Vito: The Life of Gay Rights Activist Vito Russo

Filmmaker Jeffrey Schwarz's powerful and moving HBO-aired documentary tells the story of Vito Russo, a key leader in the gay rights movement of the 1970s and 80s, and the author of the seminal book The Celluloid Closet—a remarkable history of gay images and characters in film. Russo found extensive evidence that gays and lesbians cropped up in movies in all kinds of ways: as comic window dressing, as tragic and doomed figures, and as guilt-ridden and ashamed figures. Russo's traveling lecture and presentation was a life-changing event for many audience members, who found it liberating. But Russo was also on the frontlines of the gay rights movement, right from the early days of the Stonewall Inn riots and other community-based responses to police brutality towards homosexuals. Vito looks at Russo's work in uniting gays and lesbians through several organizations that called for the reform of anti-gay laws and practices. Also covered are the stories of Russo's involvement in protesting American politicians and pharmaceutical companies that turned their backs during the AIDS epidemic, a disease that claimed Russo's life in 1990. Incorporating material about Russo's early life, his relationships, and his supportive family members, Vito poignantly illustrates how this important figure perennially took stands to fight on behalf of the next generation of gay Americans. Highly recommended. (T. Keogh)