The Cockettes (2002)
Genre: Education/General Interest
Starring: Sylvia Miles, John Waters, Holly Woodlawn
DVD Info
Release:
Jan 21, 2003
DVD Features:
- Region 1
- Keep Case
Audio:
- Dolby Digital Stereo - English
Additional Release Material:
- Trailers
- Additional Footage
Interactive Features:
- Interactive Menus
- Scene Selection
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
This is one of those rare docs that paints a grand picture of an era and makes the journey feel like a party.
Much has been written about those years when the psychedelic '60s grooved over into the gay '70s, but words don't really do the era justice. You have to see it.
Cockettes has the glorious, gaudy benefit of much stock footage of Those Days, featuring all manner of drag queen, bearded lady and lactating hippie.
As Weber and Weissman demonstrate with such insight and celebratory verve, the Cockettes weren't as much about gender, sexual preference or political agitprop as they were simply a triumph of the indomitable human will to rebel, connect and create.
This expert, heartfelt movie establishes them as being as much a part of swingin' San Francisco as the Grateful Dead or the Beats.
Manages to transcend the sex, drugs and show-tunes plot into something far richer.
It's a warm, vibrant visit with a flock of freaky creative people and proves that being a total weirdo is a very good thing indeed.
It celebrates the group's playful spark of nonconformity, glancing vividly back at what Hibiscus grandly called his 'angels of light.'
An irresistible documentary look at the ensemble of the moment in the hippie kingdom of San Francisco, this comprehensive and charming film not only recalls those days exactly, it also manages the wonderful trick of taking us back there along with it.
An occasionally interesting but mostly repetitive look at a slice of counterculture that might be best forgotten.
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by: REEL_REVIEWER 8/15/04


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