Before he directed 'Buddies,' the first AIDS-themed gay feature film, filmmaker Arthur Bresson, Jr's films documented Gay Freedom Day parades and idealized sexuality in San Francisco's 1970s. These early films, Passing Strangers and Forbidden Letters are included in the steamy artful selections available for pay-per-view on https://pinklabel.tv.
Newly restored from the original negative in a beautiful 2K scan, Bressan, Jr.'s pioneering gay adult drama Passing Strangers tells the story of two gay men in San Francisco who meet via a personals ad in the Berkeley Barb and fall in love.
Shot in black and white and color, the film includes graphic sex scenes, but more than that, a late '70s pre-AIDS idealistic portrayal of a young man's first time encounter (Robert Adams stars as Robert, the 18 year-old high school senior) with curly-haired Tom (Robert Carnagey), who shares his more experienced skills with Robert.
Their letter-writing flirtations, Robert's timid foray to a Polk district porno shop, and Tom's other encounters, are shot with voiceover narration by other actors, lending a distinct retro art style.
After an extensive sex scene, shot at San Francisco's Land's End, their adventures include a day-trip to Angel Island for kite-flying, a bike ride through the city.
Infused with a passionate gay political sensibility, the film conveys a visceral impression of gay liberation and the newfound activist freedom of those early post-Stonewall years. The extended sequence at the Pride march also incorporates Bressan's historic footage of San Francisco's first official Gay Freedom Day celebration in 1972.
Bresson, Jr's other erotic gay feature film, Forbidden Letters, will be available in August.
Bressan Jr.'s other films are nearly lost art films classics, and discussed on the website Bressan Project website.
More on PinkLabel.TV
PinkLabelTV's other selections include gay porn classics, women-directed lesbian, straight, bi and trans films. Unlike most porn of today, the films include character development, beautiful cinematography, and realistic performers.
Gay porn highlights include the vintage classics Bijou, Nights in Black Leather, Ballet Down the Highway, Boys in the Sand, Catching Up and among the newer films, RubiX, an artful sexually-charged homage to Werner Fassbinder's Querelle and James Bidgood's Pink Narcissus.