Stonewall: Where Pride Began

Stonewall: Where Pride Began
[DVD Stonewall] 

This is a fictionalized account of the weeks leading up to the Stonewall Riots in June, 1969, that’s generally considered to be the starting point for organized gay rights.

The story is told mainly through the eyes of Danny, who is outed just weeks before his high school graduation. His father kicks him out of the house and he makes his way to NYC. He’s won a full-ride scholarship to Columbia and he’s doing everything he can to hang onto that scholarship.
Danny ends up at the Stonewall Inn with several gay men as they try to make a life and a living for themselves. This is made more difficult as corrupt police deal with the mafia-run gay bars that are given a heads-up as to when raids will be run on the underground bars that cater to the gay population. Finally fed-up with their treatment, they riot for several days.

This could have been a much better film, but it comes from Roland Emmerich (“Independence Day”) so a superficial treatment of this story didn’t surprise me. At the very least, this is a decent starting point for anyone unfamiliar with the Stonewall Riots.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Stonewall Rising, (DVD 303.766 Sto), by PBS’s American Experience, a well-done documentary on this topic.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ official Stonewall movie web site ]

Recommended by Charlotte K.
Bennett Martin Public Library

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