Passing Strangers Review

Distributor: The Bressan Project Edition Details: Standard Streaming Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Gay, Romance, Drama Also known as: Lost Encounters Run Time: 76 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1974 Director: Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. Written by: Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. Director of Photography: Jim Block, Joseph V. Cicio (as Joe Cicio), Douglas Dickinson, Ed Montgomery, William Smart Cast: Robert Adams, Robert Carnagey, Arthur J. Bressan Jr. (as A.J. Bressan Jr.), Grant Ditzler, Patrick Lee, Leon McGraw, Darrell Hascall, Richard Locke, Eddie Cadena, David Dehr, Terry Hunter, Chuck Feil, John Thompson, Richard Klingerman, Ralph Osborn, Wayne Woodcock, William Smart, B. Frediani, Ben Saber, Christian St. Clare, L. Shipman, William Surent Voices: Bob Middleton, Edward Guthmann, Jerry Johnson, Robert Jerome Release Specs: Audio: English Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: Streaming Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): N/A Number of discs: N/A

Passing Strangers is the first feature film from writer and director Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. — his first two films being the 1969 short film Boys and the 1972 short-documentary Coming Out. Passing Strangers is a romantic drama set against the backdrop of San Francisco. The gay liberation movement that started after the 1969 Stonewall Riots in Greenwich Village was in full swing, and it is in the midst of this movement that Passing Strangers is set.

Passing Strangers tells the story of the cynical 28-year-old New Yorker Tom (Robert Carnagey, voice of Edward Guthmann), who now lives in San Francisco. Tom places personal ads in the Berkeley Barb, with stolen Walt Whitman poems to see who responds and talks with his friend Artie (Arthur J. Bressan Jr., voice of Jerry Johnson), a projectionist at a straight adult film theater. One of Tom's personal ads catches the eye of the 18-year-old Robert Woods (Robert Adams, voice of Bob Middleton), who is just starting to come out and is new to the gay scene. The two begin to form a relationship through their correspondence.

Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., lets the story of Tom and Robert's budding relationship grow throughout the film, allowing the viewer to know about the two characters by what they write in their letters. As a result, the two characters are anything but flat and more dimensional than most characters created in adult films.

To allow the time for the character development, but not make the viewer wait for three-quarters of the film to pass before the hardcore material starts, Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., makes excellent use of devices such as an adult movie theater — which oddly shows straight hardcore films — and a movie booth arcade — which does show gay hardcore loops — so that the viewer doesn't lack for the sex as the film progresses. Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. likely made the gay hardcore loops specifically for the film, and it is unclear if Arthur J. Bressan also made the straight hardcore loops being shown in the adult theater or if they were existing loops that he used.

The way that Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., has constructed the film is unique and adds to the beauty of the visuals. The film starts in black and white and continues in black and white until the first time Tom and Robert meet. At that point, the film shifts to color. That is the same point that the sex scenes switch over to Tom and Robert, and we watch their relationship bloom. In addition, the loop footage is shot in the standard loop style of the time with more quickly less thought out gynecologic lead shots, which add an air of legitimacy to the loop footage.

Passing Strangers also acts as a time capsule, but not in the way one might think. Yes, Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. has managed to capture the spirit of San Francisco at the time perfectly. This spirit includes Tom and Robert participating in a Gay Freedom Day parade, which ends the film on a high spirit for the gay liberation movement, which was likely very needed since the Stonewall Riots weren't so far in the past then.

However, the actual time capsule that the film captures is what gay men had to go through when coming out back then. In a time with DMs, texting, and the internet, it is easy to forget that back in the 70s, coming out was hard. And though Robert's correspondence to Tom, the viewer is reminded of this. Aspects like where he tells Tom not to put his name or return address on the outside of the envelopes, so his parents don't ask questions and what he goes through at school serve as a stark reminder of how hard it was to come out back then.

Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., has created a beautiful romantic hardcore film with Passing Strangers. Viewers can tell that Passing Strangers was a labor of love, not just churned out for profit, that holds up just as well today as it did in 1974.

The edition of Passing Strangers screened is the streaming-only edition available on PinkLabel.TV.

The Bressan Project has done an excellent job with their streaming-only edition of Passing Strangers exclusive to PinkLabel.TV. Passing Strangers was shot on 16mm film, and the camera negative was scanned in 2K by Vinegar Syndrome for this release. Passing Strangers is presented in the Academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1 pillarboxed to 1.78:1. Passing Strangers looks beautiful with vibrant colors, grain, and minimal artifacts.

Passing Strangers is presented with an English monaural audio track. There is an omnipresent hiss throughout the film. Besides the hiss, there aren't any discernible issues with the sound. The dialog in the film is clear and easy to hear throughout Passing Strangers.

The Bressan Project didn't include any extras with their streaming-only edition of Passing Strangers.

Passing Strangers is a hardcore gay feature film from the late writer and director Arthur J. Bressan, Jr. Arthur J. Bressan, Jr., has done a fantastic job creating a hardcore romance film that not only keeps you interested in the characters but also serves as a visual portrait of the gay liberation movement in San Francisco in the early 1970s. Passing Strangers is well worth seeing, and The Bressan Project has done a beautiful job with their exclusive streaming-only edition on PinkLabel.TV with excellent picture quality and good sound quality.

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