Parting Glances is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 film shot in 1984 and released in 1986. With its realistic look at urban gay life in the Ronald Reagan

Ronald Reagan

Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 era and at the height of the AIDS crisis, many film critics consider it an important movie in the history of gay cinema. It was also one of the first American films to address the AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

-HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

 pandemic. First-time director Bill Sherwood

Bill Sherwood

William Charles Patrick Sherwood, better known as Bill Sherwood was an American musician, screenwriter and film director.Sherwood was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan...

 died of complications due to AIDS in 1990 without ever completing another film.

Description

The story revolves around a gay male couple, Robert and Michael, in their late twenties, living in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. Robert (John Bolger

John Bolger

John Emanuel Bolger is an American actor. He attended Holy Family High School and graduated from Bucknell University in 1977 He was a Dorm Resident Adviser as well as appearing in many campus productions. He also played football was a starting linebacker for the Bucknell Bison...

) is leaving for two years on a work assignment in Africa while his partner, Michael (Richard Ganoung), stays behind. Michael's ex-boyfriend, Nick (Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi

Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an American actor, writer and film director. An associate member of the renowned experimental theater company The Wooster Group, Buscemi has starred and supported in successful Hollywood and indie films including New York Stories, Mystery Train, Reservoir Dogs,...

), for whom Michael cooks, looks after and is still in love with, has AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

.

Parting Glances plays out over a two-day period with scenes taking place at a farewell party for Robert hosted by the couple's friend, Joan (Kathy Kinney

Kathy Kinney

Kathy Kinney is an American actress and comedian. She gained considerable popularity in the late 1990s for playing Mimi Bobeck, the outrageously made-up, flamboyantly vulgar, and vindictive nemesis of Drew Carey on the sitcom The Drew Carey Show...

), and at a dinner party hosted by Robert's employer, Cecil (Patrick Tull

Patrick Tull

Patrick Tull was a British stage, film and television actor.-Early life and education:Tull was born in Sussex, England.-Film and television work:...

), and his wife, Betty (Yolande Bavan

Yolande Bavan

Yolande Bavan is a singer and actress. Born in Ceylon , she toured Australia and Asia as a performer with Graeme Bell's band early in her career. She is best known for replacing Annie Ross in the legendary vocal group Lambert, Hendricks & Ross after Ross was forced to leave the group due to poor...

), who have an unconventional marriage.

While classified as a drama, the film also contains many comedic moments. Critics praised the movie's witty, realistic dialogue and detailed evocation of gay and gay-friendly urbanites in 80s Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

. Parting Glances was also one of the first motion pictures to deal frankly and realistically with the subject of AIDS, and the impact of the then relatively new disease on the gay community. In one scene, Nick talks fondly of the 70s and early 80s era of decadence to a younger, college-aged gay man.

Bronski Beat

Bronski Beat

Bronski Beat were a popular British synthpop trio who achieved success in the mid 1980s, particularly with the 1984 chart hit "Smalltown Boy". All members of the group were openly homosexual and their songs reflected this, often containing political commentary on gay-related issues...

 songs "Love and Money," "Smalltown Boy" and "Why" are included in the film.

Preservation and Restoration

In 2006, Outfest and the UCLA Film and Television Archive announced that the film would be the first to be restored as a part of the Outfest Legacy Project.

On Monday, July 16, 2007 as a part of the Outfest Legacy Project, a restored print of Parting Glances received its world premiere at the Director's Guild of America in Los Angeles. The four major stars of the film, Richard Ganoung, John Bolger, Steve Buscemi and Kathy Kinney were all in attendance, and participated in a panel discussion after the viewing.

The restoration print received its New York City premiere on October 29, 2007 at Lincoln Center.

Reviews and recognition

Parting Glances gave Steve Buscemi his first major movie role. "It is to both his and the film's credit," wrote Janet Maslin

Janet Maslin

Janet Maslin is an American journalist, best known as a film and literary critic for The New York Times. She served as the Times film critic from 1977–1999.- Biography :...

 in her New York Times

The New York Times

The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...

review, "that the anguish of AIDS is presented as part of a larger social fabric, understood in context, and never in a maudlin light."

External links

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• Reel.com review of Parting Glances