The gods are smiling down on gay film buffs during pride season. Joan and Bette are at it again in a remastered two-disc reissue of their outrageous Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, part of a boxed set of Davis films, while Crawford gets the star treatment in a two-disc reissue of Mommie Dearest. May also brings an acclaimed doc about the hedonistic ‘70s, and a classic film with two hearthrobs as lonesome cowboys made decades before Brokeback. Best of all, June promises the long-anticipated DVD premiere of the holy grail of all gay faves, 1967’s Valley of the Dolls.

Gay Sex in the ‘70s

Through a spliced montage of historical footage and interviews with gay icons like photographer Tom Bianchi and writer/activist Larry Kramer, Gay Sex in the ‘70s covers a period that begins with the Stonewall riots of 1969 and ends with the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in 1981. Infused with a disco soundtrack, this sexually driven film about “the most libertine period that the western world has seen since Rome,” is a succulent slice-of-life look at a generation ravaged by AIDS. Throughout this documentary, the various men interviewed give a fond, albeit frank, recounting of gay life before there were grave consequences to sex without a condom. Although this film is an important must see, it should be called Gay Sex in (New York) in the ‘70s, as it limits the viewer specifically to New York City and Fire Island, excluding other important cities like San Francisco and L.A. Bonus Features: Photo gallery and trailer. —Jim Holmes

The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 2

During her lengthy acting career, Bette Davis played working women from every walk of life, but she was rarely more vibrant than when cast as past-their-prime actresses. After scoring Oscar nods as thespians in All About Eve and The Star, Davis earned her final nomination as demented former child star Baby Jane Hudson in 1962’s Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Paired opposite her reported nemesis Joan Crawford, as her invalid sister, the film is camp nirvana, and has been reissued in a Two-Disc Special Edition. The 1938 melodrama Jezebel, considered a consolation prize for Davis not getting to do Gone With The Wind, earned the star her second best actress Oscar, this time for playing a headstrong Southern belle who wrecks the lives of all in her orbit. Any similarity to Scarlett O’Hara is purely intentional. Also featured are three DVD premieres: 1942’s The Man Who Came To Dinner, based on the hit stage play, is one of those amusing wacky household comedies that were so popular at the time. Here in an all-star ensemble cast, Davis plays a rare supporting role as a patient secretary; Davis stars as a “dancehall hostess” (not a prostitute) opposite Humphrey Bogart in the 1937 gangster pic Marked Woman, and 1943’s Old Acquaintance, an ode to the enduring friendship between two female writers that co-starred, ironically enough, Miriam Hopkins with whom Davis very famously fueded. All five films are available in The Bette Davis Collection, Vol. 2. Bonus features: Each film has a vivid new documentary featuring interviews with film critics and historians, plus vintage cartoons, and shorts. Baby Jane offers an inspired commentary by Charles Busch and Lypsinka, plus new and vintage documentaries on the film. Also included in the set on a separate disc is Stardust: The Bette Davis Story, a comprehensive documentary on the scenery chewer that recently aired on Turner Movie Classics. —Jeremy Kinser

The Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection

June 1 marks Marilyn Monroe’s 80th birthday and to commemorate the occasion, Fox Home Entertainment has released The Marilyn Monroe Special Anniversary Collection, a boxed set featuring five of the gone-too-soon siren’s most popular films. Included here are Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Niagara, River Of No Return, The Seven Year Itch, and Let’s Make Love. Bonus features: Each disc includes Movietone News reels, restoration comparisons, still galleries, and original theatrical trailers, while The Seven Year Itch also includes deleted scenes and a featurette entitled “Back Story: The Seven Year Itch.” In addition, there’s a bonus disc Marilyn: The Final Days, which offers a revealing look at the last months of her life and provides an edited reconstruction of MM’s uncompleted final film Something’s Got To Give. —JK

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Paul Newman and Robert Redford, who still induce sighs, were ideally teamed in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as the titular antiheroes in the 1969 hit. The pair of hearthrobs demonstrated as much, if not more, chemistry with each other as they did with any female co-star. The buddy pic retelling of the notorious Old West outlaws has been reissued as a two-disc collectors edition. Bonus features: Two commentaries—one featuring late director George Roy Hill and the second by Oscar-winning screenwriter William Goldman. The second disc is chock full of new and vintage documentaries including “All of What Follows is True: The Making of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” which tries to separate the facts from the mythology of the two bank and trainrobbers, and a making-of featurette. —JK

Mommie Dearest: Hollywood Royalty Edition

One of the most-quoted films in the canon of camp cinema and a true right-of-passage viewing experience for gay film buffs, Mommie Dearest, based on Christina Crawford’s controversial bestseller about the hell she faced at the hands (not to mention wire hangers) of adoptive mother Joan, hardly needs a recommendation—if you haven’t already seen it half a dozen times it’s unlikely you’re reading this magazine. But do allow me to give props to the unfairly maligned bravura performance of Faye Dunaway. She so fearlessly commits herself to playing Crawford that the two have become virtually indistinguishable. It’s a shame she refused to participate in this 25th anniversary DVD reissue. Bonus features: John Waters offers a typically droll commentary, defending the film’s (and Joan’s) tarnished reputation. The package includes three all-new featurettes: ”The Revival of Joan” documents the success of Christina’s memoir and the decision to film it; “Life with Joan” follows the actual making of the film with exclusive behind-the-scenes stories; and “Joan Lives On” spotlights the cult following the film has achieved since its theatrical release. —JK