The 30 Gaiest Explicit Movies Ever Made
Same-sex marriage was legalized in Massachusetts nearly two decades ago and in the US back in 2015, but somehow queer films are still mostly a trickle at the box office (unless you count Barbie … which is possible). Brothers , released in 2022, was billed as the first mainstream gay romantic comedy ever released by a major studio. Films like Saltburn and All of Us Strangers made waves, but still represent only a tiny (tiny) fraction of mainstream releases: notable for their rarity, even though the usual suspects will cry foul. that it is impossible to find any straight entertainment these days. .
LGBTQ representation in the modern blockbuster era tends to be limited to half-hearted gay jokes (Poe/Finn), background kissing between supporting characters, or discreet, sexless relationships like those featured in The Eternals . Smaller films seem to be making a comeback, so perhaps there’s hope for a sexier, weirder cinematic future if we ditch the need to make every film and move on to the four-quadrant extravaganza that’s doing just as well in Beijing as it does in Boca. Raton.
On the other hand, Hollywood has been making gay films since the form’s inception, albeit with plausible deniability. The late 1920s and early 1930s were a golden age for films that explicitly (or almost) depicted queer characters (Garbo, Dietrich and Hepburn were bisexual icons before the term became so widely used); the same could be said of the independent-minded 1970s. In other cases, the representation was built entirely on subtext—sometimes intentionally, with the filmmakers sneaking in themes that might have gone over the censors’ heads but ended up with the right audience, or emerged as unintentional subtext. Which is to say, sometimes even the most explicit movies are gay as hell—the inevitable result of trying too hard to be straight.
Some of the following films have a certain context that makes a queer reading necessary, or at least plausible. Others are simply gay without even meaning to be gay.
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Following the events of Frankenstein, the eponymous doctor is ready to settle down with his fiancée when his old college mentor appears: Dr. Septimus Pretorius, who lures Henry out of the arms of his promise for the two of them to meet. after closing and building new bodies. Dr. Praetorius (Ernest Thesiger), prone to cheeky remarks and chain-smoking in mausoleums, was in the high camp before the concept was codified. While there’s nothing overt here, there’s no real queer coding here either: the charming Thesiger has never made any effort to hide his queerness or conform to anyone else’s idea of masculinity, and he certainly doesn’t do that in this role. After being wounded while serving in the First World War, he took up needlework and passed on his skills to other wounded soldiers, despite official warnings that the work was too “effeminate.” He was later awarded an MBE for both his embroidery skills and his acting career. Despite all this, he remains best known for coaxing Colin Clive’s Frankenstein out of retirement. This movie is so gay that it inspired 1998’s Gods and Monsters , a super weird biopic about its director James Whale, played by Ian McKellen, which came out publicly. in 1988.
Where to stream: Amazon
Rebecca (1940)
Rebecca represented a unique combination of sensibilities: new to Hollywood, Alfred Hitchcock did not yet have the influence he would quickly acquire, and was therefore forced to work with the influential producer David O. Selznick, who had the tapes. Hitchcock was adept at dodging Selznick’s requests and was always a highly organized director who never left the studio with miles of footage to edit, meaning that they were eventually forced to use what he produced. The strange subtext here revolves around the character. Mrs Danvers (Judith Anderson), housekeeper of a Gothic mansion in Manderley. When the man of the house, Maxime de Winter, played by Laurence Olivier, brings home a new bride after the death of his first wife, Mrs. Danvers becomes a problem. What might have seemed like over-mothering to heterosexual viewers in 1940 seems less subtle today: her obsession with the late, first Mrs. de Winter forms the backbone of the film, and moments in which Mrs. Davers sniffs or obsesses over the dead woman’s clothes, her hair and underwear lingerie suggest that her interest was something other than maternal. Gone are the days of Garbo, Dietrich and early Hepburn, who made lesbian overtones chic and sexy; by 1940, lesbians were slutty spinsters, and menacing ones at that. And yet Mrs. Danvers is still the most interesting character in the film.
