Poison

From the Oscar-nominated director of Far from Heaven, I'm Not There and the HBO mini-series Mildred Pierce, this controversial masterpiece is the most fervently debated film of the 1990s and a trailblazing landmark of Queer Cinema. Todd Haynes' first feature-following the underground short sensation Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story-this groundbreaking American indie is a thrilling work of immense visual invention. Inspired by the writings of Jean Genet, Poison deftly interweaves a trio of transgressive tales-"Hero," "Horror" and "Homo" that build toward a devastating climax. "Hero," shot in a mock tabloid-TV style, tells a bizarre story of suburban patricide and a miraculous flight from justice; "Horror," filmed like a delirious '50s B-movie melodrama, is a gothic tale of a mad sex experiment which unleashes a disfiguring plague; while "Homo" explores the obsessive sexual relationship between two prison inmates. A runaway hit which made national headlines when it was attacked by conservative figures including Dick Armey, Ralph Reed and minister Donald Wildmon, Poison is audacious, unforgettable and thoroughly entertaining.