with her. Interviewer (Archival):What type of laws are you after? But everybody knew it wasn't normal stuff and everyone was on edge and that was the worst part of it because you knew they were on edge and you knew that the first shot that was fired meant all the shots would be fired. Eventually something was bound to blow. There were occasions where you did see people get night-sticked, or disappear into a group of police and, you know, everybody knew that was not going to have a good end. Danny Garvin:He's a faggot, he's a sissy, queer. PDF BEFORE STONEWALL press kit - First Run Features Tires were slashed on police cars and it just went on all night long. Almost anything you could name. We were all there. People talk about being in and out now, there was no out, there was just in. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:But there were little, tiny pin holes in the plywood windows, I'll call them the windows but they were plywood, and we could look out from there and every time I went over and looked out through one of those pin holes where he did, we were shocked at how big the crowd had become. The windows were always cloaked. And they wore dark police uniforms and riot helmets and they had billy clubs and they had big plastic shields, like Roman army, and they actually formed a phalanx, and just marched down Christopher Street and kind of pushed us in front of them. Calling 'em names, telling 'em how good-looking they were, grabbing their butts. Yvonne Ritter:I did try to get out of the bar and I thought that there might be a way out through one of the bathrooms. In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's gay community. It was first released in 1984 with its American premiere at the Sundance Film Festival and its European premiere at the Berlinale, followed by a successful theatrical release in many countries and a national broadcast on PBS. And the rest of your life will be a living hell. Things were just changing. That's what gave oxygen to the fire. They put some people on the street right in front ofThe Village Voiceprotesting the use of the word fag in my story. She was awarded the first ever Emmy Award for Research for her groundbreaking work on Before Stonewall. Homo, homo was big. They were afraid that the FBI was following them. It was terrifying. Ellen Goosenberg Mary Queen of the Scotch, Congo Woman, Captain Faggot, Miss Twiggy. William Eskridge, Professor of Law:All throughout the 60s in New York City, the period when the New York World's Fair was attracting visitors from all over America and all over the world. TV Host (Archival):That's a very lovely dress too that you're wearing Simone. Revealing and often humorous, this widely acclaimed film relives the emotionally-charged sparking of today's gay rights movement . And as awful as people might think that sounds, it's the way history has always worked. But it was a refuge, it was a temporary refuge from the street. I never saw so many gay people dancing in my life. Audience Member (Archival):I was wondering if you think that there are any quote "happy homosexuals" for whom homosexuality would be, in a way, their best adjustment in life? Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn has undergone several transformations in the decades since it was the focal point of a three-day riot in 1969. John Scagliotti Katrina Heilbroner New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. And it was those loudest people, the most vulnerable, the most likely to be arrested, were the ones that were doing the real fighting. J. Michael Grey And as I'm looking around to see what's going on, police cars, different things happening, it's getting bigger by the minute. I mean does anyone know what that is? Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:I had a column inThe Village Voicethat ran from '66 all the way through '84. And if enough people broke through they would be killed and I would be killed. More than a half-century after its release, " The Queen " serves as a powerful time capsule of queer life as it existed before the 1969 Stonewall uprising. He may appear normal, and it may be too late when you discover he is mentally ill. John O'Brien:I was a poor, young gay person. Based on But as visibility increased, the reactions of people increased. And there, we weren't allowed to be alone, the police would raid us still. Every arrest and prosecution is a step in the education of the public to the solution of the problem. These homosexuals glorify unnatural sex acts. It was like a reward. John O'Brien:It was definitely dark, it was definitely smelly and raunchy and dirty and that's the only places that we had to meet each other, was in the very dirty, despicable places. Before Stonewall - Rotten Tomatoes That wasn't ours, it was borrowed. and I didn't see anything but a forest of hands. Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt:So you're outside, and you see like two people walking toward these trucks and you think, "Oh I think I'll go in there," you go in there, there's like a lot of people in there and it's all dark. So if any one of you, have let yourself become involved with an adult homosexual, or with another boy, and you're doing this on a regular basis, you better stop quick. by David Carter, Associate Producer and Advisor Raymond Castro:I'd go in there and I would look and I would just cringe because, you know, people would start touching me, and "Hello, what are you doing there if you don't want to be touched?" People standing on cars, standing on garbage cans, screaming, yelling. So in every gay pride parade every year, Stonewall lives. 