The Times of Harvey Milk: Documentary Analysis

Overview and Context

Among the most prominent feature documentaries exploring American gay life, Rob Epstein's The Times of Harvey Milk is a work of advocacy, carrying Harvey Milk's message of equality and hope to a wider audience. The documentary was envisioned as an emotional narrative accessible to both straight and homosexual viewers. Its production was deeply collaborative; filmmakers, advocates, and journalists from diverse communities contributed their voices and stories, alongside archival footage, critical feedback, and financial backing (Esther, 2009).

While The Times of Harvey Milk was not a major box office success, its theatrical release propelled the film — through critical acclaim and awards — into a long-running non-theatrical circuit. Despite being one of the most celebrated documentaries of recent decades, the film has more often been received as a political event rather than a cinematic one, and that perception largely persists today (Esther, 2009).

Epstein, explaining his position within the film in a 2009 interview, stated that his approach carried no political agenda. His intent was to address the subject's humanity and trust that the rest would follow (Esther, 2009).

Production Approach and Collaborative Vision

Epstein's core team — which included Bex, Hoffman, Schmiechen, and Reid — initially planned the project as a one-hour documentary built around four acts corresponding roughly to an introduction, development, and close: a distilled account of Harvey Milk's roots and identity; the campaign labeled "No on 6"; the assassination; and Dan White's trial along with the ensuing "White Night" riots that followed the verdict (New Yorker DVD Audio commentary, 2004).

Epstein has stated that the entire documentary was designed to move viewers emotionally. The team worked diligently to recreate the genuine emotions people felt at the time, with the goal of giving contemporary viewers an equivalent experience. While the film is relatively conventional from a stylistic standpoint — featuring biographical photographs, talking-head interviews, abundant archival footage, and narration by Harvey Fierstein — its structure is rather unexpected (wordscreenpark, 2010).

The tale was constructed through deliberate juxtaposition. Epstein identified three key elements: news footage, used as such and preserving TV logos and reporters' names; archival documentary footage, offering a broader perspective on the events depicted; and original interviews conducted over the four years following the events (New Yorker DVD Audio commentary, 2004).

Narrative Structure and Pacing

Surprisingly little screen time is devoted to Harvey Milk's childhood and adolescence in this 88-minute documentary. Just seventeen minutes in, Milk has already been elected; his assassination appears at the 53-minute mark. The result is two-fold: the directors can maintain a conventional three-act film structure, and the majority of the documentary's running time is concentrated on Milk's eleven-month career as city supervisor of San Francisco (wordscreenpark, 2010).

As one subject in the documentary observes, Milk represented "something more than just him." This sincere and carefully constructed film makes that point abundantly clear. While Milk's personality is vividly present throughout, the documentary's primary concern is not the individual but the societal forces he embodied. Robert Epstein, co-director of the equally affecting Word Is Out, reflects on how Milk symbolized one segment of society while his killer, Dan White, symbolized another. Dan White was a disgruntled former supervisor who shot both Harvey Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone in 1978. Epstein tracks the conflict between these two figures — a conflict so inherently dramatic that The Times of Harvey Milk can rely on a plain, unadorned style without sacrificing emotional force or momentum (New York Times, 1984).

References

Bailey, J. (2011, March 14). The Times of Harvey Milk: The Criterion Collection (Blu-ray). Retrieved from DVD Talk: http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/47235/times-of-harvey-milk-the/

Esther, J. (2009). The Times of Rob Epstein, Filmmaker. The Gay & Lesbian Review, 16(4), 45.

Heath, G. (2011, March 25). The Times of Harvey Milk. Retrieved from Slant Magazine: http://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/review/the-times-of-harvey-milk-1965

New York Times. (1984, October 27). Film: 'The Times Of Harvey Milk,' A Documentary. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/27/arts/film-the-times-of-harvey-milk-a-documentary.html

New Yorker DVD Audio commentary. (2004). Epstein: "From very early — from when we started writing grant proposals — we had defined a four-act structure."

Wordscreenpark. (2010). The Times Of Harvey Milk. Retrieved from wordscreenpark: