Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Let's be realistic.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Probably the first documentary ever done about gay sex before AIDS hit. It has interviews with various men who lived through the 1970s and some incredible film footage and photographs. It shows how Stonewall liberated gays and made them fight back. It opened the doors for gay bars, bathhouses and virtual nonstop anonymous sex. The movie doesn't pass judgment on the subjects. It just shows it how it was.I was born in 1962 so when I came out in the 1980s AIDS was in full effect. I've heard how great the 70s were and this documentary shows me a time we'll probably never see again. It doesn't shy away from the dark side--it makes it clear people were robbed or beaten (or killed) and there were plenty of STDs being passed around. Also it shows the rampant drug abuse going on. I honestly can't say that I personally agree with the nonstop sex and drugs, but it does show gay men having sex and not apologizing for it--and that's just great.This is obviously not for everybody--it's unrated but no one under 18 is admitted--and some of it may be too graphic for some (there's PLENTY of sex and nudity). Still, it chronicles an important time in gay and US history and is invaluable. I give it an 8 because it does have its slow spots.

This movie brought back many memories for me, as I moved to New York in 1979 and lived there until 2004. I was 29 years old in '79, having come out at the tender age of 16 in Kansas City, where I grew up. I considered moving to New York earlier, but now I am sure that I would not have survived if I had. I moved into an apartment in Greenwich Village and in those few short years before AIDS was discovered, I had sex in many of the places featured in the film. For those who may be somewhat critical of this movie or the mores of the era, it is helpful to understand that sexual liberation really began in San Francisco with the straight hippies in the late 1960's, before Stonewall ever happened. Then after Stonewall, gay life and gay sexual liberation just exploded. While I missed much of the nonstop sexual activity of the mid to late 1970's, I certainly enjoyed my fair share of sex in New York during those few short years prior to the early 1980's. The most remarkable events which occurred were only alluded to in a brief comments by Larry Kramer (and others) towards the end of the film. Larry Kramer said that when the gay community began to discover AIDS and act upon it, this was the first time that an afflicted population ever took it upon themselves to demand radical change on the part of the US government and the US medical community. The gay and lesbian communities, particularly in New York and San Francisco which were the epicenters of AIDS, came together remarkably fast and formed several political and community organizations, which ultimately raised huge sums of money and began to bring about real change and awareness of AIDS to the world. In the past 20 years, there have been many books and films which document the relatively brief history of gays and lesbians. Joe Lovett's film has added an important piece to our history.

A no holds barred look back at a hedonistic time of freedom for sexual awareness and discovery... it can almost make this thirty something long for a time pre AIDs. It posed a lot of questions for me like, which came first, the gay sexual carnivore, or the backlash against sexual persecution. At a screening, an audience member wished they had been old enough to have enjoyed in the decadent madness that seemed pervasive by the movie's content... and I was left to wonder, how different it was then (men having sex with strangers in bathhouses and the back of trucks and piers) to how it is now (men arranging sex dates with others online). What a wake up call to reality.

Excellent and to the point.The topic is interesting and shows a clear contrast between the pre-AIDS world and the post-AIDS world. As I grew up, AIDS was already a factor, so to me the notion of random unsafe sex seems quite the gamble. It made me think about what could be discovered in years to come to make our present lifestyle seem like a game of Russian roulette. I enjoyed a short cameo by Swedish musician Sebastian Utbult! Also, anyone who is interested in the scene needs to see this movie. It's a definite trip to retrotown :)Thank you for the eye opener, Mr. Lovett!