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The Boys in the Band

Play trailer Poster for The Boys in the Band R 1970 2h 0m Drama LGBTQ+ Play Trailer Watchlist
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90% Tomatometer 20 Reviews 86% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Michael (Kenneth Nelson) is hosting a birthday celebration for a pal when he gets an unexpected visit from old friend Alan (Peter White). The problem is, Alan is straight -- and extremely straitlaced -- and everyone else at the party is gay. Michael hopes to conceal his sexuality from Alan, but this charade doesn't last. After being outed, Michael turns on Alan, accuses him of being a closeted gay and forces him to partake in a revealing party game that has devastating consequences.
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The Boys in the Band

Critics Reviews

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Bill Weber Slant Magazine 11/10/2008
3/4
The sizzle of the bon mot%u2013tossing ensemble, intact from the stage original, is bracing and fuels the film's momentum. Go to Full Review
Bruce Greenberg 5th Freedom (Buffalo) 05/03/2023
Even with certain expressed faults, Boys in the Band stands as quite possibly the most revealing portrayal of contemporary homosexuality ever to swish on center stage. Go to Full Review
Lloyd Steele Los Angeles Free Press 01/14/2020
Many lines, many characters skirt the edges of farce and never quite lose their balance because we can be convinced of their essential truth. Go to Full Review
Richard Schickel LIFE 10/22/2019
One leaves it exhausted, as one does all rubberneck excursions, but neither emotionally elevated nor intellectually enlightened. Go to Full Review
Penelope Houston The Spectator 02/09/2019
The combination of schoolgirl confessional... with a discernible element of holier-than-thou voyeurism does give off a certain sliminess. Go to Full Review
Rob Aldam Backseat Mafia 02/09/2019
A powerful, funny, bitter and hopeful drama about love and friendship. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Jerrod G 11/25/2024 Amazing movie hilarious, yet very serious "Because I'm turning on and you're just turning" See more CodyZamboni Z 08/04/2023 Dated, but watchable, Intense at times, Filled with lots of witty lines and surprising amount of cussing for 1970, Alot of the characters are jerks, which helped drive the conflicts See more Steve D 07/29/2023 Important and groundbreaking but I didn't find the script great. See more 03/20/2022 A bit too campy and outdated and for that reason a bit unbearable sometimes. Nothing is subtle, all is loud at least coming from Michael, a gay man who hosts a birthday party for a friend. The party takes a turn when Michael's straight friend invites himself to the party. The party is full of shouting and screaming. again mostly coming from Michael who gets especially altered after his friend comes to the party. In all that shouting and screaming, we can hear struggles of being gay, and each one feels it differently. And most of all, we hear hate toward self and other- the internalized homophobia that few can escape from, particularly in the70s. It is an historic movie, but a bit campy for sure. Not just theatrical, but fairly campy. We can easily edited this movie... A diamond in the rough, truly. The roughness is not all bad. In fact, we get access to very deep and inner parts of those characters - very genuine parts. And there is something about the movie and the characters that seems real and contrasts with current life and current mainstream LGBTQ movies ... They are unhappy and not avoiding their unhappiness. - What a difference from now! Their bodies are not perfect and their faces are not perfect. The acting is raw... - What a difference from the current movies! I didn't watch the 2020 version, just the trailer, but it does not seem near the same thing . See more 10/15/2020 Yet another story about horrible people that never needed to be told See more @MilloTPue 10/03/2020 Revolutionary in its time, it has been criticized because of offering a bad image and stereotypical image of gay community but, when you look at it, it is radically more positive than the previous ones in cinema, and also histrionical in some moments, other characters are quite balanced, showing a broad image with the positive and the negative (depending, of course, from the point of view). I had previously seen the 2020 version, and this one is more peaceful (in the rhythm and the level of noise; the strenght of the message is even more poweful), more solid in the interpretations, See more Read all reviews
The Boys in the Band

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Movie Info

Synopsis Michael (Kenneth Nelson) is hosting a birthday celebration for a pal when he gets an unexpected visit from old friend Alan (Peter White). The problem is, Alan is straight -- and extremely straitlaced -- and everyone else at the party is gay. Michael hopes to conceal his sexuality from Alan, but this charade doesn't last. After being outed, Michael turns on Alan, accuses him of being a closeted gay and forces him to partake in a revealing party game that has devastating consequences.
Director
William Friedkin
Producer
Matt Crowley
Distributor
National General Pictures
Rating
R
Genre
Drama, LGBTQ+
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Mar 17, 1970, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 25, 2021
Runtime
2h 0m
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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