Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure
Product Type: DVD
Product Price: $19.99
Manufacturer: MAD STU Productions
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Description
In 1952 an Army sergeant was cornered and then courted, by his commanding officer. Their romance grew and soon became too obvious. Rumors became anonymous tips to headquarters. They avoided court-martial by confronting the entire unit. That pivotal moment cemented Bob and Jack together for the rest of their lives. 52-years later they share how they remained a couple:
how one man left his wife and children, how both survived in a small town and began a new life, and today how need the rights of other married couples in their eighties. Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure is the true, self-told story about the same lifelong love we all hope for.
DVD Features: Film (41 minutes) Q@A session with Bob, Jack and director Stu Maddux Archival Photo Gallery Theatrical Trailer 2nd Extended Q&A session from film premiere
BONUS: 1961 anti-gay educational film, BOYS BEWARE
Reviews
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-06-18
Summary: "Good show to promote LGBTQI Activism"
This is a wonderful movie with great bonus material added of additional interest to viewers which demonstrates the progress LGBT people have made over recent decades. I first saw the film at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts 23rd Annual Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 2007 and was so impressed that I showed it to my church congregation when it came out on DVD in 2008. Everybody loved this film and word about it spread to another church nearby so I loaned them my copy of the DVD so they could see it too. The couple is charming - and after you see it - you wonder why is there any controversy over gay marriage? LGBT love is valid and made all the more so by this couple.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2008-01-03
Summary: "Absolutely Fabulous"
"Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure"
Absolutely Fabulous
Amos Lassen and Cinema Pride
I just finished watching one of the most amazing documentary films I have ever seen. "Bob and Jack's 52-Year Adventure" is a film about two men who live in Park LaBrea, California whose relationship has survived 52 years and is still going strong. It is heartwarming and beautiful to see two men whose devotion is so strong that they can survive anything and survive they have. It further proves that we, as gay men, are capable of lifelong love, just as supposedly happens in straight society. Directed by Stu Maddox, a 6 time Emmy award winner, there is such compassion and love in the film that you cannot help but smile as you watch it.
Everything about the relationship of Bob and Jack is "normal" and it is encouraging to see these two men who are obviously very much in love. They share the love that all of us seek--a love that is total and it matters not that this is a love shared by two men.
Bob Claunch was a sergeant in the army in 1951 when he met his commanding officer, Jack Reavley. They soon fell in love and did not hide their feelings. When rumors tipped off the highers-up, the two confronted their entire unit rather than risk being court-martialed. This appears to be what cemented the two men together and as I said before, that cement is still holding fast. They left their wives and their children and set about building a life together. They moved to a small town where they were the only gay men (as far as they knew), purchased a business and thus began their story.
They tell their story as matter of fact and give us the opportunity to hear about the lifelong love we all yearn to achieve. What is so interesting is that as you watch these two men, you see something of yourself in them. Bob and Jack made a life together at a time in our history when not only homosexuals were not heard of but if they were they certainly were not spoken about. They are professional men having ventured into broadcasting and acting and now as they look back at their lives as they approach their eighties, they allow us to look with them.
From what I have read about the movie and its screenings, the film has been met with the best of receptions especially among the younger gay men who have not had to experience what our heroes endured. Back then, they had no one to talk to but each other and the clergy which, which as we know, is non-accepting. This is in stark contrast to the amount of freedom we have today.
Bob and Jack are happy you talk about their relationship even though they are non-activist. They do take advantage of what is good for them like the new domestic partnership law but have no real decision on gay marriage. They want it for others but don't feel that they are private persons who do not need it.
How can we account for the longevity of their relationship" Bob and Jack say that it is necessary to get along everyday "accommodating each other and loving each other like a regular marriage...". You can feel the love they share and they say the reason they have endured has been due to one word, commitment. Jack however, says, "It's very simple, I just do everything he {Bob] tells me to".
This charming documentary is a welcome addition to the canon of gay cinema. Like we have learned in school, so often, it is necessary to know about the past in order to appreciate the present. Bob and Jack give us that chance. He totality of their relationship is a reminder that there s little that we cannot due if we put our minds to it. Taking a heroic and dramatic stand in the name of love is the monument that these two men have given us and we must cherish this for all we can.
Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2007-11-03
Summary: "What a Joy to watch!"
My partner and I (he is 84, I'm 65) saw this film at the N.C. Gay and Lesbian Film Festival last August. It is such an inspiration to all couples (stright or gay). These guys are a joy to watch and the film is full of laughs, tears and gives you an all over warm feeling for these two guys and for love in general. This film belongs in everyones home to watch and share for years to come. GREAT FILM !!
Rating: 4 / 5
Date: 2007-10-14
Summary: "Inspiring for anyone, gay or straight, who has found love despite obstacles."
I will admit that this is not a film I would have chosen to watch. In this case, I've known Bob and Jack for 30 years. I wanted to be in radio and they gave me that opportunity as a high school junior. I wanted to see
the rest of their story and the old hometown.
It's one of those movies that can inspire and change people's lives. It shows that even the best relationships can be difficult and take hard work. It has the potential to open people's minds to how important a loving relationship is for everyone.
buy it.