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Key West: City of Colors | 
| Director: Talmadge Hayward
Studio: Picture This Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $22.49
You Save: $2.46 (10%)
New (15) Used (5) from $14.63
Rating:  4 reviews
Sales Rank: 114922
Format: Ac-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Widescreen, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Discs: 1
Running Time: 64 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
ISBN: 1893410838
UPC: 667443539148
EAN: 9781893410831
ASIN: B00066FC56
Theatrical Release Date: 2003
Release Date: December 7, 2004
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Description
"In Key West, nobody cares who you want to sleep with." "You have gays, straights, Europeans, Latin Americans, Blacks, Cubans, and White folks all living together on a 2 by 4 mile island. When you put people that close together, they tend to find ways to get along." And on this amazing island only 90 miles from Cuba, this very diverse community celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Rainbow Flag by stretching the longest Rainbow Flag in history -- 8000 feet in all -from one end of the island to the other.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great movie about a great event! December 15, 2008
Tina Colada (NY USA)
This documentary style movie captures the emotional aspect of a Key West event that portrayed a community that embraces diversity and acceptance. A must see for any member of the gay and lesbian community and also for anyone interested in a how a city with citizens with multi-cultural, generational, political and religious backgrounds can live side by side with respect and benevolence.
A joy to watch June 12, 2007
S. K. Smith (Key West, Fl)
I have watched this documentary several times and each time I see and hear new things. Key West, a tiny 2 mile by 4 mile island did not have television until the mid 1960's. There was really no discrimination with regards to race or ones orientation. I had a conversation with some of the folks who helped make the flag. Absolut vodka sponsored the flag with a considerable grant. The flag had the original 8 colors, it had over 18,000 yards of fabric, 25 miles of seams and weighed a bit over 2 tons. It was made by Gilbert Baker and volunteers who worked about 3 months sewing every day.
There are some heart warming interviews with the people of Key West. And you will see over 2,500 people of all types carrying their section of the flag when it was unfurled down Duval Street. It was dipped simultaneously in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico.
Pieces of the flag are still being displayed during pride events in Fairbanks Alaska, Houston, Dallas, New Hope Pa,Cologne Germany, Manchester England, New York, Vancouver BC, Miami Beach, and many other cities.
This is a keeper, but it is meant to be shared!
An Homage to an Island of Understanding September 18, 2005
Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States)
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
KEY WEST: CITY OF COLORS is a fine little documentary meant by its creator Talmadge to focus on the unraveling of a 1 and 1/4 mile long Rainbow Flag down Dylan Street connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico. The beauty of the film is not just the documentation of this 2003 event marking the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Rainbow Flag by Gilbert Baker, it is also a celebration of the little island of Key West and the people who live there.
Creator Talmadge presents a brief history of this isolated island at the far southern tip of the United States (closer to Cuba than to Miami!), showing old photographs of the sponge business, the piracy, the smuggling, and the ever present cohabitation of African Americans, Hispanics, famous artists, wealthy, poor, gay and straight citizens. He then spends a great deal of the film in interviews with many of the residents - some lifelong some newly transplanted - who explain in warm and simple terms why this oasis for acceptance is an oasis for human kind.
The colors are rich, the parade of the flag unfolding from ocean to gulf is magnificent and inspiring, and the message of peaceful coexistence serves as a goal for us all. Grady Harp, September 05
Most importantly, Gilbert Baker! July 23, 2005
Jeffery Mingo (Homewood, IL USA)
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
Like George Chauncey's "Gay New York," this documentary describes how Key West became a gay Mecca and the status of the island today. I do wonder if this was propaganda from the Key West Bureau of Tourism, because it was gushy. However, in hearing of intra-metropolitan conflicts elsewhere across the country, it was great to hear of a place where everyone seems to get along. I loved seeing straight people of color be gay-friendly and gay whites supporting racial diversity. The diversity is symbolized by the mayor (or was he the chief of police?) who never states his sexual orientation and remains vague about whether he is Cuban or not. (Regardless of his identities, he had the cutest, ittle-wittle cleft in his chin!) But to be honest, this documentary focuses on the middle aged and I thought there were far fewer gay men and lesbians of color than there would be in Southern Florida, with its large Cuban and Caribbean populations. The work mentions worries about gentrification. However, it says little about how these liberal, native-born islanders co-exist with the conservatives in the rest of their state and the growing Cuban population. Nothing is said about their thoughts on the 2000 elections and their state's controversial role in it.
The history of the city takes precedence over the mile-long rainbow flag that was made and unfurled on the island. I usually prefer the politically-aware pink triangle over the overly optimistic and currently apolitical rainbow flag. However, here it made sense. The many color represented the diversity and acceptance on the island that goes beyond sexual orientation matters. The coverage of the flag's display came at the end. It will remind viewers of any gay pride parade, but with the flag replacing the marchers. This work never says who came up with this mile-long flag idea and how it got financed.
The most important part of this documentary was seeing Gilbert Baker, the inventor of the rainbow flag. Like a reptile who lays an egg and moves on, I had only known that a veteran made the rainbow flag one day. I didn't know he was queeny and very invested in gay rights. It is great to see a middle-aged, San Francisco denizen alive when so many of his peers have passed away due to the epidemic. He knew Harvey Milk personally and it was great hearing more about this gay rights leader. Baker has wide eyes and chubby cheeks, very cherubic. In his mannerisms, I did worry if he had ticks or suffered from Parkinson's disease. His interviews, especially in the outtakes, were the best part of the documentary. He is a true, old-school gay hero, like Frank Kameny, Del Martin, or Phyllis Lyons. I hope that someone is inspired by this documentary to write a biography on Gilbert Baker one of these days.
This documentary was about 30 minutes longer than it should have been. However, it was a pleasure to see.
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