Product Details

• Actors: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann, Tom Ammiano
• Directors: Rob Epstein
• Writers: Rob Epstein, Carter Wilson, Judith Coburn
• Producers: Rob Epstein, Gregory W. Bex, Richard Schmiechen
• Format: Anamorphic, Box set, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Unknown)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 3
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: New Yorker Video
• DVD Release Date: June 8, 2004
• Run Time: 90 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (45 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000228SRI
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #98,106 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
The Times of Harvey Milk
A devastatingly skillful and emotionally compelling documentary, The Times of Harvey Milk charts the political rise and brutal slaying of the first openly gay city official in the United State, Harvey Milk. Ironically, the same election that brought Milk to the board of city supervisors of San Francisco also elected the man who killed him, a former police officer and fireman named Dan White. After White shot both Mayor George Moscone and Milk, his defense lawyers convinced the jury that White's judgment was impaired by depression and junk food, resulting in a conviction for manslaughter instead of murder--a verdict that prompted riots. With care and conviction, The Times of Harvey Milk captures not only Milk himself, but also the political and social landscape in which these events took place. The interviews--with friends, politicians, and journalists--are articulate and heartfelt, expressing the impact that Milk had upon this historical moment. --Bret Fetzer

Where Are We? (Our Trip Through America)
Accomplished documentarians Rob Epstein and Jeff Friedman (Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, The Celluloid Closet) take a trip across the American South and Southwest, asking people about their hopes and fears. Along the way they interview a mobile-home salesman, gay and lesbian soldiers (including Gulf War veterans), a woman whose husband built her miniature version of Graceland, a recovering drug addict who aspires to movie stardom, a 15-year-old mother-to-be, and a casino owner whose role models include Nelson Mandela and Mother Theresa. Where Are We? (Our Trip Through America) is simple; none of the interviewees says anything profound or complex--yet the movie captures an intriguing and contradictory cross-section of the U.S., observing how people forge ahead regardless of their circumstances, seeking happiness as best they can. It's a striking portrait of resilience, illustrated with some amazing hairstyles. --Bret Fetzer

Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt
As of 2004, a variety of drugs have been developed to resist, if not cure, AIDS--yet Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt remains as emotionally powerful as it was during the height of the crisis, when people were dying by the thousands every year. With a combination of photo-montages, interviews with friends and family members, home movies, and news footage, this 1989 documentary captures the grief of those who have survived victims of AIDS. It's wrenching to hear the mother of a hemophiliac boy describing giving him blood transfusions in the middle of the night, or seeing pictures of a former Olympic athlete with the daughter he fathered with a lesbian mother, or hearing a Naval officer describe his relief when he learned that he, like his dead lover, had the virus--that the stress of waiting was over. A moving combination of art and politics. --Bret Fetzer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 61 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars His life, his legacy; our hope, June 12, 2004

By	James Hiller (Beaverton, OR) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Times of Harvey Milk 1984 (DVD)

I was one of the millions who probably heard of Harvey Milk at some point in my life, but never connected any dots to his life. Then one summer day, while housesitting, I found an old VHS tape of this documentary called "The Times of Harvey Milk". Not having anything better to do, I popped it in the VCR and sat back to watch. Two hours later, my life, perspectives, and outlooks were dramatically transformed by meeting Supervisor Harvey Milk. So it is with great excitement that this monumental film which pays tribute to a monumental time finally comes to DVD, and warrants my attention for my 200th review.

"The Times of Harvey Milk" is a transformative documentary both in style and information, created by visionary filmmakers Rob Epstein and Richard Schmiechen. The film not only covers the life of Milk, but the times which surrounded him that allows for a broader, more in-depth story. From the opening moments of the film, we learn of Harvey's untimely death, so as not to aggrandize it. Through personal interviews, newsreel coverage, and personal film shot at certain events, everything is brought to a real, intense focus. You feel as if you are watching the events unfold as San Franscians must have done in the late 1970's.

The shining stars of the film are the personal interviews given by people who knew Harvey best. Tom Ammiano, friend of Harvey, gives the film a sense of outrage of the assassinations. Jim Elliot gives a heartwarming straight man, unionist perspective to show us Harvey's universality. Henry Der allows us to see Harvey's political side. Jannine Yeoman's covering of the Milk campaign and post -assassination trial gives a sense of immediacy and urgency to the story, and a more professional viewpoint. Bill Kraus, a gay activist, soon to die of AIDS, provided a sense of Milk's activism.

A couple of interviewee struck me personally. First, lesbian activist Sally Gearheart's testimony of her work with Milk on the Proposition 6 campaign is very compelling, but her comments on the candlelight vigil and riots following the verdict are particularly poignant. Anne Kronenberg, who served as Milk's campaign manager, provides the zeal and optimism of the youth who surrounded and supported Milk in his efforts. Last comes Tory Hartmann, who's warmth on the screen is only seconded by her connection with Harvey. She provides an emotional recollection of the candlelight march that will leave you in tears.

Coming to DVD, this film looks rich and new, due to UCLA and its preservation processes. In addition to the film, the DVD brings you a second disk loaded with special features, from interviews with the film makers, to an 25th anniversary update of the Milk legacy by those who knew him best. I was particularly touched watching the "Alternate ending" section, in which Jim Elliot discloses, after describing his own journey as a straight man accepting homosexual Harvey Milk, learns his own daughter is also a lesbian, and that it was all okay, thereby completing validating Milk's thoughts on coming out.

Not enough words can be said about "The Times of Harvey Milk", a visionary, compelling documentary that should be shown, shared with everyone across this country. Milk's legacy is not only for his homosexual brothers and sisters; it is a legacy for all of us. His legacy is that of tolerance towards all, peaceful protest, fighting for what you believe in, and above all else, just having the best time of your life.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fight Before the Storm, November 10, 2005

By	Richard Brennan (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

That Harvey Milk's election to the San Francisco city council made him the first openly gay elected official in the country certainly justifies this documentary look at his life and career. The fact that this political event coincides with the ascendancy of Anita Bryant, the Moral Majority, and California's controversial Proposition 6 (which sought to make it illegal to employ any gay person as a teacher in the state's public school systems) gives the film a nail-biting second act. But add the fact that Milk and Mayor George Moscone were assassinated by fellow council person Dan White, and you have a riveting truth is stranger than fiction psycho-political drama. The scenes and remembrances of the spontaneous candlelight march from the Castro to City Hall by thousands of citizens are moving and speak of a grief and loss that goes deeper than words. The film goes on to document the Dan White trial, the "Twinkie Defense", and the violent reaction to verdict. Unfortunately, you can't view the film today without realizing that at the time these interviews were being filmed, AIDS was already invisibly working its way through the community and would soon all but wipe out this generation of gay men in San Francisco. That's a different story, I know (see Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt ), but it's like watching happy passengers board the Titanic, talking about a future that you know will never happen for many of them.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unknown to me, till now..., January 20, 2005

By	M. Miller (TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Times of Harvey Milk 1984 (DVD)

As I browsed my local library DVD collection I stumbled upon this film and was curious, because I had never heard of Harvey Milk or the tragic story surrounding his political career.

For those of you who do not know, Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in the US (he was a Supervisor for San Francisco.) His time in office had many highlights; however, a fellow Supervisor assassinated him after Milk served only 11-months in office.

Yes, this is a documentary, and although the story is built with tragedy in mind one must remember the good that Milk built upon. His policies helped more then just the gay community, and it is disheartening to see that his story is not more prominently featured.

This was a nice DVD in general, and as documentaries go it is fairly good quality. This is a intriguing and well-done film that all should see, and may it make you a little more aware like it did me.