New York City has always been a great place not only for little independent films but small off Broadway plays as well. In many ways they are just different sides of he same coin. Typically they are based on subjects that would be different to get produced in any major venue. One such plays opened in 1968 called ‘The Boys in the Band’ written by Mart Crowley. It was a ground breaking play for the time as one of the first to openly discuss homosexuality. Up until then gay men where typically depicted in plays and subsequently films as the subjects of shame and pity; that is if the character was even written as openly gay. More typically there was an inference or not so subtle stereotypical behavior that would show the character was gay. This play was ground breaking in making a group of male homosexual characters the center of the story; not relegated to the odd ancillary figure. This was the first play to treat a then taboo subject openly and honestly. As such there was more than just a little amount of controversy surrounding the production of the play. This would lead to the release of the fill version of the story just two years later. In that interim period the Gay rights movement had taken off in Greenwich Village and the world was on the cusp of a major change in social attitudes. This did have the affect of making much of the story start down the path of being outdated by the time the film hit the screens. Apparently the play itself had become derided within the gay community for pandering too much to the straight concept of what real gay men where like. Similar things have happened with other social and ethnic groups. A story that is cutting edge one moment is seen as possessing too much of the old values later. In case the film version is sharply written, fairly well directed and strongly acted. It is now forty years after the stage debut and thirty eight years since the hit was released. Paramount has brought this to DVD so an entirely new generation can see for themselves the beginnings of a social revolution.

Playwright Mart Crowley did go on to other works after writing ‘Boys in the Band’ but this was his one big success. Up until this time gay men were side characters in theater and film. Some were thinly disguised such as the murderous Leonard In ‘North by Northwest’ impeccably played by Martin Landau. Others where over the top stereotypes intended for comic relief. Being a male homosexual was mostly written as part of a description along the lines with ‘the character was prone to wearing hats’. This play was the first to show gay men as real, fully developed human beings with all the potential for strength and predilection to foible as anyone else. In some ways this story is reminiscent of Edward Albee’s ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.’ It uses what should be a light social gathering and turns it into a pressure cooker of emotions. The discussions soon strip bare any semblance of polite decorum and the mood and language turns very dark. The party at hand slowly deteriorates into a claustrophobic and emotionally intense battle of words. This is the mastery of Crowley as a playwright as reflected in his screenplay here. These were the first openly gay characters to be afforded the opportunity of becoming fully developed as human beings.

It is important to place the play and movie in its place in history. Having come up in 1968 the play was cutting edge. At the time the police forces in many cities where extremely repressive against lesbians and gay men. Homosexuality was considered to be a crime and a mental disorder. Before the film could come out in 1970 an event occurred that would begin a movement within the homosexual segment of the population. On June 28, 1969 in the Greenwich Village section of New York City there was a spontaneous demonstration against the police. It took place in and around the Stonewall Inn, a popular gay gathering spot. The police attempted a routine raid and the people stood fast ultimately resulting in a riot. This was a time of wide spread social change. The youth of America was demonstrating against the war in Vietnam. The peace movement helped to foster the idea of the people openly objecting to the policies and laws of the government. The civil rights movement was working to gain equality for black citizens with tactics ranging from peace marches, voting incentives and the Black Panther movement. Gays and lesbians were about to join the growing number of advocates for social change. There may have only been two years between the play and movie but during that time the climate changed tremendously. For people looking back on this film with a forty year advantage it may seem trite every mundane. A story like this is no longer uncommon or cutting edge. There are now flourishing outlets for gay and lesbian expression in most forms of the media. Still, those involved in such outlets today either as members of the audience or on the creative side might want to look back in time to a vastly different social structure.

Besides the then controversial theme and execution of this film it was groundbreaking for another reason; the director; William Friedkin. When he made this movie he was already considered a rising star in the directorial world with films like ‘The Night They Raided Minsky's’ and ‘The Birthday Party’. This is the film that truly put him on the map. He next two films would place him in the category of world renowned directors. Those films where ground breaking in their own way and reset the definition of their genres; ‘The French Connection’ police action movies and ‘The Exorcist’ for horror. In this film he did a straightforward transfer of the stage play to the screen even insisting on the entire original off Broadway cast. He manages to capture the look and feel of a small off Broadway play. There is an intimacy provided here that adds to the immediacy of the story. Friedkin demonstrates his skill as a director with an extremely difficult and technically demanding format.

The story is set on the upper east side of Manhattan. Michael (Kenneth Nelson) is a regular sort of guy with the typical baggage. He was raised as a Roman Catholic but as fallen away from the active portion of his faith over the years. On this particular evening he is going to host a birthday party for his good friend Harold (Leonard Frey). Arriving before the set time is another friend of Michael’s, Donald (Frederick Combs). He is a bit of a slacker who has recently moved away. The time comes and the guests arrive. There is Emory (Cliff Gorman), a flamboyant interior decorator. Hank (Laurence Luckinbill) is a divorced school teacher and his current life partner Larry (Keith Prentice) who works as a fashion photographer. It is clear that they have some commitment issues already. Last there is Bernard (Reuben Greene) a meek book clerk. Michael has been receiving phone calls from an old friend Alan (Peter White) who urgently needs to see him. When Alan finally arrives his news throws a wrench into the festivities. All of this comes to a boil when a male stripper dressed as a cowboy (Robert La Tourneaux) enters the mix as Emory’s gift to Harold. Michael was a recovering alcoholic who is pushed too resuming his drinking as Alan is forced to face his own homosexuality.

CBS Paramount has done a fine job in presenting this historical film to DVD. It has a Dolby stereo sound track and a 1.78:1 widescreen video. There is an exceptional director’s commentary that is more insightful than most. There are also three featurettes. The first covers the play, the second the film and the third the 40 years of aftermath. This may seem out of place now but it is a piece of cinematic history.