Film Friday: The Times Of Harvey Milk

Long before Gus Van Sant and Sean Penn planned Milk, director Rob Epstein created The Times of Harvey Milk, an Oscar-winning documentary about the political career of Harvey Milk, San Francisco’s first openly gay supervisor. It documents the rise of Milk from a neighborhood activist to a national gay political symbol, through to his assassination at San Francisco’s city hall, and the Dan White trial and aftermath. The film finally became available on Hulu.com this week, shown here in its entirety.
Van Sant’s film was recently shown to students of the Harvey Milk school and criticized by writer, Nancy Goldstein, for featuring a “pastuerized, homogenized… low-fat” depiction of gay hardships more palatable to mainstream audiences. The film above has a raw power to it and should be required viewing for any homosexual. Surprisingly, the film still has an official website where you can learn more and share your own experience.