Controversial as it may have been, erotic thriller ‘Cruising’ captured something true about leather bars
Welcome back to our queer film retrospective, “A Gay Old Time.” In this week’s column, we revisit1980’s Cruising, the highly controversial crime drama set in New York City’s gay leather scene.Last week, legendary director William Friedkin died at 87 years old.
He left behind one of the richest filmographies in Hollywood history, helming all-time classics like To Live And Die In LA, The French Connection and The Exorcist.Friedkin also left an indelible mark in the pantheon of queer cinema, directing not one, but two hugely influential (and controversial) films that were a landmark and turning point in how gay life was portrayed on screen: 1970’s The Boys in the Band, and the movie we will be discussing this week, 1980’s Cruising.Much has been written, dissected, criticized and admired about Cruising and, in the over four decades since its release, its place in the discussion of queer representation in film keeps changing and evolving.
This week we’re going to go a bit narrower and, in order to pay homage to one of the great directors, explore the cinematic tools Friedkin used to immerse the audience in the gay leather lifestyle.Cruising takes place in 1980s New York City, where a serial killer has been hunting down and murdering gay men.
He frequents leather bars and popular cruising spots, where he picks up men, takes them back to a private spot, ties them up and brutally kills them.