Where to stream: YouTube
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Most of these films run through strange themes; I’m not sure that is the case, although I would be very happy if I was wrong. However, I’ll let Peter Lorre’s Joel Cairo speak for all of classic Hollywood’s many weirdly coded villains. It hasn’t always been a successful portrayal, but audiences have always been willing to turn straw into gold by paying more attention to the poor, often problematic portrayals of LGBTQ+ characters in classic films. Characters created to be ridiculed or hated become valuable figures, and that’s exactly the case here. An openly gay character in Dashiell Hammett’s novel, Hollywood censors in 1941 would certainly not allow Joel Cairo to be openly gay in the film version. So Petter Lorre sneaks into Sam Spade’s office with nice clothes, fancy gloves, a cane he can barely resist caressing, and of course, gardenia-scented business cards… because the planned lavender cards were considered too much… the nose of the censors.
Where to stream: Tubi, Amazon.
Cat People (1942)
Directed by Jacques Tourneur and, crucially, produced by the unconventionally intelligent Val Lewton, Cat People stars Simone Simon as Irena Dubrovna, who believes she is descended from a line of, well… cat people. Convinced that she will turn into a panther if she ever allows her true and repressed sexuality to emerge, she avoids sexual contact with her new husband. The metaphors surrounding otherness work on several levels, but seeing Irena as a woman stuck in a straight marriage she was never meant for is a reading that sticks.
Where to stream: Amazon
Rope (1948)
In 1924, Leopold and Loeb, two rich boys from the University of Chicago, kidnapped and murdered a 14-year-old, mainly to prove that they could, since the couple had read just enough Nietzsche to convince themselves that they were those supermen which he wrote about. Of course that’s not true, but they wouldn’t be the first rich white boys to think they were inherently superior. The murder was a tragedy, but for a man with Alfred Hitchcock’s sensibilities it was too juicy a story to ignore. Rope is best known for its unique filming technique: it is presented as one continuous take, although the takes were actually about ten minutes long, which was limited by film technology of the era. But Rope is based on a play inspired by the Leopold and Loeb murders, and in the play the couple are clearly gay. The film, being a product of its time, hides this without offering anything else. These pampered and brash “roommates” – played by Farley Granger (who came out late in life) and John Dall (who was widely believed to be gay, although he never came out publicly) – throw a party at which the body of their victim the murder was covered up. Screenwriter Arthur Laurents, who was gay, was an expert at working around the restrictions of the Hays Code to penetrate subtext that was sufficiently subtextual, a trick at which Hitchcock also excelled.
Did 1940s audiences really miss that these characters were more than just friends? Apparently, Laurent and company had no idea about Jimmy Stewart’s character, and the actor never caught on. In the end , the audience did it.
Where to stream: Amazon Prime
Red River (1948)
Nobody tells John Wayne this, but the strange subtext of “Red River” has been debated for decades, which makes particular sense given that it provided a breakthrough for gay actor Montgomery Clift, who plays Matt, Wayne’s more sensitive mentee of the quintessential butcher. . Life during the film’s main cattle drive is complicated by John Ireland’s performance as Cherry Valance. The scene during which Matt and Cherry compare guns is deservedly memorable as a euphemism, and even the film’s characters don’t seem to know what’s going on: Wayne describes them. as they paw at each other, and old-timer Walter Brennan describes them as “… having a bit of fun. A kind of fun.”
Where to stream: Tubi, MGM+, Amazon.
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Lesbian writer Patricia Highsmith was not afraid of gay subtext (see: “The Talented Mr. Ripley ”), nor text-text, for that matter (see: “The Price of Salt ”); and director Alfred Hitchcock wasn’t afraid to bring weirdness to his films, something we learned from Rope and Rebecca (among others). Given all this (and the presence of Farley Granger), it’s no surprise that Strangers on a Train is quite delightful in its preoccupations. Granger’s Guy Haynes has a meet-cute of sorts with Bruno Anthony (Robert Walker) on the train (naturally), and they have a rather tense conversation about double murders: Guy must kill Bruno’s hated father, and Bruno will kill Guy’s wife. Hypothetically fun, except Bruno is dead serious and keeps his end of the deal. It’s all a bit like a straight man’s fever dream – even a brief infatuation with another man can ruin your life.
Where to stream: Tubi, Amazon.
