Telling Pictures

Directed By Rob Epstein
Narrated by Harvey Fierstein
Academy Award, Best Documentary Feature (1984) 

San Francisco in the 1970s became a battleground between an emerging, vibrant gay movement and the communities who felt threatened by this new gay political muscle.

In 1978, the struggle came to a head when San Francisco's progressive Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk—one of the first openly gay elected officials anywhere—were murdered in cold blood by Dan White—a former City Supervisor, fireman, and police officer.

The community's response—ranging from silent vigil to violent riots—helped define gay politics as we know it. The Times of Harvey Milk tells an emotional story of communities in conflict, centered on the last year of Harvey Milk's life.

The Times of Harvey Milk was the inspiration for Gus Van Sant's movie Milk. It will be re-released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2011. A study guide will be available later this year.

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» GET ON iTUNES

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman
Academy Award, Best Feature Documentary (1989) 

An Olympic athlete; a gay activist; a boy with hemophilia; a recovering heroin addict; a closeted Navy commander: five very diverse lives that shared a common fate.  Their lives—along with thousands of others—are woven together in a giant memorial patchwork quilt, that is solemnly unfolded in the US capitol to protest the government's refusal to respond to a growing epidemic. Common Threads tells the powerful story of the first decade of the AIDS epidemic in the US.

See More >

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE: 

• Commentary by Rob & Jeff
• A new short film by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman about AIDS then & now
• Vito Russo ACT-UP speech 

Narrated by Lily Tomlin
Emmy Award, Nonfiction Directing (1995) 

Featuring Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Shirley MacLaine, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Gore Vidal, Arthur Laurents, Harvey Fierstein, John Schlesinger, Armistead Maupin, Susie Bright, and others. 

The acclaimed documentary based on Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book, The Cellulioid Closet explores the hidden subtext of more than 100 Hollywood movies—from The Maltese Falcon to Spartacus and Rebel Without A Cause to Thelma and Louise and Philadelphia. A lively cinematic journey through evolving lesbian and gay stereotypes—and homosexual self-image—as seen through the first century of movie-making. With clips from over 100 movies, and revealing interviews with many of the artists who created them.

See More >

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE: 

• Commentary by Rob & Jeff, Lily Tomlin, and Executive Producer Howard Rosenman and editor Arnold Glassman
• Additional commentary with author Vito Russo
• Interview outtakes

A film by the Mariposa Film Group

In 1978, Word is Out: Stories of Some of Our Lives startled audiences across the country when it appeared in movie theaters and on television. The first feature-length documentary about lesbian and gay identity made by gay filmmakers, the film had a huge impact when it was released and became an icon of the emerging gay rights movement of the 1970s. It has since become a landmark in the history of documentaries. Newly restored on DVD.

» CONTACT MILESTONE FILMS

A rare documentary action film that takes viewers inside a rapidly growing and frenetic world of risk, rebellion and camaraderie, and asks why some young athletes are so willing to put their bodies on the line.

» PURCHASE VHS ($10)

Sundance Film Festival (1992)

Award-winning documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman took a journey through unfamiliar lands—in their own country. Having spent most of their lives on one coast or the other, they wondered what mysteries lay in between. So they piled into a van with a film crew, talking to ordinary Americans they met along the way—who talk sometimes eloquently, often poignantly, about their lives, their hopes, and their dreams.

See More >

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE several sequences cut from the final film, with a brief commentary by Jeff & Rob

Film and video artists respond to 9/11. Rob and Jeffrey's short film is built around an original rap song written and performed by 11-year-old Isaiah Gage, who grew up a few blocks from Ground Zero.

"Powerful and cathartic... a thoughtful compilation and a healing experience. ONE OF THE TEN BEST FILMS OF THE YEAR." - San Francisco Chronicle

10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America: 10 acclaimed documentary filmmakers examine ten pivotal moments in US history, and the often unexpected changes they triggered. The episode on the San Francisco "GOLD RUSH" was produced by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman.

Sex in '69: The Sexual Revolution in America.

Travel back to 1969 and uncover fascinating trends, people and events that forever changed the way Americans think about and have sex. Viewers will travel from the Playboy Penthouse in Los Angeles to San Francisco's Hippie crash pads, New York's Gay baths.

» Purchase from History Channel

Directed By Rob Epstein
Narrated by Harvey Fierstein
Academy Award, Best Documentary Feature (1984) 

San Francisco in the 1970s became a battleground between an emerging, vibrant gay movement and the communities who felt threatened by this new gay political muscle.

In 1978, the struggle came to a head when San Francisco's progressive Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk—one of the first openly gay elected officials anywhere—were murdered in cold blood by Dan White—a former City Supervisor, fireman, and police officer.

The community's response—ranging from silent vigil to violent riots—helped define gay politics as we know it. The Times of Harvey Milk tells an emotional story of communities in conflict, centered on the last year of Harvey Milk's life.

The Times of Harvey Milk was the inspiration for Gus Van Sant's movie Milk. It will be re-released on DVD by the Criterion Collection in 2011. A study guide will be available later this year.

See More >

» GET ON iTUNES

Narrated by Dustin Hoffman
Academy Award, Best Feature Documentary (1989) 

An Olympic athlete; a gay activist; a boy with hemophilia; a recovering heroin addict; a closeted Navy commander: five very diverse lives that shared a common fate.  Their lives—along with thousands of others—are woven together in a giant memorial patchwork quilt, that is solemnly unfolded in the US capitol to protest the government's refusal to respond to a growing epidemic. Common Threads tells the powerful story of the first decade of the AIDS epidemic in the US.

See More >

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE: 

• Commentary by Rob & Jeff
• A new short film by Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman about AIDS then & now
• Vito Russo ACT-UP speech 

Narrated by Lily Tomlin
Emmy Award, Nonfiction Directing (1995) 

Featuring Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Shirley MacLaine, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Gore Vidal, Arthur Laurents, Harvey Fierstein, John Schlesinger, Armistead Maupin, Susie Bright, and others. 

The acclaimed documentary based on Vito Russo’s groundbreaking book, The Cellulioid Closet explores the hidden subtext of more than 100 Hollywood movies—from The Maltese Falcon to Spartacus and Rebel Without A Cause to Thelma and Louise and Philadelphia. A lively cinematic journey through evolving lesbian and gay stereotypes—and homosexual self-image—as seen through the first century of movie-making. With clips from over 100 movies, and revealing interviews with many of the artists who created them.

See More >

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE: 

• Commentary by Rob & Jeff, Lily Tomlin, and Executive Producer Howard Rosenman and editor Arnold Glassman
• Additional commentary with author Vito Russo
• Interview outtakes

Sundance Film Festival (1992)

Award-winning documentary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman took a journey through unfamiliar lands—in their own country. Having spent most of their lives on one coast or the other, they wondered what mysteries lay in between. So they piled into a van with a film crew, talking to ordinary Americans they met along the way—who talk sometimes eloquently, often poignantly, about their lives, their hopes, and their dreams.

See More >

DVD EXTRAS INCLUDE several sequences cut from the final film, with a brief commentary by Jeff & Rob