Highest-Rated Movies about 'Gay Subtext'

The Shawshank Redemption (1994), Fight Club (1999), Brilliantovaya ruka (1969), The Usual Suspects (1995), Rocco and His Brothers (1960), Ben-Hur (1959), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), Rope (1948) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Gay Subtext movies.

#1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Storyline: Chronicles the experiences of a formerly successful banker as a prisoner in the gloomy jailhouse of Shawshank after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the man's unique way of dealing with his new, torturous life; along the way he befriends a number of fellow prisoners, most notably a wise long-term inmate named Red.

Plot Keywords: wrongful imprisonment, prison, escape from prison, based on the works of stephen king, friendship between men, suicide by hanging, wrongful conviction ...

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#2. Fight Club (1999)

Storyline: A nameless first person narrator (Edward Norton) attends support groups in attempt to subdue his emotional state and relieve his insomniac state. When he meets Marla (Helena Bonham Carter), another fake attendee of support groups, his life seems to become a little more bearable. However when he associates himself with Tyler (Brad Pitt) he is dragged into an underground fight club and soap making scheme. Together the two men spiral out of control and engage in competitive rivalry for love and power. When the narrator is exposed to the hidden agenda of Tyler's fight club, he must accept the awful truth that Tyler may not be who he says he is.

Plot Keywords: surprise ending, fighting, multiple personality disorder, dark humor, insomnia, anti establishment, homoerotic ...

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#3. Brilliantovaya ruka (1969)

Storyline: Semyon Gorbunkov goes on a cruise. In Istanbul, he slips and breaks his arm. What he didn't know is that this was a signal for a gang of smugglers (a real smuggler - Gena - was also on board the same ship). So his arm gets bandaged with gold and diamonds. After he returns home, the gangsters are trying to get their stuff back, while the police try to catch them using Gorbunkov and his arm.

Plot Keywords: tied man, disguise, singing in a car, colleague colleague relationship, co worker co worker relationship, letter, note ...

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#4. The Usual Suspects (1995)

Storyline: Following a truck hijack in New York, five criminals are arrested and brought together for questioning. As none of them are guilty, they plan a revenge operation against the police. The operation goes well, but then the influence of a legendary mastermind criminal called Keyser Söze is felt. It becomes clear that each one of them has wronged Söze at some point and must pay back now. The payback job leaves 27 men dead in a boat explosion, but the real question arises now: Who actually is Keyser Söze?

Plot Keywords: criminal, suspect, criminal mastermind, flashback, mind game, surprise ending, neo noir ...

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#5. Rocco and His Brothers (1960)

Storyline: The widow Rosaria moves to Milano from Lucania with her 4 sons, one of whom is Rocco. The fifth son, Vincenzo, already lives in Milano. In the beginning, the family has a lot of problems, but everyone manages to find something to do. Simone is boxing, Rocco works in a dry cleaners, and Ciro studies. Simone meets Nadia, a prostitute, and they have a stormy affair. Then Rocco, after finishing his military service, begins a relationship with her. A bitter feud ensues between the two brothers, which will lead as far as murder...

Plot Keywords: prostitute, boxing, boxer, milan italy, brother brother relationship, love triangle, rape ...

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#6. Ben-Hur (1959)

Storyline: Judah Ben-Hur lives as a rich Jewish prince and merchant in Jerusalem at the beginning of the 1st century. Together with the new governor his old friend Messala arrives as commanding officer of the Roman legions. At first they are happy to meet after a long time but their different politic views separate them. During the welcome parade a roof tile falls down from Judah's house and injures the governor. Although Messala knows they are not guilty, he sends Judah to the galleys and throws his mother and sister into prison. But Judah swears to come back and take revenge.

Plot Keywords: roman empire, gay subtext, ancient rome, gay interest, sea, jew, reference to god ...

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#7. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)

Storyline: The family of "Big Daddy" Pollitt convenes at his and Big Momma's. Among the attendees is alcoholic son, Brick; an ex-football player, who spends his time drinking and avoiding the ministries of his libidinous wife, Maggie - 'the cat'. As this gathering isn't so much as a gathering but a farewell (Big Daddy is terminally ill) a lot of memories and revelations which had been hidden come to the surface of both father and son.

Plot Keywords: southern gothic, husband wife relationship, homosexuality, based on play, marriage problems, father in law daughter in law relationship, brother brother relationship ...

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#8. Rope (1948)

Storyline: Brandon and Philip are two young men who share a New York City apartment. They consider themselves intellectually superior to their friend David Kentley, and as a consequence, decide to murder him. Together they strangle David with a rope and placing the body in an old chest, they proceed to hold a small party. The guests include David's father, his fiancée Janet, and their old schoolteacher Rupert, from whom they mistakenly took their ideas. As Brandon becomes increasingly more daring, Rupert begins to suspect.

Plot Keywords: gay subtext, long take, rope, homosexual subtext, murder, title spoken by character, based on true story ...