Johnny Guitar (1954)
This low-budget film by Nicholas Ray is not one of Joan Crawford’s best-known films, but it is one of her best and most exciting films, earning its place in the vaunted Criterion Collection . Playing a salon owner in the wilds of Arizona’s old west, Crawford’s character is introduced by one of her employees as just that: “I’ve never met a more masculine woman.” Her nemesis is a “cattle baron” played by Mercedes McCambridge, a straight (as far as we know) actress who has become a gay icon for her portrayals of strong, queer-coded women. There are male love interests here, but they are largely secondary. It is in the simmering energy between the two leading women, often confronting each other, dressed in black leather that borders on the fetishistic, that the true essence of the film lies.
Where to stream: Amazon
Diabolic (1955)
The film version of Boileau-Narcejac’s novel, one of the most important thrillers of the 1950s, eliminates the explicit lesbian relationship between the two women at the center of the plot, the wife and mistress of the man they teamed up to kill, radically changing the novel’s ending. process. Most of these relationships remain independent; The closeness between Nicole and Christina is noted by the students and teachers of the boarding school where they live. They travel together, share rooms and even a bed. The climax plays out much like a breakup scene. Simone Signoret and Vere Clouzot are one of the most memorable couples in French cinema, although their romantic pairing is never advertised.
Where to watch: Max, The Criterion Channel
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Moody, sensitive teenager Jim Stark (James Dean) meets Plato Crawford (Sal Mineo) and Judy (Natalie Wood) at the police station, and one of the greatest emo love triangles in cinema is born. Despite the restraint in the finished film, it’s impossible not to see Plato’s attraction to Jim, and it wasn’t unintentional —concerned censors told director Nicholas Ray during filming: “It is of course vital that there are no hints of unsavory or homosexual character ” relationship between Plato and Jim.” However, Mineo later recounted how Dean told him, “Look at me the way I look at Natalie…” In retrospect, it’s not all that ambiguous, and the photo of then-heartthrob Alan Ladd in Plato’s locker is… just one of many winks to a savvy audience.
Where to stream: Amazon
Ben-Hur (1959)
Don’t tell Charlton Heston, but everyone else involved in building Judah Ben-Hur’s relationship with his old friend Messala was unhappy with the idea that they were lovers. Screenwriter Gore Vidal claims to have convinced producer/director William Wyler and actor Stephen Boyd that none of the rest of the film’s high relationship drama would make any sense if there weren’t strong hints that the two were kicking off sandals. . Everyone was in on it except Heston (who was angry when he found out decades later , calling the proposal an insult to the director).
Where to stream: Amazon
Ghosts (1963)
The later Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House , also based on the novel by Shirley Jackson, provided the subtext, but the fun atmosphere between the posh and sassy Theo (Claire Bloom) and the depressed, mousy Eleanor (Julie Harris) radiates early in the series. 60’s original. Theo rebuffs the men who flirt with her, preferring to make eyes at the shy Eleanor, the two forming a charmingly traditional idea of a lesbian couple: one glamorous and fashion-conscious, the other more of an awkward tomboy.
Where to stream: Amazon
Fear No Evil (1981)
A low-budget cult classic with absolutely all over the place, Fear No Evil is about a somewhat jaded young man (Stefan Arngrim) who gradually comes to realize that he is the real Antichrist. He is mercilessly bullied by middle-aged actors playing high school jocks who love nothing more than to strip down to their bare asses and parade him around the locker rooms (so many men’s asses on display!). When he finally reveals himself as a Satanic figure, our hero announces it by putting on makeup and taking revenge. The film muddles its message; we’re not necessarily meant to root for gay Satan’s climactic rampage, but many viewers do.
Where to watch: Amazon Prime , Tubi, Shout Factory TV.
A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge (1985)
The subtext here is so strong that it can hardly even be considered subtext, but back in 1985, plenty of heterosexual viewers were still oblivious to it. The film’s core premise involves a role reversal that puts Jesse (Mark Patton) in the position that would be occupied by the “final girl” in most slasher films of the era. Freddie plays with Jesse, at one point caressing his lips with his fingertips; Jesse is running away from danger, while his girlfriend is in the same predicament and is almost always scantily clad. He runs into his gym teacher at a leather bar, and the same jerk is later beaten to death in the locker room. As a metaphor for the torment of a withdrawn teenager, it could have been much worse.
Where to watch: Netflix, Amazon.
