Gay action films

But when a visit to the theater isn't an option, director and star John Cameron Mitchell's screen adaptation more than does the trick. This 1969 Japanese New Wave film fuses avant-garde editing with meta-documentary style filmmaking and non-linear storytelling to follow Eddie (played by androgynous cis actor Peter), a trans woman who works as a hostess as a gay bar — the lines between trans and gay identity are messy at best, given when this was made.

It’s an emotional and stunningly beautiful watch.

Stream on Mubi.

Sometimes we just need a bit of good old-fashioned horsing around, and that’s exactly what this very silly movie delivers.

How to watch: Paris Is Burning is now streaming on The Criterion Channel and on HBO Max, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV+.

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It'salso got Bowen Yang as God, and a finale number that is as joyous as it is absolutely iconoclastic. — O.W.

How to watch:The Stroll is now streaming on HBO Max.

13. Witnesses to the tragedy reflect on the lives lost, the expected arsonist behind the attack, and the city's lacking response to community devastation.

She sets her eyes on Jackie (Katy O'Brian), a jacked bodybuilder passing through town on her way to Vegas. Out gay actor Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, in a sensational performance, plays a once-successful jockey who reinvents himself as Dolores, a handbag-carrying man with a “watermelon” head.

Not only does the explosive project detail the abhorrent policies created by Vladimir Putin and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov to criminalize homosexuality, it also delves into the insidious culture the government has instilled in its citizens to encourage hate crimes.

How to watch:The Half of It is streaming on Netflix.

68. 2025 has been a standout year for queer cinema. My Nightmare on Elm Street is streaming on Tubi, and is available for rent or purchase on Apple TV+.

61. Cay (Patricia Charbonneau) is a local woman who has a reputation about town.

Because of their masculine gender presentation, the local kids in the area assume Mikael is a boy and treat him as such. Then-10-year-old Zoé Héran positively dazzles with her lead role. It’s silly as hell with flawless pacing and excellent comedic performances. — K.P.

How to watch: Velvet Goldmine is now available for rent or purchase on Prime Video.

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You should still watch it, though, because the director, Céline Sciamma, understands that a sidelong glance or a not so accidental brush of the hand can be more erotic than actual sex — and that there’s nothing quite so erotic, or romantic, as being fully and completely seen by another.

Stream on HBO Max.

Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection

Ingmar Bergman’s Persona manages to convey abstraction and the feeling of a dreamlike stupor with a total clarity of storytelling.

How to watch: Call Me by Your Name is available for rent or purchase on Prime Video and Apple TV+.

64. Their relationship proposes an alternative to a world where trans men grow up learning about masculinity (very often toxic) and sexuality (also often toxic) from a cis-centric perspective. It has just enough real sweetness and heart to bring a tear to your eye without feeling overly sappy.