Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows FanStore News Showtimes

Coming Out Under Fire

Play trailer Poster for Coming Out Under Fire 1994 1h 10m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 11 Reviews Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
During World War II, U.S. military policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers is unforgiving. Director Arthur Dong's look into these policies reveals the harsh punishments inflicted on homosexual soldiers, which included dishonorable discharges that prevented the collection of benefits. This documentary focuses on nine members of the armed forces, using interviews and clips to explore sexual repression in the military and the possible punishments these soldiers could face.

Where to Watch

Coming Out Under Fire

Critics Reviews

View All (11) Critics Reviews
Walter Goodman New York Times A reminder of a time when psychiatrists viewed homosexuals as mentally ill and the military viewed them as dangerous to morale, not to mention morality. Jun 8, 2020 Full Review Achy Obejas Chicago Tribune Coming Out Under Fire is a fascinating and poignant look at how the ban affected seven lives. Jun 8, 2020 Full Review Kevin Thomas Los Angeles Times Arthur Dong's informative, consciousness-raising Coming Out Under Fire documents the experiences of nine gay and lesbian World War II veterans. Jun 8, 2020 Full Review Andy Klein Los Angeles CityBeat Rated: 5/5 May 8, 2005 Full Review Greg Maki Star-Democrat (Easton, MD) Rated: 3/5 Jan 7, 2004 Full Review TV Guide Staff TV Guide Arthur Dong's documentary, consisting primarily of talking-head interviews with a wide range of WWII veterans, confronts the issue in a commendably thoughtful and straightforward manner. Rated: 3/5 May 20, 2003 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (2) audience reviews
Audience Member Arthur paints a compelling portrait of being gay/lesbian in the military during the high-tension terrain of WWII by using factual voiceovers, interviews with officers impacted by anti-gay legislation, and excellent archival footage and photographs (a hallmark, really, of Arthur Dong films). What's different in this adapted documentary (the original version was a book), is that there is usage of a somewhat voice-of-God commentary--though only for the contextualization of facts, excellent for informing audiences of how legislation has transformed over time to exclude gays from the military (as sex perverts, as psychotics, and as a menace to military cohesion). Not only is this film informative, but the interviews with veterans (both honorable and dishonorably discharged), are so enthralling, it compels viewers to see the true torment the legislation had on gay military members at the time. Of course, there's no shortage of archival footage rarely found anywhere else. Lastly, this documentary is undoubtedly relevant to our time--a post "DADT" era with no shortage of challenges as well. Dong's film further reenforces the notion that to prevent gays and lesbians from serving in the military (and to punish them for doing so), ultimately says that gays and lesbians are less worthy, and less American, than the expected status quo. At the end of the film, however, I do think it would be interesting to learn more about the reasoning behind the military's enforcement of such counterintuitive legislation. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/20/23 Full Review Audience Member A fascinating and well produced documentary. Very informative and thought provoking. Good interviews and you get to know them and feel for them. Great footage from the 1940's. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Coming Out Under Fire

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW

Cast & Crew

Show Less Cast & Crew Show More Cast & Crew
View All Coming Out Under Fire photos

Coming Out Under Fire

Coming Out Under Fire (1994) Coming Out Under Fire (1994) Coming Out Under Fire (1994) Coming Out Under Fire (1994) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis During World War II, U.S. military policy regarding gay and lesbian soldiers is unforgiving. Director Arthur Dong's look into these policies reveals the harsh punishments inflicted on homosexual soldiers, which included dishonorable discharges that prevented the collection of benefits. This documentary focuses on nine members of the armed forces, using interviews and clips to explore sexual repression in the military and the possible punishments these soldiers could face.
Director
Arthur Dong
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Jun 14, 2005
Runtime
1h 10m
Most Popular at Home Now