The Times of Harvey Milk
The Times of Harvey Milk is a 1984 American documentary film that premiered at the Telluride Film Festival, the New York Film Festival, and then on November 1, 1984, at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco. The film was directed by Rob Epstein, produced by Richard Schmiechen, and narrated by Harvey Fierstein, with an original score by Mark Isham.
In 2012, this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
Premise
The Times of Harvey Milk documents the political career of Harvey Milk, who was San Francisco's first openly gay supervisor. The film documents Milk's rise from a neighborhood activist to a symbol of gay political achievement, through to his assassination in November 1978 at San Francisco's city hall, and the Dan White trial and aftermath.Participants
;Narrator;Interview subjects
- Anne Kronenberg
- Tory Hartmann
- Tom Ammiano
- Jim Elliot
- Henry Der
- Jeannine Yeomans
- Bill Kraus
- Sally M. Gearhart
Featured people
The film was produced after Milk's death using original interviews, exclusive documentary footage, news reports, and archival footage, so that Milk is credited as the lead. Other politicians including San Francisco mayor George Moscone, and Moscone's successor and later United States Senator Dianne Feinstein appear in archival footage. The film opens with a tearful Feinstein delivering her announcement to the media that Moscone and Milk had been assassinated by Dan White.Also featured in the film is schoolteacher Tom Ammiano, who would go on to be a member of the California State Assembly.