- Chris & Don
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Chris & Don: A Love Story 
Directed by Guido Santi
Tina MascaraProduced by James White
Amir Harel
Andrew HerwitzNarrated by Michael York Starring Christopher Isherwood
Don BachardyMusic by Miriam Cutler Cinematography Ralph Q. Smith Distributed by Zeitgeist Films Release date(s) June 13, 2008 Running time 90 min. Country 
United StatesLanguage English Chris & Don: A Love Story is a 2008 documentary film that chronicles the life-long relationship between author Christopher Isherwood and his much younger lover, artist Don Bachardy. Chris & Don combines present-day interviews, archival footage shot by the couple from the 1950s, excerpts from Isherwood's diaries, and playful animations to recount their romance. It was directed by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara, and was the centerpiece film at NewFest, the New York LGBTQ Film Festival, in 2008.
Contents
Synopsis
Chris & Don tells the story of a romance that began on the beaches of Santa Monica in the 1950s, when Christopher Isherwood at age 48 met Don Bachardy who then was eighteen years old. Isherwood, an established author with works such as The Berlin Stories, which helped inspire much of Cabaret, helped Bachardy discover and develop his affinity for drawing and painting as he became a renowned portrait painter during the second half of the 20th century to the present. The documentary includes insight from friends, including Liza Minnelli and John Boorman, who tell of the countless struggles the two faced as one of the first openly gay couples in Hollywood. Despite the age difference, the couple endured until Isherwood succumbed to prostate cancer in 1986.
Critical reception
The film received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator MetaCritic reported a score of 83 out of 100, based on 12 reviews from major newspapers and magazines.[1] Many critics also drew parallels between the California State Supreme Court ruling affirming same-sex marriage and the release of the film.[2]
References
External links
Novels All the Conspirators (1928) · The Memorial (1932) · Mr Norris Changes Trains (1935) · Sally Bowles (1937) · Goodbye to Berlin (1939) · Prater Violet (1945) · The Berlin Stories (1945) · The World in the Evening (1954) · Down There on a Visit (1962) · A Single Man (1964) · A Meeting by the River (1967) · The Mortmere Stories (1994, with Edward Upward)Plays (with W. H. Auden) Memoirs and diaries Lions and Shadows (1938) · Kathleen and Frank (1971) · Christopher and His Kind (1976) · Diaries: 1939–1960 (1996) · Lost Years: A Memoir 1945–1951 (2000) · Kathleen and Christopher (2005)Travel writings Journey to a War (1939, with W. H. Auden) · The Condor and the Cows (1949)Vedanta Vedanta and the West (1943—1969) · What Vedanta Means to Me (1951) · An Approach to Vedanta (1963) · Ramakrishna and His Disciples (1965) · Essentials of Vedanta (1969) · My Guru and His Disciple (1980)Screenplays Little Friend (1934) · Forever and a Day (1943) · Adventure in Baltimore (1949; story) · Rage in Heaven (1949) · The Great Sinner (1949) · Diane (1956) · The Sailor from Gibraltar (1967) · Frankenstein: The True Story (1973)Adaptations I Am a Camera (1951 play) · I Am a Camera (1955 film) · Cabaret (1966 musical) · Cabaret (1972 film) · A Single Man (2009) · Christopher and His Kind (2011)Miscellaneous writings Exhumations (1966) · Frankenstein: The True Story (1973, with Don Bachardy) · October (1980, with Don Bachardy) · Where Joy Resides: An Isherwood Reader (1989) · Jacob's Hands: A Fable (1997, with Aldous Huxley) · Isherwood on Writing (2007)Other Don Bachardy · Sally Bowles (fictional character) · Vedanta Society of Southern California · Chris & Don (2008)Categories:- 2008 films
- American documentary films
- American films
- American LGBT-related films
- English-language films
- LGBT-related documentary films
- 2000s documentary films
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