#queer-coded hollywood

In Ken Russell’s Valentino (1977), Rudolf Nureyev as Rudolph Valentino and Anthony Dowell as Vaslav Nijinsky move through a ballroom pose that feels both elegant and quietly provocative. The black-and-white image heightens the tension: formal tailoring, precise bodies and a closeness that unsettles the conventions of classic screen romance. Knowing that both performers were legendary dancers adds another layer—the scene becomes a meeting of cinema, ballet, masculinity and queer-coded desire, expressed almost entirely through posture and touch.