Love! Valour! Compassion! (film)

Infobox Film
name = Love! Valour! Compassion!


image_size =
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director = Joe Mantello
producer = Doug Chapin
writer = Terrence McNally
starring = Jason Alexander
Stephen Spinella
Stephen Bogardus
Randy Becker
John Benjamin Hickey
Justin Kirk
John Glover
music = Harold Wheeler
cinematography = Alik Sakharov
editing = Colleen Sharp
distributor = Fine Line Features
released = January 25, 1997
runtime = 108 min.
country = USA
language = English
budget = $2 million
gross = $2.9 million
website =
amg_id = 1:
imdb_id = 0119578

"Love! Valour! Compassion!" is a 1997 film adaptation by Terrence McNally of his play of the same name, revolving around eight gay men who gather for three summer weekends. The setting is at a lakeside house in Dutchess County, two hours north of New York City where they relax, reflect, and plan for survival in an era plagued by AIDS.

As with many screen adaptations of stage plays, the script underwent numerous changes, eliminating almost all direct addresses to the audience and the conclusion of one of the subplots. This remains the only theatrical film directed by Joe Mantello, who was nominated for the Grand Special Prize at the Deauville Film Festival.

Cast

In this film adaptation, McNally reunited the original cast, with the exceptions of Nathan Lane and Anthony Heald. "Seinfeld" co-star Jason Alexander stepped in for Lane and Stephen Spinella replaced Heald.

ynopsis

The story of eight male friends who spend the three major holiday weekends of one summer - Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, and Labor Day - together at a house in upstate New York. The house belongs to Gregory, a successful choreographer now approaching middle age, who fears he is losing his creativity; and his twenty-something lover, Bobby, who happens to be blind. Each of the guests at their house is connected to Gregory’s work in one way or another - Arthur and longtime partner Perry are business consultants; John Jeckyll, a sour Englishman, is a dance accompanist; die-hard musical theater fanatic Buzz Hauser is a costume designer and the most stereotypically gay man in the group. Only John's summer lover, Ramon, and John's twin brother James are outside the circle of friends. But Ramon is outgoing and eventually makes a place for himself in the group, and James is such a gentle soul that he is quickly welcomed. Infidelity, flirtations, soul-searching, AIDS, truth-telling and skinny-dipping mix monumental questions about life and death with a wacky dress rehearsal for "Swan Lake" performed in drag.

References

Further reading

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External links

*imdb title|119578|Love! Valour! Compassion!
*ibdb title|4284|Love! Valour! Compassion!