Before Stonewall (1984)

Director: John Scagliotti & Greta Schiller
Year: 1984
Genre: Documentary
Country: USA
Language: English
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088782/

Video
File Name: Before Stonewall-1984-John Scagliotti and Greta Schiller.avi
File Size (in bytes): 713,821,878 bytes
Runtime (# of frames): 1:26:24 (155338 frames)

Video Codec: XviD 1.1.2 Final
Frame Size: 710x480 [=1.315]
FPS: 29.970
Video Bitrate: 927 kb/s
Bits per Pixel: 0.091 bpp
B-VOP, N-VOP, QPel, GMC ......: []...[N-VOP]...[]...[]

Audio
Audio Codec: 0x0055 MPEG-1 Layer 3
Sample Rate: 48000 Hz
Audio bitrate: 160 kb/s [2 channel(s)] CBR audio
Interleave: 107 ms
No. of audio streams: 1

Plot summary: New York City's Stonewall Inn is regarded by many as the site of gay and lesbian liberation since it was at this bar that drag queens fought back against police June 27-28, 1969. This documentary uses extensive archival film, movie clips and personal recollections to construct an audiovisual history of the gay community before the Stonewall riots.

Review: I have lost count of the number of times I have seen this wonderful documentary. The archival material alone -- film clips and still photographs of gay life in America between 1900 and the '60s -- is enough to make this film a treasure; but it is the interviews with survivors of the pre-Stonewall era that make Before Stonewall a priceless heirloom of gay studies and a must in the personal education of any socially conscious person interested in gay culture.