The set is packed with 10 films. Most are really quite good and some are middle of the road.
The best films int he bunch are as follows:
– The Birdcage
– The Children’s Hour
– Boys Don’t Cry
– Bent
– The Adventures of Priscilla Queen of the Desert
These are the best of the bunch and quite powerful in their own way. Specifically, The Children’s Hour, one of the earliest films of this genre, is a movie starring Audrey Hepburn. The movie revolves around an angry girl that gets back at her teachers by accusing them of being lesbians. You could understand how ‘terrible’ this was in 1961 and how absolutely shocking this could be in that society. It was truly one of the more definitive beginnings for this genre and it help spring other films of its type, especially in the 70s.
The great think about the Cinema Pride Collection is how well thought out the choices of film are. You get choices that span decades and provide very different situations. For example, in Bent you get a view of Nazi Germany where homosexuality ran rampant and was, regretfully, the worst thing you could do. Based on a play, it follows the life of Max (Clive Owen) who is on the run from the Nazis. He eventually ends up at a concentration camp and meets the love of his life a man named Horst (Lothaire Bluteau). Tragic and touching, the story will hit home regardless of how you feel on the subject.
The collection is damn good in how much it covers in the gay/lesbian film genre.
Now, it’s basically a repackaging of all the movies included. Honestly, 10 movies for $49.98 is a great buy. The packaging is really nice, but go into knowing that it’s truly a ‘collection’ of movies already released on DVD in some fashion at some time. You get everything you get with the originals, but it’s nice to see it’s all-together in one nice DVD set.