A review of Vito (2011, Jeffrey Schwarz), an upcoming documentary about Vito Russo.

http://www.shadowsonthewall.co.uk/12/3d.htm#vito

Link to Vito's facebook page!

http://www.facebook.com/VitoRussoMovie

Trailers for two of Vito Russo's favorite schlock masterpieces:

Vito Russo championed these "schlock masterpieces" as a writer for After Hours magazine. He wrote of Wicked Wicked that it is "what we used to call a camp and a half...[it contains] lines like 'How does it feel to have your throat cut, Miss Jones?' 'It hurts.' You'll love it." (Schiavi, Michael. Celluloid Activist: The Life and Times of Vito Russo. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsion Press, 2011). Click on the images below to see the trailers.

A great recent article on queer cinema from The New York Times. It mentions the UCLA Film & Television Archive and features an interview with Shannon Kelley, who will be a guest speaker in our class.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/18/movies/queer-art-film-series-at-ifc-center.html

Bette Midler at The Continental Baths

Videos of Bette Midler performing at The Continental Baths, filmed by Vito Russo in 1971.

Complete concert

Individual numbers:
Fat Stuff
For Free
Easier Said Than Done
Marahuana
I Shall Be Released

Trailers for/clips from programs that Vito Russo screened as part of his "Firehouse Flicks" series with the Gay Activists Alliance

Click on one of the images below to see a clip or trailer from the film or program:

Zap! Video footage: Gay Activists Alliance Marriage Takeover, 1971

Vito Russo participated in this "Zap!" with The Gay Activists Alliance. Links to original video footage from 1971 are below.

The Gay Activist Alliance decided to occupy NYC's Marriage License Bureau, June 4,1971, after the City Clerk threatened to arrest the minister of a local gay church for performing "Services of Holy Union" which the City Clerk said were the equivalent of gay marriage. Gay marriage was not yet one of the LGBT movement's goal in 1971 but the activists felt they couldn't stand by while a city official threatened the Church of the Beloved Disciple with legal action. They decided to take over the NYC Marriage License Bureau and throw an engagement party for two gay couples.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3