'Before Stonewall' Tracks the Pre-Movement Era | International Amber Hall Jerry Hoose:I mean the riot squad was used to riots. Howard Smith, Reporter,The Village Voice:And by the time the police would come back towards Stonewall, that crowd had gone all the around Washington Place come all the way back around and were back pushing in on them from the other direction and the police would wonder, "These are the same people or different people?". Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:It was a bottle club which meant that I guess you went to the door and you bought a membership or something for a buck and then you went in and then you could buy drinks. Narrator (Archival):This involves showing the gay man pictures of nude males and shocking him with a strong electric current. I have pondered this as "Before Stonewall," my first feature documentary, is back in cinemas after 35 years. Louis Mandelbaum Narrator (Archival):This is a nation of laws. John O'Brien:I was very anti-police, had many years already of activism against the forces of law and order. I mean, I came out in Central Park and other places. Do you want them to lose all chance of a normal, happy, married life? In 1969 the police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City's Greenwich Village, leading to three nights of rioting by the city's LGBT community. Ed Koch, Councilman, New York City:The Stonewall, they didn't have a liquor license and they were raided by the cops regularly and there were pay-offs to the cops, it was awful. ITN Source Jerry Hoose:The bar itself was a toilet. Patricia Yusah, Marketing and Communications That night, the police ran from us, the lowliest of the low. Raymond Castro:We were in the back of the room, and the lights went on, so everybody stopped what they were doing, because now the police started coming in, raiding the bar. Before Stonewall - Trailer BuskFilms 12.6K subscribers Subscribe 14K views 10 years ago Watch the full film here (UK & IRE only): http://buskfilms.com/films/before-sto. The last time I saw him, he was a walking vegetable. I say, I cannot tell this without tearing up. At least if you had press, maybe your head wouldn't get busted. And if we catch you, involved with a homosexual, your parents are going to know about it first. And it just seemed like, fantastic because the background was this industrial, becoming an industrial ruin, it was a masculine setting, it was a whole world. It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. Doric Wilson:There was joy because the cops weren't winning. So I got into the subway, and on the car was somebody I recognized and he said, "I've never been so scared in my life," and I said, "Well, please let there be more than ten of us, just please let there be more than ten of us. All rights reserved. Hugh Bush Ed Koch, mayorof New York City from1978 to 1989, discussesgay civil rights in New York in the 1960s. Gay people were told we didn't have any of that. Original Language: English. John O'Brien:We had no idea we were gonna finish the march. Before Stonewall, the activists wanted to fit into society and not rock the boat. "We're not going.". Marcus spoke with NPR's Ari Shapiro about his conversations with leaders of the gay-rights movement, as well as people who were at Stonewall when the riots broke out. Getty Images But I was just curious, I didn't want to participate because number one it was so packed. Seymour Pine, Deputy Inspector, Morals Division, NYPD:There were no instructions except: put them out of business. What finally made sense to me was the first time I kissed a woman and I thought, "Oh, this is what it's about." Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:TheNew York TimesI guess printed a story, but it wasn't a major story. Lucian Truscott, IV, Reporter,The Village Voice:This was the Rosa Parks moment, the time that gay people stood up and said no. Slate:In 1969, homosexual acts were illegal in every state except Illinois. Because if they weren't there fast, I was worried that there was something going on that I didn't know about and they weren't gonna come. Revealing and. The events of that night have been described as the birth of the gay-rights movement. Not able to do anything. Martha Shelley:In those days, what they would do, these psychiatrists, is they would try to talk you into being heterosexual. I was celebrating my birthday at the Stonewall. Eric Marcus, Writer:Before Stonewall, there was no such thing as coming out or being out. John DiGiacomo And this went on for hours. Jerry Hoose:The open gay people that hung out on the streets were basically the have-nothing-to-lose types, which I was. Tweet at us @throughlineNPR, send us an email, or leave us a voicemail at (872) 588-8805. John O'Brien:The election was in November of 1969 and this was the summer of 1969, this was June. This time they said, "We're not going." Dick Leitsch:New York State Liquor Authority had a rule that one known homosexual at a licensed premise made the place disorderly, so nobody would set up a place where we could meet because they were afraid that the cops would come in to close it, and that's how the Mafia got into the gay bar business. Jerry Hoose:I was afraid it was over. As president of the Mattachine Society in New York, I tried to negotiate with the police and the mayor. I met this guy and I broke down crying in his arms. The Catholic Church, be damned to hell. Trevor, Post Production Well, it was a nightmare for the lesbian or gay man who was arrested and caught up in this juggernaut, but it was also a nightmare for the lesbians or gay men who lived in the closet. Nobody. And they were gay. That this was normal stuff. Daily News For the first time, we weren't letting ourselves be carted off to jails, gay people were actually fighting back just the way people in the peace movement fought back.
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