That Man: Peter Berlin

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That Man: Peter Berlin
That-man-peter-berlin.gif
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Jim Tushinski
Produced by
Starring Peter Berlin
CinematographyJim Tushinski
Music by Jack Curtis Dubowsky
Distributed byGorilla Factory Productions
Release date
  • 2005 (2005)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$55,398 [1]

That Man: Peter Berlin is a 2005 documentary about the popular gay icon Peter Berlin directed by Jim Tushinski. The documentary had its world premiere at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival. [2] The film received generally positive reviews.

Contents

Synopsis

In the documentary, Berlin narrates his own life in various candid interviews. Many other artists (porn stars, photographers, writers, contemporaries) comment on his legacy in gay culture. John Waters says in the documentary that Berlin is "Dinah Shore with a hard-on", while filmmaker Rick Castro opines that he is "the Greta Garbo of porn."

Archival clips are shown of his only two feature films: Nights in Black Leather and That Boy . The movie was filmed on location in Berlin's San Francisco apartment.

Cast

All appearing as themselves:

Reception

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 64 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable". [3] On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 93% of 14 critics' reviews are positive. [4]

Nathan Lee from The New York Times said, "Vivid reminiscences from John Waters, Armistead Maupin, the pornographic auteur Wakefield Poole and the artist Robert Richards elevate That Man: Peter Berlin into a minor classic of demimonde hagiography." [5] Melissa Anderson wrote in Time Out that "although Berlin, now 63, is no demure candle in the wind, he's no bitter flameout, either; generous and compassionate, the film ties up Berlin's life in one nice package." [6]

Leslie Felperin from Variety Magazine commented the film "represents a workable, if slightly reticent documentary portrait of the titular '70s pin-up and porn star, once famous for his bobbed hair and a protuberant crotch; some audiences may bemoan what lay beneath Berlin's tight trousers is hardly seen." [7] Film critic Jim Healy said "despite Berlin's frankness about his personal love life and his preference for being watched when he's not having sex, the Garbo of gay porn remains elusive, largely because Tushinski doesn't seem to see the ironies and contradictions in his subject's life." [8]

Mark Fagan from The Austin Chronicle observed that "he wasn't afraid of portraying the mundane aspects of the gay scene in his films, along with the not-so-mundane sex that would follow; Berlin flaunted his sexuality through his photography and films and, of course, by displaying his bulging crotch, and was inspirational to less open members of the gay community." [9] Ed Gonzalez wrote in Slant Magazine that "one might peg the man for a sex fiend, but what's revealing about Tushinski's exposé is how mild-mannered this 'Dutch boy' comes across." [10]

Awards

In 2005, the film won the "Audience Award" for Documentaries at the Milan International Lesbian and Gay Film Festival and the Austin Gay and Lesbian International Film Festival. It won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the 2005 Reykjavík Lesbian and Gay Film Festival. the 2005 Honolulu Rainbow Film Festival, the 2005 Reel Identities Film Festival - New Orleans, and the 2005 Fire Island Film and Video Festival. All awarded to film director Jim Tushinski.

Release

The documentary had its world premiere at the 2005 Berlin International Film Festival. [2] The film was released on DVD in North America by Water Bearer Films in 2006. [11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "That Man: Peter Berlin (2006) - Box Office and Financial Information". The Numbers . Archived from the original on September 8, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Forrest, Katherine V.; Buskirk, Jim Van, eds. (2007). "Adventures In The Celluloid Cathedral". Love, Castro Street: Reflections of San Francisco . New York: Alyson Books. p. 139. ISBN   978-1-55583-997-0.
  3. ↑ "That Man: Peter Berlin Reviews". Metacritic . Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  4. ↑ "That Man: Peter Berlin | Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes . Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved September 17, 2025.
  5. ↑ Lee, Nathan (January 13, 2006). "A Life of Perpetual Performance". The New York Times. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  6. ↑ Anderson, Melissa (January 12, 2006). "That Man: Peter Berlin". Time Out . Archived from the original on September 9, 2024.
  7. ↑ Felperin, Leslie (March 30, 2005). "That Man: Peter Berlin". Variety. Archived from the original on February 22, 2025. Retrieved September 16, 2020.
  8. ↑ Healy, Jim (October 7, 2005). "That Man: Peter Berlin". Chicago Reader . Archived from the original on September 17, 2025.
  9. ↑ Fagan, Mark (September 30, 2005). "Unique and Universal". The Austin Chronicle . Archived from the original on September 17, 2025.
  10. ↑ Gonzalez, Ed (December 18, 2005). "Review: That Man: Peter Berlin". Slant Magazine . Archived from the original on February 7, 2023.
  11. ↑ Tiffany, Laura (2006). "That Man: Peter Berlin". Home Media Magazine . Vol. 28, no. 21. pp. 18–19.

Further reading

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