Buy Queer as Folk: The Complete U.K. Collection on DVD

Queer as Folk: The Complete U.K. Collection

Acorn Media / Year: 1999-2000

DVD
3-disc box set

More Info

Usually ships in
5-10 days

$44.99 (25% off)
List Price: $59.99

When new special editions or price reductions are announced.

Synopsis

The boldest, gayest, sexiest British television drama ever produced, Queer as Folk: The Complete U.K. Collection is an absolutely essential addition to every gay man's DVD collection.

3 Reasons To buy this film

The ground-breaking British TV show is a must-see for all cinematic gay men.
More people in the States are fans of the US version, but both should be owned and viewed.
Watch The Boys in the Band and you'll see the progress gay culture has made in just 30 years.

Review

Queer as Folk is a remarkable phenomenon - so amazing the American cable network Showtime had to create a tamer American version. But this is the real thing - it's unedited, unexpurgated, and unbelievable. Millions of addicted British viewers tuned in every week undisturbed (and indeed thrilled) by the graphic nudity, foul language and less than savory characters.

Queer as Folk is a soap opera/drama that takes an unflinching look at what it is like to be gay in the late '90s in Manchester's gay village. Teen sex, rampant drug use, promiscuity, broken hearts and unrequited love all figure in the story. The series focuses on the tumultuous lives among the young, beautiful and gay.

Told with pulsating music, and rapid-fire story telling and humor, the viewer is propelled along through the lives of the three main protagonists. There is 29-year-old Stuart, an unrepentant party boy whose good looks, ready cash and ravenous sexual appetite keeps him in the limelight and allows him the nightly pick of the litter. He may be shallow and vain, who’s complaining? There is also his best friend Vince, a handsome but insecure young man who joins Stuart on their nightly forays into clubland, but all the while quietly holding a torch for Stuart. Adding to the mix is 15-year-old Nathan, a blond beauty just itching to join in the gay fun.

And he enters it with a bang: Nathan has sex with Stuart and develops an obsessive puppy love. Stuart swats him off like a persistent mosquito. Add a child born by Stuart (acting as a donor to a lesbian friend), emotional complexities and an interesting assortment of supporting characters and you’ll get an immensely enjoyable peek into a witty sexy world that has entranced people around the world.

-- Scott Cranin

Product Format Information

DVD : $44.99 (3-disc box set)

Availability: Usually ships in
5-10 days
Close Caption: Yes
Region Code: 1
UPC: 054961864997
Catalog #: DV3253702

Studio : Acorn Media

Languages: English (Primary) , English Subtitles
Aspect Ratio: Widescreen
Extras: Trailers, Deleted Scenes
Features:
Featurette
Cast interviews
Audio commentary
Booklet: A 20-page booklet with notes by series creator and writer Russell T. Davies.

Keywords

Adolescence, British, UK, Drama, Drugs/Alcohol, Family Life, Friendship, Gay Male, Gay/Lesbian, Intergenerational Romance, Nightlife/Clubbing, Romance, Schoolboy, Sexuality: Gay Male, Television, Twink

Genres

Drama, Television

Customer Reviews

Better than US!?

Michael in Alexandria wrote on 07/06/2011:

Russell T. Davies was the creative force behind this ground-breaking British series. (He later would go on to create "Torchwood".)

There were 2 'series', or sets of shows. The first series (4 episodes) was a definite 'must have' when it first became available in the US and it's still enjoyable to watch. The characters and situations were believable and entertaining.

Later Showtime would acquire the US rights to the show and base most of their first season on these 4 British episodes with the characters generally being less believable and the situations becoming more 'reaching' -- especially as the series progressed through its 5 seasons.

As good as the first series of this show was, that's how bad -- in my opinion -- the second series was. It left me with a feeling that BBC went back to Davies and demanded a second series. Davies didn't want to say 'no' to the network but didn't really have a good story to tell. Still, the second series was made. It illustrates one of the differences with British television. British programs tell a story in as many episodes as it takes and that's it (the 1st series). When an additional series is requested, it's almost like 'we said it all in the first series' and the story line isn't nearly as good.

The Original UK Series

Amos Lassen wrote on 07/04/2011:

Finally available again on DVD is the original “Queer as Folk”, the most liberated show seen at that time on television (1999). It was sassy and uninhibited, gay, sexy and very bold. Because of it, Showtime when on to create the American version which was tame by comparison but that also showed our lives to mainstream America.
The series looks at what being gay was all about in Manchester, England in the 1990’s. We see young sex, drugs, sex, drugs, sex, promiscuity, sex and love. The characters are young, good-looking and…..gay.
The background music rocks, the humor is fast and the story grabs the viewer as we are sucked into the lives of Stuart, Vince and Nathan. Stuart is 29 and rich and conceited who loves sex. His friend Vince lusts after Stuart who lusts after 15 year old Nathan. Nathan becomes Stuart’s pup but Stuart doesn’t treat him fairly. The acting is excellent, the characters are totally fleshed out and we see characters who are not stereotypes but real people.