Empire's The 50 Best LGBTQ+ Movies

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By Ben Travis, Sophie Butcher, Ian Freer | Posted 25 Jun 2020

Throughout the history of cinema, there have been gripping and groundbreaking LGBTQ+ films – stories taking in the lives, history, and experiences of people who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, pansexual and beyond. And with every passing year, the rich tapestry of bold, funny and fearless queer cinema grows: we’re living a golden age of LGBTQ+ filmmakers having increasing opportunities to tell their own stories – whether specifically about the LGBTQ+ experience or not – resulting in greater on-screen representation, and allowing more people than ever before to see themselves in the movies they love.

Team Empire has hand-picked a selection of the greatest films that tell LGBTQ+ stories, or that come from LGBTQ+ filmmakers – contemporary, historical, factual, fictional, fantastical, or futuristic. Of course, ‘LGBTQ+ movies’ isn’t a genre in and of itself – here you’ll find romances, comedies, rock’n’roll musicals, period dramas, crime thrillers, teen movies, documentaries, heartwarmers and heartbreakers, and one of the most famous sci-fi films of all time. From landmark moments in movie history to vital new voices, it’s a cinematic banquet. Dive in, enjoy, and happy Pride.

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  1. 1 new

    Moonlight

    2016, in 13 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Paris Is Burning

    1990, in 12 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    Portrait de la jeune fille en feu

    2019 — a.k.a. Portrait of a Lady on Fire, in 12 top lists
    Check
  4. 4 new

    God's Own Country

    2017, in 2 top lists
    Check
  5. 5 new

    Carol

    2015, in 8 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Brokeback Mountain

    2005, in 21 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    120 battements par minute

    2017 — a.k.a. BPM (Beats Per Minute), in 4 top lists
    Check
  8. 8 new

    Pride

    2014, in 3 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Tangerine

    2015, in 5 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Call Me by Your Name

    2017, in 11 top lists
    Check
  11. 11 new

    Ah-ga-ssi

    2016 — a.k.a. The Handmaiden, in 13 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    The Watermelon Woman

    1996, in 7 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Una mujer fantástica

    2017 — a.k.a. A Fantastic Woman, in 3 top lists
    Check
  14. 14 new

    My Beautiful Laundrette

    1985, in 7 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    The Rocky Horror Picture Show

    1975, in 13 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Naissance des pieuvres

    2007 — a.k.a. Water Lilies, in 1 top list Check
  17. 17 new

    Dolor y gloria

    2019 — a.k.a. Pain and Glory, in 5 top lists
    Check
  18. 18 new

    Beautiful Thing

    1996, in 1 top list Check
  19. 19 new

    The Hours

    2002, in 7 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    A Single Man

    2009, in 2 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Love, Simon

    2018, in 1 top list
    Check
  22. 22 new

    Pink Flamingos

    1972, in 13 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Faustrecht der Freiheit

    1975 — a.k.a. Fox and His Friends, in 6 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Bound

    1996, in 6 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    And Then We Danced

    2019, in 2 top lists
    Check
  26. 26 new

    Pariah

    2011, in 7 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Hedwig and the Angry Inch

    2001, in 9 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen

    2020 — a.k.a. Disclosure, in 1 top list
    Check
  29. 29 new

    The Matrix

    1999, in 30 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Milk

    2008, in 3 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Orlando

    1992, in 7 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Weekend

    2011, in 6 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson

    2017, in 0 top lists
    Check
  34. 34 new

    Philadelphia

    1993, in 4 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    Boys Don't Cry

    1999, in 7 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    Appropriate Behavior

    2014 — a.k.a. Appropriate Behaviour, in 3 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Rafiki

    2018, in 0 top lists
    Check
  38. 38 new

    The Boys in the Band

    1970, in 1 top list Check
  39. 39 new

    L'inconnu du lac

    2013 — a.k.a. Stranger by the Lake, in 6 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

    1994, in 6 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    The Miseducation of Cameron Post

    2018, in 1 top list
    Check
  42. 42 new

    I Am Divine

    2013, in 0 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    Dallas Buyers Club

    2013, in 2 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Beach Rats

    2017, in 0 top lists
    Check
  45. 45 new

    The Kids Are All Right

    2010, in 6 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    The Living End

    1992, in 3 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Rocketman

    2019, in 1 top list Check
  48. 48 new

    Go Fish

    1994, in 2 top lists Check
  49. 49 new

    Sebastiane

    1976, in 1 top list Check
  50. 50 new

    Colette

    2018, in 0 top lists Check
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Last updated on Jul 24, 2020; source