Customer Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding Historical Document
Comment: "Harvey Milk for the ages" sums up this compelling, flawless award-winning documentary. The movie was obviously a labor of love, respect and admiration for the hero of Castro Street who became the gay community's first heroic martyr. For once, a documentary gives you a real sense of the person. It does everything to bring Harvey Milk alive and give the viewer the feel of the times in which he lived. Bravo, bravo, bravissimo.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Slightly Slow, Slightly Shallow Portrait of a Turning Point In American Civil Rights
Comment: As the 1970s progressed gay and lesbian community became increasingly visible and vocal and made numerous civil rights gains throughout the nation. They also became subject to backlash from conservatives who found them threatening. In 1977 Harvey Milk became the first openly gay man to win elected office in the United States of America, receiving a position on San Francisco's Board of Supervisors. Less than a year later he, along with Mayor George Moscone, would be dead--assasinated by Dan White, a former member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors who had resigned but days earlier, subsequently sought reinstatement, and who faulted Milk for Moscone's refusal to reappoint him.
White possessed a distinctly "All American Boy" background and physical appearance. When he stood trial less than six months later, the court refused to seat jurors who were gay or of any minority background and the case went to a jury that proved sympathetic to his claim of mitigating factors. These factors included the notorious "Twinkie Defense," so named because White claimed than an over-indulgence of sweet junk food had fueled an unstable state of mind. The jury found White guilty of manslaughter instead of murder, a verdict that horrified most residents of the city and which sparked violent protests from local gays and lesbians.
Then and now, Milk is seen as indicative of the successes the gay and lesbian community can have and of the risks they run in the process. The subject of numerous works, in 1984 he was the subject of THE LIFE AND TIMES OF HARVEY MILK, an Oscar-winning documentary. Seen today, the film does a very good job of documenting Milk, his death, and its aftermath; at the same time, however, it has a surprisingly slow and somewhat superficial quality.
Part of this is due to Harvey Fierstein's narration, which has an unduly reverent tone and tends to drag down the pace of the film. But is more due to the fact that the documentary never actually seems to regard Milk as more icon than actual person. We follow his career, but not in real detail, and we actually learn less about Milk as an individual than we do of his killer, Dan White (who committed suicide in 1985, about two years after his release from prison and at about the same time this film was released.) The film is certainly to be commended for its attempt to document a turning point in American civil rights, but at the same time the whole thing seems, well, just a little shallow.
The DVD includes commentary but nothing more in the way of bonuses--and this is a subject that would benefit from them. Recommended, but in truth you are likely to learn more about Milk, Moscone, White, and the events of the era from an hour's casual reading than you will from this film.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
Customer Rating:
Summary: Harvey Milk
Comment: The product was received as promised. The content of the CD was excellent. How history does repeat itself. Today we are looking for and elected a new President on the theme of hope. Harvey Milk gave the Gay Community in San Fransico in the 70's a reason to hope.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Comment: The documentary itself is excellent: It is a very well structured film and the first-hand accounts, recorded only a few years after Milk's death, are fascinating.
The special features disc is extremely informative and interesting, especially the 10-year anniversary discussion of the Dan White murder trial, featuring the actual lawyers who worked on the case.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Our Hero, Harvey Milk
Comment: I am an activist who is deeply inspired by the life of Harvey Milk. One of my best friends is a gay man who lived in the Castro during the 80s. His life was forever changed because of the decency, bravery, and vision of the amazing Harvey Milk. This film does great justice to Harvey in showing what a rare and beautiful world changer that he was, and the struggle that innocent people must go through at the hands of the closed minded and hateful. Anyone who watches this movie will be extremely moved, and it is only my hope that they will also be moved to action. The world needs more people like Harvey Milk, and only we can create a place where someone like him will be safe from the hatred and ignorance that often robs our world of its best peace makers.
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