Fright Night (1985)
When Chris Sarandon and Jonathan Stark move into the house next door, it’s the usual formula: “I heard he has a carpenter. If I’m lucky, he’s probably gay,” says the main character’s mother. Usually these are “friends” or “roommates”, so the “live-in carpenter” is new, but it’s not hard to understand what’s really going on. The two turn out to be vampires and acquaintances, but they share an easy rapport and genuine care for each other – the picture of a healthy, supportive relationship, even if they are evil vampires.
Where to stream: Amazon
Top Gun (1986)
Showing up for the Army in 1986 would have meant a dishonorable discharge, which is why Top Gun takes time out from time to time to reiterate the fact that Tom Cruise really, really likes kissing Kelly McGillis – even though the film’s central relationship and the heat is between Cruise’s Maverick and Val Kilmer’s The Iceman. The rest of the film? The often shirtless, often sweaty (well, oiled up) Navy boys engage in what appears to be a game of volleyball to the Kenny Loggins song “Playing with the Boys” with sample dialogue including lines such as: “I need somebody’s ass! I want it now!” and “I wish I could kick your ass, but I can’t!” The late director Tony Scott began using books of photographs of gay butchers as his primary reference for how to photograph male meat in film, which likely explains the proliferation of mildly pornographic mustaches.
Where to stream: Paramount+, Amazon.
Lost Boys (1987)
There’s a lot going on here, and I’m not sure how much of it was intentional (our director Joel Schumacher, later of Batman & Robin , wasn’t known for subtlety). Leather-clad bad boys who want nothing more than to suck (the blood) of slightly straighter teens, with a climax that involves vampiric seduction; a poster of a sweaty Rob Lowe prominently displayed in Corey Haim’s room without explanation; this oiled and twirling saxophonist who almost single-handedly rocks the entire film. It’s not direct, I’ll tell you that.
Where to stream: AMC+, Amazon.
Red Heat (1988)
Writer-director Walter Hiller described Red Heat as a “love story” between the dedicated cops played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Belushi, and while I’m not sure he meant it literally, you don’t have to change the script much to make them the relationship is explicit. The film serves as a stand-in for many of the hyperviolent, hypermasculine films of the 1980s (many of them starring Schwarzenegger): full of the kind of sweaty manly action you’d expect, with the entire opening sequence taking place in a bathhouse. It’s co-ed, but the focus is predominantly on male characters, fighting in robes that barely qualify as loincloths.
Where to stream: Amazon
Scream (1996)
As with Hitchcock’s Rope , Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson was partially inspired by the murderous couple Leopold and Loeb when he created the film-and-murder-obsessed duo of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). However, even before he came out openly in interviews, queer fans realized it; at least Stu clearly likes Billy.
Where to stream: Max, Amazon
Batman and Robin (1997)
Start with the camp sensibilities of gay director Joel Schumacher (who once claimed to have had sex with tens of thousands of men in his life; not that kinky authority is a function of math… but damn), and add a battle suit to the mix. with pronounced nipples, a massive codpiece and a deeper-than-necessary ass cut, and you have the recipe for the most fun superhero epic ever. And this was all before George Clooney’s Batman adopted a nearly grown man who was only nine years his junior.
Where to stream: Max, Amazon Prime
Fight Club (1999)
There comes a point where hyper-masculinity starts to look a lot like homoeroticism, and you have to wonder how many sweaty, shirtless men you can literally pack together in a space that excludes women entirely before it starts to resemble a gay club. Yes, and let’s try not to tell our wives, girlfriends or colleagues about everything that happens here.
Where to watch: digital rental.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
There have long been rumors that football teammates Jess (Parminder Nagra) and Jules (Keira Knightley) were originally supposed to end up together romantically, but changes were made out of respect for the more conservative American and Indian public . Even without that, though, the chemistry between the two star players is palpable, and moments of hand-holding and even kissing allow for a more romantic reading of this above-average entry in the “underdog wins in sports” genre.
Where to watch: Disney+, Hulu, Amazon.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
If Sam and Frodo’s characters were of different genders, it would be almost impossible not to view their relationship through the lens of romance. However, even if we shy away from a weird reading, their story (as in the novels) is definitely an example of male intimacy, so rare in cinema that it almost doesn’t exist. The trilogy is full of male relationships that are almost shockingly supportive and healthy, with Sam and Frodo holding hands, hugging and literally carrying each other at various points. The wise old drag queen mentor is a long-standing trope in overtly gay films, and while his wardrobe is limited, Ian McKellen’s Gandalf, with its big hair and mid-trilogy glow, is perfect for the role.
