User reviews

Just recently watched this HBO doc called "Vito" and I must say it was touching as it was informative and educational to show how one man a gay one in Vito Russo stood up and fought for his rights along with thousands of other gays during the 1980's at the height of the AIDS dawn. His story showed courage as it was personally touching to anyone it proves that anyone should fight for what they believe in.

Interesting is seeing how Vito started film night with his gay buddies as he showed films that were classic and they involved gay characters! His doc even would go on to the art houses and gay cinema. And Vito's outspoken words against right wing political and Christian groups during the 80's was touching showing that he was the voice of courage during the dawn of the AIDS crisis. This man will be remembered as a leader and a voice of courage for the gay community as really anyone can take his inspiration his image and words of courage and freedom rights still rings long after his 1990 death!

I had never heard of Vito Russo before I watched this documentary, which makes me feel a bit bad. He was highly influential in both the gay rights and AIDS awareness campaigns, eventually dying of AIDS-related complications in 1990.

I have to admit, I was a little bit worried that the documentary would be too niche for me to enjoy. I had just watched a documentary about bird watchers in Central Park, and that had been a bit boring. So, when I saw that this was about a gay rights activist, I was a little skeptical that it might interest me, even though I'm a big supporter. It turns out that this is actually quite well done, with some interesting interviews and enough information that people like me can understand the importance and influence of Vito Russo.

As the documentary went on, I found myself more and more impressed with Russo, agreeing with him quite often. It would have been interesting to see what he thought of Clinton and his "don't ask, don't tell" policy. I have a feeling that Russo would have blasted Clinton for that. Unfortunately, we'll never know.

While not quite as good as Crumb or King of Kong, this is still a good documentary, and I can readily recommend it to anyone, as long as they're not homophobic. Russo was a progressive, so his politics may alienate Republicans, but I doubt that many of them are going to be watching this, anyway.

The subject of this U.S. documentary is Vito Russo, a gay activist in the early days of gay liberation and an AIDS activist in the 1980s shortly before his death in 1990. He was also a film lover and had written "The Celluloid Closet" which exposed how early film-makers in Hollywood were restricted from being direct about gay characters in their films.

This film is superb in many ways - not only for the fascinating subject but mostly for the amazing film footage and photos used throughout. Interviews with those who knew him were also very moving. Some of the best excerpts included those of my favourite performer Lily Tomlin. They included her comedy sketches and interviews with her as she was a great friend and collaborator of Russo.

Although the 60s, 70s, and 80s were a very volatile and difficult period in different ways, this era is also one of the most fascinating times in recent history. The film "Vito" does this era justice by not just exposing it but evoking the feisty spirit as well.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Notable Achievement: Film Footage Collection

This film is about the life of Vito Russo, an American gay activist who was on the forefront of the gay liberation movement back in the 1980's.

"Vito" tells the life of a man who felt social injustice and oppression, and acts against the tide. With numerous interviews of people close to Vito including his relatives, it vividly portrays what his life was like. The archive footage of the man himself adds depth to the already interesting interviews. I particularly like the coverage on the gay characters in the early days of cinema, these eye opening scenes would otherwise never be seen. The AIDS part is a truly moving portrayal of personal journeys and the societal political climate back then. It appears that everyone in the cinema was moved to tears. I was so engrossed by the film, and I felt the power of the film resonating in the cinema.

As the film pointed out, Vito passed down the history of the gay liberation movement to the new members of the political groups in the last days of his life. This film helps to pass the torch to younger generations. If not for the forerunners who laid down the path, life would have been so different now. I hope "Vito" would inspire people to fight against injustice and oppression.

Although I am a gay man, from the same generation and roughly the same age as Vito Russo, I'm reviewing this movie as a movie, rather than as a documentary about the gay rights movement.

There are lots of documentaries about that movement, but none of them are great movies. This one is. It is fascinating from beginning to end.

There's not one bit of martyr worship in this movie, as there always is in movies about Harvey Milk, for example. Vito, the movie, is just as smart and funny and honest and gentle and riveting and uncompromising as Russo was himself.

He was such a marvelous man that there's no need to paint him as a hero or a martyr or as anything else but just himself. I never felt like I was being preached to or manipulated in any way at all while watching this movie. I was just being allowed to visit with a really fantastic human being.

What a treat this movie is! I feel now like Vito is an old and very dear and very delightful personal friend. I look forward to meeting him for real when I get to where he is now.

2/12/18. Vito Russo was the film historian who wrote the "Celluloid Closet." While this film is supposed to be a biopic about Vito, the outspoken gay activist and founding father of the gay liberation movement, it is really about being gay in America. It covers the rise of the gay lifestyle in the '60s (lots of anonymous unprotected sex), its struggle to outlive the growing AIDs epidemic in the '70s (from all the unprotected sex) and its quest for acceptance and civil rights in the '80s. Gay men who knew him spoke more about what it was like being gay than about their relationship with Vito. All in all you will develop a better understanding of what it's like to be gay, before the reality of HIV/AIDS, during those decades and the issues they were grappling with. Good documentary worth seeing.