They have been informative to inquisitive, historic to hilarious, but what are the most influential LGBTQ+ movies of all time? To determine that answer during PRIDE month, it’s essential to understand what makes a movie or T.V. show “influential.”
For example, after a tentpole release summer blockbuster comes out, is the water cooler talk about the spoilers, high moments, or twist ending? It “influenced” a conversation. Then, there are those films that get the right people talking who can do something about a plight seen in a film.
Ever seen Jaws?
How often have you been in the Gulf of Mexico, Atlantic or Pacific Oceans, or even one of the Great Lakes and started humming “Ba-DUM-Ba-DUM?” When Steven Spielberg dropped that movie and Chief Brody dropped chum in the water, oceanfront tourism was devastated for over a decade.
One film caused 10 years of people to travel to the Midwest because of fear of the water. It was crippling, and some folks still have an issue with swimming in a lake or any body of water they can’t see through.
When a movie has influence, it does more than sell tickets and merchandise. It can affect legal policy or peer conversation. It can sway the court of public opinion or even the winds of change. They become change agents, and we become a better society.
A movie about a gigantic, carnivorous fish won’t do that. But a film about societal plight and growth can. That’s where we begin.
Here are the Top 10 most influential LGBTQ+ movies of all time.
10. Tangerine (2015)
If anyone tells you a movie requires a big budget, A-list stars, and fantastic CGI effects to be successful, buy the digital download of Sean Baker’s Tangerine. Remind them they are looking at a Hollywood film shot on three iPhones backed by only $100,000. This film was before its time and featured a trans sex worker (Kitana Taylor) searching for her ex-boyfriend. Before the general population was prepared to have a trans conversation, Baker superbly forced the issue.
9. Blue is the Warmest Color (2014)
Sometimes, you need shock and awe to develop influence and force change. That was the stem of this film’s essence in the psyche of the LGBTQ+ community. The groundswell of attention this French film created made its way across the pond and gripped American cinephiles. Firmly.
So, there’s 50 Shades of Grey. And then, on down the bookshelf is Julie Maroh’s graphic novel sneering down its book spine at it. Abdellatif Kechiche, a straight man, took that book and turned it inside out with the bewildering screenwork of Adele Exarchopoulos and Lea Seydoux.
Together, they develop incredibly visceral emotions as they swirl into a pressure cooker of relationships, addictions, and raw authenticity, unlike any film before or after the films in this genre. There is no coming out of the closet here. It’s just living out loud in a world full of tone-deafness.
8. Paris Is Burning (1990)
If you know the title, you know it’s a documentary presented by Miramax in theaters. There was a considerable amount of influence riding on this subject matter–the world of drag queens. The 1990s were the Halycon Days for gay rights and respective subject matter. And this vantage point wasn’t the first, but certainly the most persuasive and liberating.
There was an audience. They had momentum. And this film–one of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies ever, despite its egregious controversy–harnessed the power of both. Until this point, drag queens were considered a sub-culture by the mainstream population. Of course, now they’re seen and celebrated everywhere. RuPaul, you’re welcome.
7. Love, Simon (2018)
Among this list of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies ever are several firsts. For Love, Simon, this first would peer directly into the heart of a teenager addressing his identity. Strangely, Hollywood or its fans didn’t seem to have a problem with this plotline. That was necessary because this was a story that needed to be seen and told.
Simon Spier (Nick Robinson) is a gay high school student who has buried his soul deep in his closet. That secret becomes a burden as he questions who he can trust and how that daring choice would trust him back. The film carefully poses Simon’s secret to the audience as if it was made for the subset of the community with the same secret.
You know, when you hear someone speaking to an audience, it forces you to think, “That message was just for me.” This movie reached into the closet of millions nationwide struggling and silent.
6. Milk (2008)
Biopics are sources of education and inspiration. Many directors have selected characters to embody or stories to tell. But, there are those special true stories that must be personified perfectly, or please don’t bother. Gus van Sant knew the heartbreaking story of San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk was one such tale. And was it ever done perfectly.
Sean Penn is mesmerizing as Harvey Milk and was awarded the Best Actor Oscar for his triumphant portrayal of the assassinated politician. Milk, 48, was murdered for his identity, not his party or activity. Gus van Sant dug into the roots of Harvey Milk to explore the gravity of his soul and the tragedy of his silence.
