February 12, 2012

Video Views Pick: Milk

by Art Slavin | Published March 9, 2009

DVD Release: March 10
R; 127 minutes

In 1978, feeling mortal, Harvey Milk (Sean Penn) dictated his thoughts about his life. Beginning in 1970 in New York City, he met Scott (James Franco) and fell in love. In search of a change, they moved to the Castro District of San Francisco and began to seek civil rights for gays. Over the next few years, Milk ran for office three times, losing each race, although he was not discouraged. He finally won the position of City Supervisor in his district, and by this time Scott had had enough of politics and left. But Milk had strong workers, including Cleve Jones (Emile Hirsch) and Anne Kronenberg (Alison Pill) on his side, and a new lover (Diego Luna). Then came the big fight to stop a resolution to allow gay teachers to be fired, as well as a strong disagreement with fellow supervisor Dan White (Josh Brolin). It’s a true story, and Penn’s passionate, Oscar-winning performance is as powerful as they come.

DVD Extras: Deleted Scenes; Featurettes include “Remembering Harvey” and “Hollywood Comes to San Francisco.”

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