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#9. Strangers on a Train (1951)

Storyline: Bruno Antony thinks he has the perfect plot to rid himself of his hated father, and when he meets tennis player Guy Haines on a train he thinks he's found the partner he needs to pull it off. His plan is relatively simple: Two strangers each agree to kill someone the other person wants gone. For example, Guy could kill his father and he could get rid of Guy's wife Miriam, freeing him to marry Anne Morton, the beautiful daughter of a U.S. Senator. Guy dismisses it all out of hand, but Bruno goes ahead with his half of the "bargain" and disposes of Miriam. When Guy balks, Bruno makes it clear that he will plant evidence to implicate Guy in her murder if he doesn't get rid of his father. Guy had also made some unfortunate statements about Miriam after she had refused to divorce him. It all leads the police to believe Guy is responsible for the murder, forcing him to deal with Bruno's mad ravings.

Plot Keywords: oedipus complex, psychopath, tennis player, mother son relationship, race against time, sister sister relationship, false accusation ...

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#10. The Big Sleep (1946)

Storyline: P.I. Philip Marlowe's hired by a wealthy general to find out and stop his daughter, Carmen from being blackmailed over gambling debts, Marlowe finds himself deep within a web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling, and organised crime. With help from Vivian (another of the general's daughters), Marlowe hatches a plot to free the family from this web and trap the real culprit.

Plot Keywords: private eye, bookstore, based on novel, greenhouse, sister sister relationship, brandy, bead curtain ...

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#11. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

Storyline: Texas greenhorn Joe Buck arrives in New York City for the first time. Preening himself as a real "hustler", he finds that he is the one getting "hustled" until he teams up with down-and-out but resilient outcast Ratso Rizzo. The initial "country cousin meets city cousin" relationship deepens. In their efforts to bilk a hostile world rebuffing them at every turn, this unlikely pair progress from partners in shady business to comrades. Each has found his first real friend.

Plot Keywords: hustler, new york city, gay, male rear nudity, male frontal nudity, homosexuality, homosexual ...

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#12. Hot Fuzz (2007)

Storyline: Top London cop, PC Nicholas Angel is good. Too good. And to stop the rest of his team looking bad, he is reassigned to the quiet town of Sandford. He is paired with Danny Butterman, who endlessly questions him on the action lifestyle. Everything seems quiet for Angel, until two actors are found decapitated. It is called an accident, but Angel isn't going to accept that, especially when more and more people turn up dead. Angel and Danny clash with everyone, whilst trying to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the apparent "accidents".

Plot Keywords: police officer, workaholic, parody, murder, police, village, reference to shakespeare's romeo and juliet ...

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#13. The Celluloid Closet (1996)

Storyline: This documentary highlights the historical contexts that gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders have occupied in cinema history, and shows the evolution of the entertainment industry's role in shaping perceptions of LGBT figures. The issues addressed include secrecy -- which initially defined homosexuality -- as well as the demonization of the homosexual community with the advent of AIDS, and finally the shift toward acceptance and positivity in the modern era.

Plot Keywords: gay, gay slur, film history, homophobia, gay interest, homosexuality, lesbianism ...

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#14. Y Tu Mamá También (2001)

Storyline: In Mexico City, late teen friends Tenoch Iturbide and Julio Zapata are feeling restless as their respective girlfriends are traveling together through Europe before they all begin the next phase of their lives at college. At a lavish family wedding, Tenoch and Julio meet Luisa Cortés, the twenty-something wife of Tenoch's cousin Jano, the two who have just moved to Mexico from Spain. Tenoch and Julio try to impress the beautiful Luisa by telling her that they will be taking a trip to the most beautiful secluded beach in Mexico called la Boca del Cielo (translated to Heaven's Mouth), the trip and the beach which in reality don't exist. When Luisa learns of Jano's latest marital indiscretion straight from the horse's mouth, she takes Tenoch and Julio's offer to go along on this road trip, meaning that Tenoch and Julio have to pull together quickly a road trip to a non-existent beach. They decide to head toward one suggested by their friend Saba, who seems a little confused himself of ...

Plot Keywords: female sex abuser, threesome, on the road, skinny dipping, male male kiss, cunnilingus, bikini ...

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#15. From Here to Eternity (1953)

Storyline: It's 1941. Robert E. Lee Prewitt has requested Army transfer and has ended up at Schofield in Hawaii. His new captain, Dana Holmes, has heard of his boxing prowess and is keen to get him to represent the company. However, 'Prew' is adamant that he doesn't box anymore, so Captain Holmes gets his subordinates to make his life a living hell. Meanwhile Sergeant Warden starts seeing the captain's wife, who has a history of seeking external relief from a troubled marriage. Prew's friend Maggio has a few altercations with the sadistic stockade Sergeant 'Fatso' Judson, and Prew begins falling in love with social club employee Lorene. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor looms in the distance.

Plot Keywords: dead soldier, court martial, awol, dysfunctional marriage, u.s. army, boxing, torture ...

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