The core of this movie was to shine a light in every “closet” to welcome people hiding from society and encourage them to come out and share who they were with their loved ones. Because then, and possibly only then, could these silent voices find harmony together and shout for what’s right. Just like Harvey Milk did.
5. Call Me By Your Name (2017)
[Author’s Memo: Let’s be real. Music lovers still enjoy Michael Jackson and R. Kelly. Thespians still watch the work of Kevin Spacey and Roman Polanski. Thanks to a mesmerizing documentary about Armie Hammer, this disgusting troglodyte is so canceled. But not before he was part of this staggering innocent film.]
What director Luca Guadagnino shaped out of the Andre Aciman novel of the same name is nothing short of stoic and revered laudation. This unexpected story between Elio (Timothee Chalamet) and Oliver (Hammer) is one of cinematic history’s most graceful pieces of storytelling. With an introduction like that, naturally, it will permanently be on a list of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies ever.
That said, what Chalamet and Hammer presented onscreen paints a masterpiece of innocent feelings and intimate discovery. From heartwarming to heartbreaking, Call Me By Your Name permitted anyone of any age permission to understand their identity before unveiling it.
4. Philadelphia (1993)
At a time when AIDS disinformation and discrimination were rampant, Philadelphia put a person and a plight to the anonymous chatter nationwide. Watching Tom Hanks experience this arduous journey was worse than a horror movie. When you watch the blood and guts, you know it’s fake. When you watch Beckett discovers lesions–and the associated vitriol from anyone around him–it was so real.
Within 150 minutes, people who wanted to turn their back on the LGBTQ+ community were forced to turn back around and meet these hidden souls vexed by fear and repelled by hate. The movie is beautiful to behold. On one side, there is Beckett (Hanks) spiraling downward because of his health. On the other, there is Joe Miller (Denzel Washington) climbing upward to help find a cure to Beckett’s pain.
Jonathan Demme created this paradox as a microcosm of the nation facing the AIDS epidemic and the countless feelings about it. The harrowing part about the entire film is the face of the nation staring at us all in the mirror. Most of the country hated what they saw and was forced to fix it. It took time, but we did thanks to this one of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies of all time.
3. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
As you watch this trip on the Ponderosa back in time–1963, to be exact–you’re caught in a tapestry of a Louis Lamour western…with a unique twist. While herding sheep in the remote prairie land, you watch two “macho guys” evolve in every direction you believed this movie was heading.
Director Ang Lee takes the unbelievable emotional makeup of Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal and unfolds that into the characters of Ennis Del Mar and Jack Twist, respectively. Everything was against this story in the movie, and everyone seemed to support it in real life. It was a magical moment and truly one of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies ever.
P.S. Yes, without certain hesitation, this film was held at gunpoint and robbed at the 2006 Oscars. Crash?! Really, dude?!
2. Moonlight (2016)
Even the most staunch of gay-bashers had to stand up and salute Barry Jenkins‘ work with relatively unknown actors, like Trevante Rhodes, Alex R. Hibbert, and Ashton Sanders–all of whom represent “Chiron.” His molding of life and love became one of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies ever.
Jenkins holds your hand and guides you through this awe-inspiring story of someone evolving into who he wants to be and walking away from who he thought he was supposed to be. And then, we didn’t watch but beheld the supernova of Mahershala Ali gain its light.
If ever AMPAS could mark its “B.C. to A.D. moment in time,” it was when they took a bold step out of their collective closet to recognize this film, those incredible actors, and (finally) the LGBTQ+ community.
1. Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
Ask anyone. Go ahead. “What is one of the most pivotal conversations for the gay rights movement today?” Mind you; it’s 2023. Anyone will say “Trans.” Go back to 1999 for the first movie about it.
Imagine being a young and novice actor Hilary Swank, a cisgender woman (before it was a term) playing the part of Brandon Teena, a trans man. Then, winning an Oscar for it. Boys Don’t Cry was a monumental storytelling event, not only because of the tragic subject matter (no spoilers) but also because of the remarkable courage to share it.
During Hilary’s impressive acceptance speech, she had the foresight to use male pronouns then…on live national television. And today, the rest of the nation is catching up. If that doesn’t underscore the meaning of being the leader among the most influential LGBTQ+ movies, go get a new Hi-Liter. This was a triumph at a time in the world when it was ready to experience one, and still is to this day.
Did we miss anything on this list of the most influential LGBTQ+ movies ever made? Let us know. In the meantime, follow us for more entertainment coverage on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube.
