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List Price: $19.99 | | Label: TLA Releasing
Salesrank: 6344
Released: September 7, 2004 |
| Our Price: $10.93 |
| Used Price: $9.44 |
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MPAA Rating: Unrated
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Huge festival and theatrical hit, Latter Days is the story of 19-year-old Elder Aaron Davis, a sexually confused Mormon missionary who moves into an apartment complex in West Hollywood with a fellow group of missionaries. There he meets a neighbor, Christian, who, on a bet, tries to seduce him. When Christian exposes Davis' secret desire, Davis rejects Christian for being shallow and empty. As each boy's reality is shattered, the two are drawn into a passionate romance that risks destroying their lives. Audiences, young and old and straight and gay, have been moved to tears by this beautiful story of the transformational power of love and family.
Description of Latter Days (Unrated Edition):
Christian (Wes Ramsey of the washboard abs) is a waiter, party boy, and first-class man magnet. Elder Aaron Davis (Steve Sandvoss of the goofy grin) is a straight-laced Mormon missionary. When he and three elders, including the uptight Ryder (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Mysterious Skin), move into Christian's Hollywood apartment complex, it's clear something's got to give. Christian tries to make his new neighbors feel welcome, but they're put off by his flamboyance--the short-shorts, the rainbow flag in his yard, etc. When Christian's trash-talking pals at Lila's restaurant, including the cynical Traci (Amber Benson, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), bet that he can't seduce one of these clean-cut young men, he takes them up on it and sets his sights on cute, soft-spoken Aaron. As a pretense, he asks to learn more about his Church, but where they really connect is over their love of old movies, everything from Psycho to Tommy. When Aaron accuses him of being shallow, however, Christian starts to wonder if the bet wasn't such a good idea--plus he's starting to fall for the guy. Turns out the closeted Aaron feels the same way about him, but when his roommates find out, he's shipped back to Pocatello where he faces excommunication. Written and directed by C. Jay Cox (Sweet Home Alabama), a former Mormon missionary, Latter Days features Mary Kay Place as Aaron's disapproving mother and Jacqueline Bisset as the acerbic, yet supportive Lila. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
Latter Days (Unrated Edition) Reviews:
Heartwarming - loved it. 
2009-10-23 - UNRATED VERSION
spolier alert, don't read if you don't want any hints as to the outcome of the movie.
Very nice movie dealing with important issues for gay people. It highlights the hypocracy of what people will say and do in the name of religion. In my humble opinion, religion is great if you remove the people. A serious gay movie with a happy ending is pretty magical in itself.
Okay, the movie is entertaining, the message is important, the acting is very good, there are plenty of heart-warming moments, it's believable, loved it. In the unrated version there is some nudity, it's natural and well done, the two actors have great chemistry together and it does not deter from the serious theme of this movie. Gay people, whether you play the field or are in a monogamous relationship will see the nudity as real and lifelike. The two lead actors are beautiful, toned and well-shaped. I would rather see limited nudity, like in this film, that is very natural than two guys trying to cover up with the sheets or find poses that cover up there penises or pubes, it's silly, they were just intimate and they are gay, it would never happen in real life. Bravo on the way nudity was handled.
DVD QUALITY: very disappointed that THE SOUND WAS 2-CHANNEL STEREO instead of the advertised 5.1 channel surround. I am awaiting a reply from the vendor as to why this was the case. This was a real negative. I have seen one other review with the same comment, this is a serious quality issue and very misleading.
If you don't like this movie read this
2009-10-10 - Ok first off I want to say this is the best [...]movie I have ever seen and I own just about all of them so if you don't like this movie then you need to get your head check
Hits close to home, and hits hard
2009-09-08 - For me, Latter Days is a very important piece of gay cinema (for me at least), because it tackles one of the most controversial subjects: Mormonism. Not only that, but it's a great romance flick. This one may be too much for every audience to enjoy, especially straight MORMON audiences that still follow the teachings of their gospel, or the religiously conservative. For them, this film will feel like a stab through the heart, and a total insult. For some, it should be a wake up call. Mormon missionaries in gay denial do exist. The fact that they find out on their mission: It exists too. The fact that they finally give into it on their mission: Happens more than you think.
Latter Days is a very realistic portrayal of a mormon boy who finally realizes he is gay through the help of a very special person while on his mission to convert people into the mormon religion, and it hits hard to home for me because I was raised mormon, and was in denial for the first 15 years of my life, because my religion said it was wrong and I would go to hell for it. Thankfully, the grasps of religion no longer have their hold on me, and what you see in the film, like the torture sequences his parents end up doing on him after they find out about their son, actually really happens. The bigotry of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is also very accurately portrayed as well.
I'd recommend this film to anyone, just maybe not active mormons, you know, because you don't want one of their bishops or high priests showing up at your door asking why you trying to convert one of their members out of the church...or maybe you do?
Better "Latter" than Never
2009-08-26 - I realize that I am woefully behind in the phenomenon that was and is "Latter Days." Another rave at this point is probably pointless...but I can't help but gush over this delightful treasure! I watched the DVD three times in a row, and three days later, I'm still euphoric. I had already given up on the GL film festivals just before the film's distribution. Gay cinema had become too bleak in both quality and subject matter. I live in a part of the country where, for the remnants of our camouflaged gay community, bleak is vigorously enforced, so I don't want to pay for the privilege of watching ninety+ minutes of someone else's vision of bleak. An early review, written just after the theatrical release, made me believe that this movie was more of the same. "Latter Days" is the gift, the miracle, that I have desperately craved. Who could resist falling in love with Aaron and Christian? How could C. Jay Cox summon so much sexual chemistry, emotional power and radiant beauty on such a tight budget and break-neck shooting schedule? I want to go door-to-door, like the missionaries in the story, asking every stranger that I encounter, "Have you experienced the joy of 'Latter Days?'" I only wish I could have had an opportunity to express my gratitude to the cast and crew when the film was initially screened at the festivals. This review will have to suffice.
Quality 
2009-08-16 - On the disk sound Dolby Digital 2.0 192kbps, video bitrate 4400kbps and No subtitles! Deception in the description!
