The Cockettes | Marshall Olds, Ann Harris (II)

The Cockettes | Marshall Olds, Ann Harris (II) | a moving view of an amazing period in US history

DVDs:

The Cockettes

	The Cockettes Marshall Olds, Ann Harris (II) Strand Releasing, 2003 average customer review:based on 9 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Capturing Magic!

I lived down the street from the Palace Theater in the early 70's and had a chance to see the Cockettes. They were, as the film shows vividly, fabulous! The clothes, the makeup, the in-your-face nonconformity! America has become so bland now in comparison. I love the music in the film, the silent movie quality, and the way they pop back and forth between the survivors and their remembrances. It's visually interesting and the characters draw you into their magical world. They may demonize welfare moms now, but, welfare did give the mentally disabled something creative to do with their time back in the 70's. This is proof positive. Much better than pushing a shopping cart and mumbling, I should say.

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a moving view of an amazing period in US history

beautifully constructed of original 1960/70s footage and modern day reminiscences--great scenes and great, as well as realistic, view of hippie life and dreams--honestly showing the transformation that commercialization brought to a clearly doomed utopian experiment. If you were there, this is a great memory piece; if you weren't there, this might help you understand the power of that transforming time.

Inspirational!

I have played this movie at least three times a week since purchasing it. I never tire of it. It gives me inspiration to go out and face an excruciatingly dull and dreary world--even without dropping acid!

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Forgotten Glam

"The Cockettes"

Forgotten Glam

Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride

In the documentary "The Cockettes" we are taken back to San Francisco in the 1970's to learn about a theatre group who defied all of the odds and the conventions of society. They all lived together in a commune and they were gay, straight, bi, men, women, whites, blacks etc and they were wonderful. They put on shows that criticized everything and they were mean, sexual, vicious, hilarious and very, very smart. The documentary looks at them--those entertainers that have been unjustly forgotten. The movie will raise your spirits and how you a world most of us did not have the chance to know. Here is acid-trip theatre performed by an outlandish cast of characters who had a lot to do with opening the doors for freedom of expression. Without these characters around today, we are experiencing a great sense of loss--even if we weren't around to appreciate The Cockettes.
The film is an inspiration and even if you have no interest in hippies or drag queens, this is a film you will enjoy. The members of The Cockettes wanted to be stars and therefore they got dressed up in ridiculous outfits, dropped acid regularly and put on "shows" about whatever was of interest to them. They were crazies, had unbridled idealism and were articulate.
Habiscus was their leader. His first brush with fame when he stuck a flower in the barrel of the rifle of a member of the National Guard. He was an enigma in every sense of the word (he has been dead some twenty odd years now). He had a vision but that kind of vision could not be brought to the stage.
Try to imagine that you were told about a wonderful party--that is how you will feel when you se this film. You will just wish you had actually been able to go. The drag and hippie shows of The Cockettes were sensational and are an interesting look at life at that time. The vintage footage of the actual events is amazing. The Cockettes were the single group to bring n the ideas of gender bending and transgressive art. In fact what they really did was little more than have a good time and I had a good time watching them enjoy themselves.
Whether The Cockettes played a part in the gay sexual revolution has not been decided yet. There was then and still is nothing to compare to them. They had great times and it is fun to see them enjoying themselves. This s definitely a movie to see, even if you have no idea of who The Cockettes are. What a wonderful stroll down nostalgia lane.

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The Coquettes in the Haight

"The Cockettes" is a unique documentary. While most people assume the gay rights movement started at Stonewall in NYC or with Harvey Milk in '70s San Francisco,the Cockettes were strutting their stuff during the Summer of Love era. The Cockettes was a troupe of cross-dressers (quite a few kept their facial hair),along with a woman,who provided campy psychedelia. They influenced people such as director John Waters,his icon Divine,and even Iggy Pop spent time with them to get drugs.

"The Cockettes" appears to glamorize the era of sexual liberation, when gender identity was up for grabs. They were part of the first generation of gays to "come out of the closet." The Cockettes seem to have inspired groups like the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (who parody Catholicism) and the pagan Radical Faeries. For all the free love and psychedelia,there was a price. There are few remaining members of the Cockettes,since several died from AIDS.

"The Cockettes" is a fascinating,trippin' portrait of an era.

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reviews: page 1, 2

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