Where to stream: Max, Amazon
300 (2006)
300 practically screams “no homo!” whenever Leonidas or some other nearly naked character talks about the general toughness of the Spartans, but Zack Snyder’s comic book-based breakout is also literally every fetish party I’ve ever been to. We’re supposed to see some weird coding in the heavily made-up and bejeweled Persians (Snyder has openly stated in interviews his intention to make the Persians scarier for the intended male audience by making them more gay), but it feels like the film is missing its point, but then At the same time, the heterosexuality of the ancient Spartans is greatly overestimated.
Where to stream: Hulu, Amazon.
Testament (2006)
The story of four young people (surprisingly old for high schoolers) who are descended from witches and have to fight some kind of evil or something… the plot doesn’t really matter and the movie isn’t very good. But it’s an unintentional cult classic, featuring several soon-to-be-famous guys acting out Craft -lite, but with more locker room scenes. A film doesn’t have to be good to subvert the typical male view of the genre; It’s nice to see the camera staring at the men for once.
Where to stream: AMC+, Amazon.
Frozen (2013)
Leave it alone, Elsa. Part of it is Elsa hiding a secret that she fears people will find out, and subsequently the joyful feeling of liberation she feels when she finally gains her power. All of this is talking about weird people, but there’s also the fact that Elsa doesn’t have a love interest in Frozen , even though almost every other Disney princess’ story has centered on finding a guy. Frozen 2 left open the question of Elsa’s romantic interests, which seems like a tiny step forward for a company known to be desperate not to offend its heterosexual audience. Plus the climax when she races across the sea on her magic horse is very gay.
Where to watch: Disney+, Amazon.
The Babadook (2014)
The Babadook became a gay icon entirely by accident. While there had previously been some discussion on the topic on social media, things blew up when Netflix categorized the film as LGBTQ for no particular reason. The strange readings were suddenly confirmed – and, I think, rightly so. Although on the surface the Babadook represents grief and the danger of trying to sweep trauma under the rug, it works just as well as a metaphor for closure. In impeccable gothic style, he torments a mother and young son who try to ignore him and pretend he’s not real. The more his mother tries to shove him back into the metaphorical closet, the more horror he causes. Only through acceptance does their little family have any hope of moving forward.
Where to watch: Netflix, Hulu, Shudder, Amazon.
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Fans felt a strong sense of resentment in the Force following the release of The Force Awakens in 2015, but the millions of voices that were primed to applaud the acknowledgment that gay people could exist in Star Wars were slowly and painfully silenced. The chemistry between then-new characters Poe Dameron (Oscar Isaac) and Finn (John Boyega) seemed to go far beyond friendship, and the film (and its direct sequel The Last Jedi ) left open the possibility that there could be more of them. Alas, the final film of the trilogy introduced heterosexual love interests for both men, despite both actors strongly suggesting that they would have preferred to play romantic relationships; Considering that The Rise of Skywalker Ascending” almost completely overshadowed Kelly Marie Tran’s “Rose” due to the resistance of “fans” to the franchise’s first woman of color and the targeted harassment of the actress, the sudden appearance of girlfriends for Poe and Finn seems… very convenient. The dice are thrown for the worst type of SW fan. However, if you ignore the latest film (not the worst idea), you can still see the beginnings of what could be a groundbreaking moment for the franchise.
Where to watch: Disney+.
Venom (2018)
Tom Hardy reflects on Venom , the story of a pair of roommates who accidentally share a body. Possessed by an alien symbiote, Eddie Brock constantly bickers with his new partner before they begin to appreciate and perhaps even love each other. Just a couple of bros who fight crime? Perhaps, but the chemistry is real, and when Venom takes over the body of Eddie’s girlfriend Annie (Michelle Williams) in the final act, it’s unclear exactly who is kissing whom. There’s a real triple energy there.
Where to watch: Disney+, Amazon.
RRR (2022)
You’ll never convince me that the story of two men who meet sweetly during an impromptu coordinated mission to save a bridge and then proceed to spend every waking minute together, except for the ones they spend agonizing over the secrets that could tear them apart , is not an action. – a packaged rom-com. These guys love three things: taking off their shirts, fighting colonialism with tigers, and each other.
Where to watch: Netflix