Guide Note

The 2005 film Brokeback Mountain chronicles the complex, romantic relationship between two male professional cowboys between the years 1963 to 1983. The film was nominated for eight Academy Awards and won three - including Best Director for Ang Lee, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Score - but lost out Best Picture to the Paul Haggis film Crash.

Fast Facts

1. Director: Ang Lee
2. Screenwriters: Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry
3. Stars: Heath Ledger, Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Anne Hathaway
4. Based on short story by Annie Proulx
5. Released: December 9, 2005
6. Rated R for Mature Content
7. Running Time: 2 hours, 14 minutes
8. Budget: $14 million
9. Awards: 3 Academy Awards and 4 Golden Globes
10. Filmed in the Canadian Rockies

Controversy

Several theater owners, film critics and political pundits took issue with the film's depiction of a homosexual love affair between cowboys, typically regarded in American culture as rugged, masculine figures. The movie inspired a raft of Internet parodies, many of them older film trailers recut to make the protagonists appear to be homosexual.

Radio host Don Imus, who referred to the film as "Fudgepack Mountain," felt the film was inaccurate in its depiction of life in the American West. Critic Gene Shalit was reprimanded for referring to the character played by Jake Gyllenhaal as a "sexual predator" and subsequently apologized.

Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, who also owns a theater complex near Salt Lake City, declined to screen the film, calling it "dangerous."

After the film lost out on its expected Best Picture award to Crash, it was suggested that this may be a result of homophobia on the part of the Motion Picture Academy. It is the only film in history to sweep the Writer's Guild, Director's Guild, and Producer's Guild awards without going on to win Best Picture.

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