Oscar-nominated "Precious" director Lee Daniels told Insider that he was originally set to direct "Brokeback" himself, which led him to avoid watching the films for almost 15 years because he "didn't think that would do it justice.
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They are gay, and while most audience members may not understand exactly what it is like to love someone, and be something, that is deemed so taboo it could lead you to catastrophe, or, in "Brokeback Mountain's" case, death, Lee's movie depicts forbidden love, something a lot of people know of, so expertly and touchingly that it's hard not to get sucked into caring thoroughly about these characters - whether you're gay or straight.Īng Lee is responsible for that. "Brokeback Mountain" straddles this line expertly, presenting their leading queer characters and their forbidden love with so much sympathy that it turns to empathy. There's a tight rope to walk here - embracing queerness and queer characters but at the same time not alienating mainstream, predominantly straight audiences. We spoke to several queer filmmakers about what makes "Brokeback Mountain" the quintessential queer movie. The effect that "Brokeback" has had on the film industry, its filmmakers, and the queer community, is still rippling today - even 15 years later. In Insider's recent chats with various queer and ally filmmakers about their favourite LGBTQ movies, Lee's seminal film was mentioned by every single person. Yet "Brokeback Mountain" is still viewed as the go-to gay movie.
We've had the first-ever mainstream LGBT rom-com in "Love, Simon," cultural juggernauts like "Call Me By Your Name" and "Carol," about three Disney movies featuring Disney's "first-ever" LGBTQ character ("Beauty and the Beast," "Onward," and "Zootopia"), and "Moonlight," which did what "Brokeback Mountain" couldn't and became the first-ever queer movie to win best picture at the Academy Awards. Since the release of Ang Lee's movie, queer representation onscreen and behind the camera has increased substantially (although there is still a very long way to go). That's a pretty long time in cinema - from "War of the Worlds" to "Avengers: Endgame." The sweeping romance follows Jack (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Ennis (Heath Ledger) as they engage in a complex, passionate, and forbidden love affair over two decades.
"Brokeback Mountain" was released 15 years ago.