CLOSURE: Central Library will be closed Tuesday, July 21, through Saturday, July 25, while emergency repairs are made to the building’s cooling system. We expect to reopen Monday, July 27. Click for more details on holds, program schedules, and returns during the closure. 

Blu-ray

Portrait of Jason

Call Number

  • BLU-RAY 921 H7395P (CEN)

Browse similar titles by call number

Edition

Blu-ray version.

Languages

English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.

Performers

Jason Holliday.

Publication Information

[Harrington Park, NJ] : Milestone Film & Video, [2014]

Physical Description

1 videodisc (108 minutes) : sound, black and white ; 4 3/4 in.

Audience

Not rated.

Summary

This portrait of Jason Holliday, a black gay prostitute who dreams of a career as a nightclub performer, is drawn from twelve consecutive hours of filming in a New York City apartment. As he reminisces about his life, Holliday discusses his homosexuality and the gay subcultures in San Francisco and New York. He jokes with the off-screen filmmaker and crew and maintains a sense of humor even as he recalls hustling, heroin addiction, and jail time. Holliday also performs for the camera, impersonating female entertainers and movie personalities such as Mae West, Butterfly McQueen, and Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind.

Notes

"Restoration by the Academy Film Archive, Milestone Films and Modern Videofilm"--Container.

Originally released as a documentary in 1967; re-released in 2013.

Special features: The lost confrontation (7 min.) ; Where's Shirley? (25 min.) ; Jason in color! (3 min.) ; Portrait of Jason trailer (2 min.) ; Jason, before and after (2 min.) ; Butterfly (1967, 4 min.) ; Shirley Clarke in underground New York (1967, 10 min.) ; Jason unleashed (audio outtakes) (35 min.) ; Pacifica Radio interview with Shirley Clarke (1967, 53 min.) ; Jason Holliday comedy album [audio only] (1967, 54 min.; courtesy of Regina Longo).

Subjects