Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

Vito

  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 33m
IMDb RATING
8.1/10
754
YOUR RATING
Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
The story of Vito Russo, founding father of the gay liberation movement, author of "The Celluloid Closet," and vociferous AIDS activist in the 1980s.
Play trailer0:47
2 Videos
10 Photos
DocumentaryBiographyHistory

The story of Vito Russo, founding father of the gay liberation movement, author of "The Celluloid Closet," and vociferous AIDS activist in the 1980s.The story of Vito Russo, founding father of the gay liberation movement, author of "The Celluloid Closet," and vociferous AIDS activist in the 1980s.The story of Vito Russo, founding father of the gay liberation movement, author of "The Celluloid Closet," and vociferous AIDS activist in the 1980s.

  • Director
    • Jeffrey Schwarz
  • Stars
    • Phyllis Antonellis
    • George Bancroft
    • Richard Barrios
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    754
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jeffrey Schwarz
    • Stars
      • Phyllis Antonellis
      • George Bancroft
      • Richard Barrios
    • 6User reviews
    • 28Critic reviews
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 5 wins & 5 nominations

    Videos2

    U.S. Version
    Trailer 0:47
    Watch U.S. Version
    Vito
    Trailer 2:25
    Watch Vito

    Photos10

    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Bette Midler and Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
    Vito (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Phyllis Antonellis
    • Self - Cousin
    George Bancroft
    George Bancroft
    • Bill Bailey
    Richard Barrios
    • Self
    Edmund Bergler
    • Self - Psychoanalyst, Writer
    • (archive footage)
    • (as Edmund Bergler M.D.)
    Richard Berkowitz
    • Self - Author
    Lenny Bloom
    • Self - Friend & Lawyer
    • (as Leonard Bloom)
    Jay Blotcher
    • Self
    Malcolm Boyd
    • Self
    • (as Reverend Malcolm Boyd)
    Stephen Boyd
    Stephen Boyd
    • Messala
    Joseph Brewer
    • Self
    Lee Brewster
    • Self - Queens Liberation Front
    • (archive footage)
    Tom Brokaw
    Tom Brokaw
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Billie Burke
    Billie Burke
    • Glinda
    Marcus A. Conant
    • Self
    • (archive footage)
    Jane Darwell
    Jane Darwell
    • Mrs. Winchell - Jack's Mother
    Bette Davis
    Bette Davis
    • Judith Traherne
    Doris Day
    Doris Day
      Frances Dee
      Frances Dee
      • Elaine Talbart
      • Director
        • Jeffrey Schwarz
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      More like this

      Before Stonewall
      7.5
      Before Stonewall
      After Stonewall
      7.5
      After Stonewall
      The Celluloid Closet
      7.8
      The Celluloid Closet
      Burnt Offerings
      6.4
      Burnt Offerings
      Parting Glances
      7.2
      Parting Glances
      Tab Hunter Confidential
      7.6
      Tab Hunter Confidential
      H+
      7.1
      H+
      The Matthew Shepard Story
      7.3
      The Matthew Shepard Story
      Buddies
      7.5
      Buddies
      Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon
      7.0
      Wrangler: Anatomy of an Icon
      U Want Me 2 Kill Him?
      6.3
      U Want Me 2 Kill Him?
      Something Like Summer
      6.0
      Something Like Summer

      Storyline

      Edit

      Did you know

      Edit
      • Trivia
        Arnie Kantrowitz is listed two different ways on screen, first as "Friend," and second as "Vice President, Gay Activists Alliance."
      • Connections
        Features Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)
      • Soundtracks
        Friends
        Written by Buzzy Linhart and Mark Klingman

        Performed by Bette Midler

      User reviews6

      Review
      Review
      Featured review
      Marvelous movie about a marvelous man
      Although I am a gay man, from the same generation and roughly the same age as Vito Russo, I'm reviewing this movie as a movie, rather than as a documentary about the gay rights movement.

      There are lots of documentaries about that movement, but none of them are great movies. This one is. It is fascinating from beginning to end.

      There's not one bit of martyr worship in this movie, as there always is in movies about Harvey Milk, for example. Vito, the movie, is just as smart and funny and honest and gentle and riveting and uncompromising as Russo was himself.

      He was such a marvelous man that there's no need to paint him as a hero or a martyr or as anything else but just himself. I never felt like I was being preached to or manipulated in any way at all while watching this movie. I was just being allowed to visit with a really fantastic human being.

      What a treat this movie is! I feel now like Vito is an old and very dear and very delightful personal friend. I look forward to meeting him for real when I get to where he is now.
      helpful•2
      0
      • jm10701
      • Dec 18, 2014

      Top picks

      Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
      Sign in

      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • October 14, 2011 (United States)
      • Country of origin
        • United States
      • Official sites
        • Official distributor's page for the film. (Germany)
        • Official distributor's page for the film. (United States)
      • Language
        • English
      • Also known as
        • Na gej heroj - Vito
      • Filming locations
        • Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
      • Production companies
        • Automat Pictures
        • Making it Big
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Technical specs

      Edit
      • Runtime
        1 hour 33 minutes
      • Color
        • Color

      Related news

      Contribute to this page

      Suggest an edit or add missing content
      Vito Russo in Vito (2011)
      Top Gap
      By what name was Vito (2011) officially released in Canada in English?
      Answer
      • See more gaps
      • Learn more about contributing
      Edit page

      More to explore

      Recently viewed

      Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
      Get the IMDb App
      Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
      • Get the IMDb App
      • Help
      • Site Index
      • IMDbPro
      • Box Office Mojo
      • IMDb Developer
      • Press Room
      • Advertising
      • Jobs
      • Conditions of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Your Ads Privacy Choices
      IMDb, an Amazon company

      © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.