The Times of Harvey Milk
Movie | |
---|---|
German title | Who Was Harvey Milk? |
Original title | The Times of Harvey Milk |
Country of production | United States |
original language | English |
Publishing year | 1984 |
length | about 90 minutes |
Rod | |
Director | Rob Epstein |
script |
Judith Coburn , Carter Wilson |
production | Rob Epstein Richard Schmiechen |
music | Mark Isham |
camera | Frances Reid |
cut |
Rob Epstein , Deborah Hoffmann |
occupation | |
|
The Times of Harvey Milk (German title: Who was Harvey Milk? ) Is a documentary directed by Rob Epstein , who in 1985 the Oscar awarded for best documentary. It describes the life of Harvey Milk .
action
On November 27, 1978, Dan White climbed through a window in San Francisco City Hall, entered Mayor George Moscone's office, and shot him dead. Then he runs into the office of supervisor (district mayor) Harvey Milk and kills him too. Dan White, an Army veteran, former police officer and firefighter, is Harvey Milk's colleague.
The gruesome assassination marked the radical end of Harvey Milk's unusual political career: in the 1930s, he grew up in the middle class in New York and acknowledged his homosexuality from the start. After an eventful career - officer in the Navy, Wall Street stockbroker, hippie, and anti-Vietnam protester - he moved to San Francisco in the early 1970s. There he opened a photo shop in the then sleepy Castro district. He began running for political office. In the fourth attempt, in 1977, he succeeded in jumping into the supervisor's chair in constituency 5.
The gays and other minorities finally had an elected representative of their interests. His photo shop had already become the center of the gay movement , the scene's information exchange. The Castro district, in which an above-average number of gays and lesbians had settled, became Milk's house power. A ghetto that is free, “seduces” more and more young and old gays to confess their otherness, to live out their lives without complexes and fears.
This solidarity effect, which Milk sets in motion like an avalanche, also prevents ultra-conservative bills that are supposed to forbid gays from teaching as teachers in state schools. At the beginning of November 1978, 60% of the Californian electorate voted against this professional ban in a referendum, a terrific success that underscores Milks role as one of the most popular politicians in San Francisco. Dan White, Milks opponent, never accepted this defeat. He took revenge. First he resigned from his post, but then revoked his decision, which is legally inadmissible. Mayor Moscone refused to reinstate him. Before he could publicly announce this decision, he and Harvey Milk had been murdered by White.
On the night of the murder, over 45,000 people gathered in Castro Street . They marched in silence to the town hall - with tens of thousands of candles flickering. The trial against White began six months later. He was sentenced to 7½ years in prison, five of which he served. On October 21, 1985, now free again, White takes his own life.
Awards (selection)
- The film won an Oscar in 1985 in the Best Documentary category.
- In 1984 the film was named Best Documentary at the New York Film Critics Circle Awards .
- At the Sundance Film Festival , the film was awarded the Special Jury Prize for Best Documentary.
- In 2012 the film was entered into the National Film Registry .
Web links
- The Times of Harvey Milk in the Internet Movie Database (English)