The Celluloid Closet by Vito Russo

'The Celluloid Closet,' an entertaining, instructive adaptation of the late Vito Russo's book, produced by Home Box Office, explores the gay undercurrent in a century's worth of Hollywood films. Directors Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman (who won Oscars for their previous collaborations, 'The Times of Harvey Milk' and 'Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt') show us pithy, provocative excerpts, ranging from an 1895 Thomas Edison silent short (in which two men dance arm-in-arm to a violin), to lengthier, more explicit examples of gay themes -- such as in the 1993 AIDS drama, 'Philadelphia.' -- Desson Howe, Washington Post